Conservatives Call for Actual Procurement, Not More Fake Announcements

Ottawa, ON -James Bezan, Conservative Shadow Minister for National Defence, and Jeff Kibble, Conservative Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement, issued the following joint statement on the selection of TKMS as the preferred supplier for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project:

"Conservatives are extremely disappointed in today's non-announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Once again, the Liberals have not announced a contract, they have announced more negotiations.

"It is clear this was a photo op to generate positive press ahead of the NATO summit this week. Not only has the government offered no costing and no timeline, but the Prime Minister also told Canadians he will not be giving them any more information. All this as Mark Carney hasn't even delivered the long-promised national security strategy.

"This is not the first time we've seen a lack of clarity from the Liberals. Just last week, our new Conservative Shadow Minister for Finance Michael Chong called on Prime Minister Carney to provide details on how he plans to reach 4 per cent defence spending by the end of the decade. So far, the government has refused to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with information on how on three separate occasions.

"For too long, Canada's submarine capability has been allowed to decline, and the Royal Canadian Navy's submariner expertise to erode. Our Victoria-class submarines are barely in the water, and now initial delivery of the first submarines is still eight years away at best.

"A decade of Liberal mismanagement of our Canadian Armed Forces has left our warships rusted out, our fighter jets worn out and our army hollowed out. Conservatives will always fight to get our proud sailors, soldiers and aviators the equipment they need to be effective.

"Unfortunately, this was not what happened at today's fake announcement."