Steve Russell via Getty Images EXERCISE LION ROYAL---11/30/03--Canadian Soldiers clean their weapons prior to going out on patrol in a LAV III. Canadian Forces participate in Exercise Lion Royal in Sherbrooke, PQ, November 30, 2003. In January 2004, the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigrade Group (5 CMBG) based in Valcartier will go to Kabul to participate in Operation ATHENA. The military is using Sherbooke as a training ground for that exercise. (Photo by Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

The Canadian Forces are heading toward another decade of darkness. Former Chief of the Defence Staff Rick Hillier expressed his concerns over the years of budgets cuts under the Chrétien Liberals in the 1990s.

More than 15 years later, the Canadian Forces are still suffering from the deep cuts Chrétien made. Modernization of military equipment was stalled and has been ageing ever since. Our fighter aircraft are still flying by swapping spare parts with "replacement" aircraft, our submarines are leaking, our Navy is in a desperate need of new ships and our army barely has ammunition to train.

Meanwhile, the Trudeau Liberals have decided to review the whole Canadian defence policy and delay more than $3.7 billion in military spending over the next five years. According to them, delaying military spending enables the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence to overview the current needs and spend the money towards it.

With our current commitment, Canadian soldiers will not be able to sustain such a high operational tempo, let alone if we slash our military numbers.

Although I wholeheartedly disagree with delaying military spending, mostly because our soldiers are desperately in needs of new equipment, I can understand this attitude. As a matter of fact, Canada's role on the international scheme is constantly evolving and so does our defence spending. That said, saying the $3.7 billion will be available when needed is not true. So, basically, the Liberals have slashed $3.7 billion in military spending, not delayed it.

"(The government) said it'll come back later," Hillier said. "I never believed that as chief of defence staff. If it's not in the fiscal framework, it's not there. So that's a $4-billion cut that occurred. That came mostly out of the acquisition capital funding, where we desperately need to spend even more."

Canada needs a military that can defend its territory and fulfill its commitment to NATO. Adding to that, the Liberals wants to redeploy soldiers on peacekeeping missions with the United Nations. To do so, you need equipment capable of withstanding long periods of deployment and have enough replacements in case of destruction or breakdown. By delaying military spending, I don't believe Canada will have the ability to deploy more troops abroad.

We already have deployed soldiers around the world, and replacement vehicles such as the LAV 6s have been constantly delayed. The LAV 6 is the workhorse of the Canadian ground troops. It is replacing the LAV III, a vehicle that got a serious beating in Afghanistan. However, the timeline has not been respected once again,and it leaves our ground soldiers vulnerable.