Conservatives aiding our military might
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Posted By PATRICK BROWN
Posted 1 month ago
My grandfather, Joe, and his brother, Frank, first came to the Barrie area in 1941 as servicemen posted at Base Borden (Camp Borden at that time).
They fell in love with our region, raised their families and remained here long after their service careers ended.
Base Borden has always been a significant piece of my family's past, as well as an integral part of our local history.
I am always proud to see so many people come out during Kempenfest weekend for the "Support Our Troops" event. This year's ceremony will take place on the Friday, July 30 just after 7 p.m. on the main entertainment stage at the Southshore Community Centre where the Borden Pipe Band will perform.
People are encouraged to wear red in support of our troops and sign a huge banner that will be shipped overseas to our brave men and women.
Every day, more than 62,000 regular force members and 25,000 reserve force members of our Armed Forces honour our country through their service. Currently, more than 2,900 Canadian soldiers, sailors and Air Force personnel are deployed overseas on operational missions. On any given day, about 8,000 Canadian Forces members -- one third of our deployable force -- are preparing for, engaged in or returning from an overseas mission.
Certainly, our main military focus has been in Afghanistan recently, but our troops have also been deployed on other humanitarian and UN mandated missions in Haiti, The Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, the Sudan and many other regions around the world.
A group of local business and community leaders led by Hon. Col. Jamie Massie, have launched Operation Hero, a campaign to fund Georgian College scholarships for members of Canadian military families. Donations can be made in any amount with contributions of $1,000 or more receiving a commemorative Canadian flag. This is a wonderful example of our community giving back, and I hope the effort continues as strongly as it started.
Borden's Pipe and Drum Band will be on hand for my annual charity hockey game in support of RVH's Regional Cancer Care Centre on Thursday, Aug. 12. New Base commander, Col. Louis Meloche, will even suit up and play at Hockey Night in Barrie III.
Your Conservative government has always made supporting our military a major priority. When our government was elected four years ago, we saw a military stretched thin and badly in need of help. After a decade of cuts, our military was left with submarines that couldn't go down, helicopters that couldn't go up and uniforms that made our troops walking targets.
We took action.
We increased the annual budget for the Department of National Defence from $14.6 billion in 2006 to more than $21 billion today. This helped to upgrade or replace aging equipment, modernize technologies and improve overall safety for our fighting men and women.
Our troops put themselves in harm's way every day. They deserve the best equipment we can give them and their sacrifice earns them the unwavering support of all Canadians.
Patrick Brown is Barrie's MP
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