Our Conservative Government came to office promising to rebuild the Canadian Forces, to treat our CF personnel with respect, and to give them the tools they need to get the job done.
 
Our Government is standing up for Canadian Personnel and their families. For example, employment insurance income replacement programs are important to the financial security of many Canadian workers. However, because of military commitments, members of the Canadian Forces can face challenges when trying to access these benefits. Our Conservative Government recognizes the great sacrifices of our brave men and women of our Canadian Forces, and took action to extend the EI parental benefit window. We have extended the eligibility period by an additional 52 weeks for Canadian Forces members whose parental leave is disrupted or deferred due to military requirements.
 
Our Government understands the difficulty of losing a loved one, and that is why we are making it easier to access EI sickness benefits for the immediate families of those who have died of service-related injuries. Other steps our Government has taken to help our Canadian Forces include:
Providing better insurance for Canadian Forces Members who are injured or been taken ill in the line of duty;
Increasing support for present or former Canadian Forces personnel, as well as their families, who experience illness or injury with 19 new Integrated Personnel Support Centres; and
Providing more exceptional medical care for our brave men and women in uniform with the opening of the Montfort Hospital Care Clinic, which will provide primary care, physiotherapy, mental health care, preventative medicine, dental care and a pharmacy facility.
 
Our Conservative Government has been working hard to replace the Canadian Forces’ old, run down equipment with new, cutting edge equipment. For example, we have made new equipment acquisitions such as:
Purchasing four C-17 Globemasters (strategic lift) aircraft;
Purchasing seventeen C-130 J Hercules (tactical lift) aircraft;
Investing $5 billion for three new fleets of land combat vehicles;
Investing $2.6 billion to acquire two new ships to support the operations of Canada’s Navy; and
A long-term investment in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter which is - hands down - the best aircraft we can provide our men and women in uniform to face the threats and challenges of the 21st century.
 
We have also taken steps to upgrade CF equipment through measures such as investing $1 billion to upgrade our current fleet of Light Armoured Vehicles, and investing over $1.5 billion to rebuild the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet.
Our Canadian Forces personnel do tremendous work every day, under the toughest of conditions, and I am proud to be part of a government committed to providing them with the support that they need.
 
Sincerely,
 
Leon Benoit, MP
Vegreville-Wainwright