text: Sajjan is absolutely correct that the funding problems stem from The Harper Government (TM) that went hog wild on spending during its first years, cut taxes recklessly and then had to start cutting like crazy to create any vestige of a balanced budget. During that process, Harper cut DND's budget to less than 1% of GDP. Finding the money to plug all the gaps is avery difficult after Harper failed to buy fighter jets in almost ten years and mismanaged the military shipping contracts. The Liberals have had to put up with flak from the Conservatives for ordering Super Hornets as an urgent stop-gap measure and have made very large spending commitments toward military shipping - the Navy was largely left in the lurch by Harper with not enough funds to man the ships that it did have!
  
  Bringing Vice Admiral Norman into this as some kind of hero is a little disingenuous as he has broken the law, military discipline or both. There is flak enough for the current levels of deficit!