According to Liberal Parliamentary Secretary Marie-France Lalonde, the move will cost taxpayers around $1 million after crime drove National Defence employees out of the 400 Cumberland St. offices in Ottawa. 

A breakdown reveals $20,000 will be spent on cleaning and preparing the new location, the Major-General George R. Pearkes Building, while a staggering $980,000 will cover moving personnel and equipment. Nearly 1,000 employees are being shifted due to these “safety concerns.”

The information was uncovered in response to an order paper inquiry posed by Conservative MP James Bezan. 

But when asked whether the DND had raised alarm bells with the Minister of Justice over the government’s failed "catch and release" policies that are making streets more dangerous, Lalonde admitted no such representations had been made. Instead, the DND claims its own Military Police handle incidents on base, and anything happening in public spaces falls to the Ottawa Police Service.

DND employees, like many other Canadians, are facing increasing threats from crime in public spaces. Yet the Liberals refuse to take any meaningful action on their broken justice system that’s allowing criminals back onto the streets with little accountability.

In the end, it’s not just the DND workers paying the price. 

It’s the Canadian taxpayer footing a million-dollar bill to protect government employees from the consequences of the government’s own failed policies. Safety concerns aren’t addressed at the root—they’re just kicked down the road at great expense.

As crime rises and Liberals look the other way, how many more taxpayer dollars will be burned to patch over the consequences of their disastrous justice policies?