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House Hansard - 60

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 28, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 60 - Apr/28/22
Mr. Bryan May (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Lib.)
  • Apr/28/22 6:35:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, COVID-19 has affected every part of our society and every Canadian, including members of our Canadian Armed Forces. I would like to clarify that, in fact, COVID-19 did not stop CBRN training for new recruits, as the member has incorrectly alleged. Although some of our training and recruiting had to be scaled down during the earliest days of the pandemic, our military was not stood down. To say so is completely inaccurate and, frankly, disrespectful to the Canadian Armed Forces members who have worked tirelessly to help Canadians through this pandemic. We will never compromise on readiness, and our priority is maintaining a fighting force that can be deployed anywhere in the world. Russia's egregious invasion of Ukraine has not only resulted in instability across the globe, but shown that we must never step back from that responsibility. Today, our organization is in the midst of a substantial forces-wide reconstitution program to rebuild our strength and readiness for the future. This includes making sure our members receive the right training so they can effectively and safely perform their required duties. I would like to thank the member opposite for highlighting the importance of the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear course. Canadian Forces leadership and recruit schools have continued to provide this course given that all CAF members require CBRN training to qualify for deployment. As part of basic military qualification and basic military officer qualification, CAF members also learn to operate in a contaminated environment. National Defence maintains and manages a robust inventory of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection equipment to ensure that Canadian Armed Forces members can safely conduct operations in the most adverse conditions. On operations, Canadian Armed Forces members are issued protection equipment directly, including CBRN equipment, or the equipment is transported and stored on location for use, if needed. As part of pre-deployment processes, equipment is verified for proper functionality. Canadian Armed Forces members also receive training to ensure they know how to use such equipment. To ensure the readiness of our Canadian Armed Forces, we are also improving and modernizing our operational capabilities in the face of a rapidly evolving security environment. We are moving forward on important projects for the navy, army and air force, including our Arctic offshore patrol ships, new armoured combat support vehicles for the Canadian Army and our planned fleet of 88 advanced fighter jets. We are ensuring the CAF is ready to meet adversities in non-traditional domains like cyber, space and information, including by integrating our activity in those domains with what we are already doing at sea, on land and in the air. Through our reconstitution efforts and the work we are doing to deliver on key capital projects, we are making sure that our people are well equipped and well supported for whatever comes their way. This will ensure they are ready to meet traditional and non-traditional defence and security threats to Canada and our allies from across all domains and from all directions, now and for decades to come.
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