SoVote

Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)

Apr/28/22 6:30:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, home to the training ground of the warriors at Garrison Petawawa, Canada's largest army base, I welcome the opportunity to hold the government accountable for the safety and security of our women and men in uniform. Earlier this year, I asked a very specific question regarding the readiness of Canadian soldiers now that they found themselves in a situation where chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, or CBRN for short, are threatened. The lack of response follows the short-sighted decision of a previous Liberal government to shut down the emergency preparedness college in Arnprior. It was confirmed this week by the CBC government propaganda agency that the earliest the Canadian Armed Forces might be properly equipped and trained against these 21st century terrors is 2030. The government does not learn. The war in Ukraine is today, not eight years from now. It is today. Today, there are more than 200,000 active cases of COVID-19 in Canada. Canadians will recall the decision by the government to send soldiers to Latvia during the COVID-19 pandemic without inoculation. A significant COVID-19 outbreak struck Canadian Armed Forces' members deployed to Latvia. The majority of the deployed Canadian soldiers were not vaccinated ahead of their mission because of the failure of the government to procure vaccines after a botched deal with the Chinese communists. What limited vaccines were received were given to federal prisoners, rapists and murderers, before they were given to our soldiers. The official position of the divisive socialist coalition Prime Minister was that our soldiers are young and healthy. They should recover from the virus. They would, dare I say to the censure-loving socialist coalition that does not believe in science, develop natural immunity. What a hypocrite our blackface wearing Prime Minister is when he expects soldiers to develop a natural immunity and not other Canadians. It is a failure to both inadequately prepare and to not urgently respond in a manner that is commensurate with the threat. Chemical weapons such as nerve agents, once inhaled, can directly attack the respiratory systems of soldiers and be fatal. Thus, even a small exposure to contaminated air can pose a significant risk to soldiers. Soldiers who are exposed to CBRN weapons become casualties. CBRN material is used as an umbrella term for those agents in any physical state and form which can cause hazards to populations, territories and forces. It also refers to chemical weapons, precursors and facilities, that is, equipment or compounds that can be used for the development or deployment of weapons of mass destruction, CBRN weapons or CBRN devices. Over the past few years, CBRN weapons or CBRN devices have been used, so over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of conflicts globally. This has led to an increase in the demand for CBRN defensive weapons, such as personal protective equipment, detection systems, vehicle-mounted improvised explosive devices detection systems, detonators and decontamination devices. Canada has been ignoring the threat while other countries got prepared. The losses, in terms of life and equipment, have triggered the enhancement of CBRN defences for our troops. Despite budgetary constraints, our allies in NATO and Europe are investing in improving CBRN defences for both troops and vehicle. In September 2021, NATO held its 17th annual conference in weapons of mass of destruction, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation in Copenhagen. Canada was warned of the threat. NATO's combined joint CBRN defence task force, a NATO-deployable military asset, is a key part of the alliance's work on CBRN defence. It consists of—

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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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Context: House Hansard - 60 - Apr/28/22

Mr. Bryan May

Apr/28/22 6:39:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, while COVID-19 has impacted some CAF training and recruitment efforts, we have never wavered in in our commitment to operational readiness. We know we must redouble our efforts to ensure that we have a sufficient number of CAF members available for domestic and international missions and that they have the tools and training they need to excel no matter where the task. To address these issues, the chief of the defence staff has launched a forces-wide reconstitution program that is complementary to our efforts to deliver on the promises we put forward in Canada's defence policy. As we conduct a review of this policy to account for the changing global security environment, we will keep working together to build a Canadian Armed Forces that is ready to tackle our biggest threats today and into the future.

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