44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 19, 2023 11:00AM
- Jun/19/23 8:50:40 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be able to stand today and address a question I originally raised on April 17. It is based on a letter that came from the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, where 60 plus prominent Canadians who are military leaders, former ministers of defence and other parliamentarians from both sides of the aisle, both Conservative and Liberal, as well as a former chief justice, Beverley McLachlin, all wrote a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, which was published as an open letter. It says, “There is no more important responsibility for the federal government than protecting Canadians against all threats—foreign and domestic”. Then it goes on to say, “Now is the time to fully discharge the commitments we have made to our allies and partners in sharing the burden of collective security, commitments which are essential to safeguard our peace, prosperity and way of life [for all Canadians]”.
In that quote, they are referring to the commitment we made to NATO, at the Wales Summit in 2014, that we would spend our 2% within 10 years. That was nine years ago. We know the NATO summit in Vilnius is coming up this July. Of course, there is going to be extra pressure on the Government of Canada, under the Prime Minister, to come up with that 2%. We know from the Pentagon leaks that happened just recently that the Prime Minister said there is no way Canada is ever going to reach that 2% commitment.
Our other collective security agreement that is important to us is NORAD and NORAD modernization. We know the Americans are concerned about that. The letter from the Conference of Defence Associations Institute further reads, “Years of restraint, cost cutting, downsizing and deferred investments, have meant that Canada's defence capabilities have atrophied.” They have atrophied so badly under the Liberals that, today, we are 10,000 troops short of where we should be to be able to fulfill the commitments we have here domestically, and for what we are able to do in NATO, especially the missions we have undertaken as the leadership in the enhanced forward position in setting up a battalion in Latvia and leading that battalion. We are slow in getting our numbers up to over 750 troops.
We know we were not able to participate in the recent military air force exercises that 26 nations of NATO participated in. Canada was a no-show because we do not have the equipment or the personnel to fly the planes we have today; we are short on pilots.
We know that we are short on military procurement, although there have been some announcements which have recently come from the government, and we are going ahead with the Canadian surface combatants that were originally ordered by the former Conservative government. We know that the F-35s are finally being bought. The Prime Minister said, in 2015, that he would never buy the F-35s, but finally, we are purchasing them. However, we do not necessarily have the right people doing the procurement; according to the Conference of Defence Associations Institute and other sources, we know we are short 4,200 military procurement experts within the Department of National Defence, as well as at PSPC Canada.
We see this happening. We are hearing stories coming from the front in Latvia, where our troops are actually having to go out and buy their own helmets, hearing protection, radio communications equipment and flak jackets because the kits they are getting from the Canadian Armed Forces under the Liberals are inadequate. In a letter that was recently leaked, one commander wrote to Ottawa saying that it is embarrassing, as they have seen the Danes walking around in new Canadian equipment that was purchased from Canadian companies, the very equipment that our troops should be using and wearing. Unfortunately, the government has not been able to carry off those procurements, leaving our troops vulnerable and embarrassed. Of course, we also know that our troops in Poland were not provided with any meal vouchers, and they are out of pocket for thousands of dollars that the government has not been able to reimburse them for. That is shameful.
711 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/19/23 8:54:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his empathetic agreement that our government has no greater responsibility than to keep Canadians safe. If there is one thing that everyone here can agree on, it is that the threats we face today are many, complex and rapidly evolving. Our military must evolve with them.
That is why we have been working to ensure that our brave people in uniform have what they need to defend this country and its citizens, now and into the future. Since launching Canada's defence policy of “Strong, Secure, Engaged” in 2017, we have committed to invest significantly in our people and in the equipment, infrastructure and programs that set them up for success.
Our defence policy commits to increasing Canada's defence spending by 70%. Through SSE, our military has been able to count on sustained and reliable investments to meet evolving security challenges, with a funding model that offers the flexibility to adapt to changing situations.
In January we announced that Canada is acquiring a fleet of 88 F-35 fighter jets with the United States government, and Lockheed Martin with Pratt & Whitney. These state-of-the-art jets will ensure our air force's ability to protect Canada from a broad range of threats for decades to come.
In March, the Prime Minister also announced a $7.3-billion investment to upgrade and build new infrastructure that would house this fleet of F-35 fighter jets.
This is just one part of a broader, nearly $40-billion plan to modernize Canada's NORAD capabilities, in close collaboration with our partners in the United States.
At sea, we continue to work on delivering a new fleet of 15 Canadian surface combatants for our navy. Three Arctic and offshore patrol ships have been delivered to the navy, with three more in production. On land, we are equipping the Canadian army with a new and modern fleet of 360 armoured combat support vehicles. These will serve as ambulances, mobile repair and vehicle recovery vehicles, as well as engineer support vehicles and command posts for both domestic and international operations.
We will continue to move quickly because the threats we face continue to evolve rapidly. No matter the domain and no matter the challenge, we are committed to ensuring our armed forces have the modern equipment they need to protect Canada's interests, as well as global peace and security.
407 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/19/23 8:58:38 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, of course we are not just investing in equipment; we are also investing in our people.
Everyone in uniform deserves a workplace where they feel protected, respected and empowered. That is why we are taking concrete steps across the defence team to eliminate unacceptable behaviours like sexual misconduct, harassment and discrimination.
In her first biannual report, which was released last month, external monitor Madame Jocelyne Therrien found:
A significant level of tangible activity within National Defence as it responds to the hundreds of recommendations from external reviews on sexual misconduct in CAF ranks.
We are also investing in our women and men in uniform. Our government has raised military pay and benefits and is spending over $140 million on improving the CAF health care system. We have increased funding for military family resource centres and added mental health and counselling supports for military families.
Canada's defence policy makes it clear that—
155 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
