Mr. Speaker, I would like to start with a speech, followed by a few questions.
Hon. members, I have the pleasure of being with you this evening to take part in debate in a committee of the whole on the 2006-07 estimates for the Department of National Defence.
No one doubts that the present government is determined to rebuild the Canadian Forces. This is an important point to note, when we consider previous budgets, in which the equipment of the Canadian Forces had essentially been allowed to go to rack and ruin.
We made a commitment to do more for our soldiers, our sailors and our airmen and women. Our plan for the Canadian Forces is a guarantee of success both for the forces and for Canadians.
We demand a lot from the members of our military. They are ready to put their lives in danger to protect us, to protect Canada and its people, to secure our sovereignty on land and water and of course in the air, and together with the United States to protect North America. With climate change beginning to occur, this issue has taken on special meaning, particularly in terms of protecting the north. Our military also defends our interests both here and abroad by carrying out humanitarian missions that are the pride and joy of our country and of Canadians, as the blue helmets do.
The present government is making sure that the Canadian Forces get what they need to do their job.
This evening, we have been focusing on what the Canadian Forces do outside Canada, and specifically on their important mission in Afghanistan. In fact, I was at Jean-Lesage International Airport in Quebec City last week to mark the departure of 71 soldiers from Valcartier.
It is important that our troops both here and abroad have the equipment they need. It is also important that we guarantee the security of our own country first. That is why I would now like to address the subject of protecting our territory, the territory of Canada, so that we can secure our sovereignty, and about the role of the Canadian Forces in that regard.
As our Minister of National Defence clearly described earlier in this debate, our government has established three strategic outcomes for national defence. The initiatives that we have taken in the north have a direct impact on those strategic outcomes.
The present government has promised to make Canada’s security and sovereignty in the north one of its priorities. This is an important part of what is called the “Canada First” defence strategy. I am happy to say that we are currently working to put that promise into action.
Today, I would like to point out to my colleagues in the House the important measures that we are taking in that regard, measures that go beyond what was provided in the previous government’s estimates. I would like to explain why it is important that we give the Arctic our full attention.
Why do we need to guarantee security in the Arctic?
As the member for Lévis—Bellechasse, it is easy for me to answer the question, because in 1906 Captain Bernier took possession of the Arctic archipelago in the name of the Government of Canada. The Arctic covers a vast area. It accounts for 40% of our territory and more than 100,000 Canadians live there, many of them aboriginal people and Inuit.
The Arctic is also a region of growing strategic importance. There are about 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Arctic, and 25 trillion cubic feet of gas hydrates—enough energy to supply the needs of North America for nearly 200 years. This shows the full strategic importance of Captain Bernier’s discovery and of his act in taking possession of the area 100 years ago.
In addition, between 1998 and 2002, $13.8 million carats of diamonds, with a value of $2.8 billion, were mined in the Northwest Territories, and a great deal more remain underground.
Consequently, in the coming years, we expect these natural resources to lead to increased commercial activity in the north. This will result in an increase in commercial shipping. As well, it is expected that it will be possible to travel the Northwest Passage fairly quickly.
These economic activities in the north will give rise to new risks and challenges to be addressed such as development of gas and oil, diamond and other resources, environmental protection, man-made disasters and illegal transnational navigation.
In addition, the increased activity will lead to increased demand for search and rescue services.
Although other government departments and agencies—such as the Canadian Coast Guard which also has significant needs in terms of equipment, and the RCMP—will continue to be responsible for most of these matters, the Canadian Forces must be able to support them and to provide assistance to other federal departments when called upon.
We also know that security issues have changed and, as a responsible government, we must have better intelligence about the people who enter the country through the north and vessels navigating our coastal waters in that region.
We have come to the point where we must have a presence in the north in order to guarantee our security and our sovereignty, but also to protect our economic interests in this region of the country which, to date, has been underdeveloped.
The reasons to be in the Arctic are clear and that is why we are making a strong commitment to the area. Within Canada Command, the Canadian Forces have joined the Joint Task Force North to serve the Arctic region. I am pleased to note that since this government has taken office, the duration and frequency of Canadian Forces exercises and sovereignty patrols in the north have increased.
For example, this past spring only, 75 Canadian Rangers, organized into five patrols, travelled over 4,500 kilometres across the Arctic to assert our sovereignty. This was the longest ranger patrol to date.
In August this year, we conducted two sovereignty operations, Operation Beaufort in the western Arctic and Operation Lancaster in the eastern Arctic. There is another operation, Exercise Narwhal 07, that is planned for April of next year.
We are there and our Rangers are there, but let me say that these developments, while encouraging, are just the beginning. This government will do more and we need to do more.
In the months to come, our department and government will put the finishing touches on our Canada First sovereignty strategy. It will explain in detail how we intend to increase the forces’ ability to assert our sovereignty over the Arctic and ensure our security.
This government will ask Canada Command to regularly carry out operations and exercises all over the Arctic. We are studying a number of options, including the following: open an army training centre in the Arctic so that most of our soldiers are prepared for operations in the north and are experienced at them; build docking and refuelling facilities for the navy in the Arctic so that Canada has its own ability to meet the needs of its military forces throughout the Arctic; increase the number of Canadian rangers and the frequency of their patrols, as we have done; and improve our surveillance capabilities, especially through the integrated use of satellites, airplanes and pilotless aircraft. The government is also trying to find a practical way of detecting traffic in strategic routes and passages.
That is not all. Just a few months ago, this government announced plans to proceed with the following major procurement projects. Among others in the Arctic, our Minister of National Defence announced the acquisition of three joint support ships The House will certainly agree with me that, in addition to ensuring our sovereignty, these projects will enable our naval industry, which was neglected by the previous government, to make its expertise available to assist our country and help it assert its sovereignty.
The government also hopes to acquire 2,300 medium-size logistics trucks. Gone are the days when people said of our trucks that the oil pans leaked. There will also be 16 medium- to heavy-lift helicopters, four strategic lift aircraft, and 17 tactical lift aircraft. This equipment is needed to enable a great country like ours to assert its sovereignty.
Much of this new equipment will help our forces conduct humanitarian operations and missions all over Canada, including in the Arctic.
We will give our troops the resources and equipment they need, and which the previous government deprived them of, thereby endangering our security. Allow me to pay homage to the 71 soldiers who departed for Afghanistan last week. They left to defend our values.
