National Defence committee  Issues of transformation would need to be raised to others, because that's not my area. What I can tell you is that when you look at the domestic scene in a situation when it comes to these crises, we've always been able to put together the forces that we've needed, both regular

National Defence committee  When you look at the capabilities of the men and women in uniform in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu at Montérégie at the time, clearly the capabilities needed were there, which is why they came from Valcartier--to have mobility and vehicles to move around. The issue and challenges in

National Defence committee  When it comes to the issue of terrorism within Canada, that's clearly the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Department of Public Safety working together, so it's a question you'd want to pose to them in detail about how ready they are. From a military

National Defence committee  Yes. When you look at the threats and hazards raised, yes, we are very deeply involved when it comes to issues of cyber. Canada Command maintains a watch, but we are not the lead agency and department, nor within the Department of National Defence are we the lead organization. We

National Defence committee  If I could share the lessons learned grosso modo, the first lesson is to ensure that you have strong relationships with your provincial and territorial partners, which we did. So for us, it's a lesson that we need to continue what we're already doing well in that area. The secon

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. First, when you look at how to be ready, there are two aspects. The first is to have what we call situation awareness: knowing what's going on across Canada. What that speaks to is a need to have relationships and to be connected with the provinces, t

National Defence committee  Well, I—

National Defence committee  Yes, Mr. Chairman. I was only aware of what you raised when I read it in the paper as well. What I can tell you from the Canada Command perspective is that I haven't seen it. We've always had the troops we needed. Even if there are middle-level individuals, they're always there

National Defence committee  The first one speaks to the strength of the military education training system, which is focused on producing individuals, men and women in uniform, who in the end can think on the spot. That's what we're moving towards. Where we're moving towards and where we have moved is that,

National Defence committee  Again to provide a framework, the first is that we actually have a headquarters in Yellowknife. It is one of the regional joint task forces commanded by a general, and he's responsible for that big area and responsible to maintain good and effective relationships with his territo

National Defence committee  I will answer the second question first. As we note in Canada Command—and I think it very much drives home the point of the question—what you have is individuals, men and women in uniform, who come to work every day not just in Ottawa but across the country in regional headquart

National Defence committee  It's an interesting comment. What we find with our men and women in uniform is that when they're at home supporting this home game, you'll find their morale is very high, as it is on any mission around the world, but they're very happy to be supporting Canadians. They really do l

National Defence committee  Monsieur le président, perhaps I could get a clarification. When you talk about the drawdown in St. John's, which drawdown are you speaking about?

National Defence committee  The drawdown speaks to the issue of the coast guard looking at its centres. It's a question you're going to have to present to the coast guard and pose to them. I would come back and tell you that as we mentioned here earlier, as we move ahead in time what we are finding is tha

National Defence committee  First, to provide a little bit more context, if you take a look at the entire spectrum of what we need to do, it covers from safety and security into defence. Most of our effort right now is focused on that safety side, and that's supporting other government departments and age