That's clear, yes.
Evidence of meeting #12 for Afghanistan in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ground.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #12 for Afghanistan in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ground.
A video is available from Parliament.
8 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
That's clear, yes.
8 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Okay. I'm distressed by that answer as well.
Maybe you can give me a quick answer. If you were asked, would you be able to engage and provide support to bring further Afghans to safety?
8 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
Mr. Chair, it depends on the nature of the ask, where it would be, the numbers, the security situation—
8 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
What third country?
8 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Madam Kwan, one person at a time, please. This time is up, almost. Let General Eyre finish the conversation.
Please, go ahead.
8 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
As with any request for assistance, we would have to do an assessment. What is the nature of the request? What is the security situation? What is being asked of us, and then what options could we provide?
8 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you, Madam Kwan.
We'll go to Mr. Hallan for five minutes.
Please, go ahead.
May 9th, 2022 / 8 p.m.
Conservative
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, leadership team, not just for being here but for your incredible service to Canada.
I wanted to follow up on a question by my colleague, Mr. Ruff.
We know that the government went into caretaker mode on August 15 when the election was called. Were there any changes in responses or coordination in any way, after that point?
8 p.m.
Conservative
8 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
Mr. Chair, no, the briefings that we would give—briefing up—continued on a daily basis. The interdepartmental coordination continued on a daily basis. As I said previously, the biggest impact was on our ability to publicly communicate.
8 p.m.
Conservative
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
Was that because you were told not to do it? What was the reason behind that?
8 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
My understanding is that, in the middle of the election, we were told not to.
8:05 p.m.
Deputy Minister of National Defence, Department of National Defence
If I could, when an election is called, you effectively go into what's called the “caretaker convention,” which effectively puts limits around what gets publicly communicated. It's less than when you're not in caretaker mode.
8:05 p.m.
Conservative
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
UNHCR testified at this committee that they had briefed the government on January 2021 that Kabul was going to fall. Was your department ever made aware of that at all?
8:05 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
Mr. Chair, I wasn't aware of the UNHCR briefing, but as I said earlier, no one can forecast with 100% certainty that any action is going to happen. I mentioned earlier what our own intelligence assessment was.
8:05 p.m.
Conservative
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
To the best of your knowledge, of the interpreters who have been applying for these programs, have any interpreters who were identified as ones who served our country been deemed a security risk at all at your department's level?
8:05 p.m.
Gen Wayne D. Eyre
Mr. Chair, not to my knowledge.
8:05 p.m.
Conservative