Evidence of meeting #5 for National Defence in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was exercise.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Obviously there is no suggestion that we are going to use tanks in Vancouver, other than fuel tanks. Chinooks were never in the plan for Vancouver in the first place?
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
That's correct, sir.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
With respect to tactical control of radars, is it true to say those radars have been used not just for training of F-18s but in fact have deployed many times to places in the north and around the country to actually support operations?
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
Yes, sir.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
They are.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
With respect to command and control for air assets, you didn't mention the existing military-civil radar surveillance system, and I want to confirm that this system, which is currently available to NORAD, is currently being used by NORAD and it doesn't change. That system is still there and will be used in Vancouver.
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
Yes, sir.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Is it also true that AWACS will be a part of the air surveillance plan in the Vancouver Olympics?
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
I wouldn't be able to answer that directly. I have no doubt there will be a program in place already worked through to ensure aerial surveillance is not a difficulty.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Are we concerned about any aerial incursions by the Russians for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics? Are you concerned?
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
No, sir, we're not planning....
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Okay. With respect to the capability of CF-18s and F-15s—you may not be aware of this, Admiral; I suspect you are, but for the edification of others. The CF-18 has just undergone a very expensive upgrade to radar fire-controlled communication systems, and so on, that brings it up to the level in that respect of virtually the F-22 and certainly the F-15. We have a variety of airplanes that will be participating in the air surveillance of the Olympics—CF-18s, F-15s if required, F-16s if required. Do you have any concerns about the technological capability and efficiency of those assets?
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
Sir, the primary air intercept platform would be a CF-18, and there is absolutely no concern with respect to the ability of that aircraft to fulfill this mission set.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
If they can do a pretty good job against the Russians north of Inuvik, they can probably do a pretty good job against civil airplanes or whatever may be, probably inadvertently, entering restricted airspace.
4:20 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
I would agree with that, sir.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
I'll turn it over to Mr. Payne and let him carry on in the next round as well.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
LaVar Payne Conservative Medicine Hat, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Hawn.
Welcome, gentlemen.
In terms of the Olympics, obviously this is an opportunity for Canada to showcase the Olympics here in Canada and our Canadian government and our security that you folks are planning, as well as the province of B.C. and the city of Vancouver. I'm expecting this to be a very, very popular event as well as an extremely well-handled security effort.
I did have a question in regard to your opening remarks. You talked about the security architecture that has been developed over a number of years. I'm not sure if that was in reference to this document that you handed out. I'm not sure what page that is on.
4:25 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
It was slide 5.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
LaVar Payne Conservative Medicine Hat, AB
Yes, it's slide 5. Is that the same document we're talking about, then?
4:25 p.m.
VAdm D. McFadden
Yes, sir, but it's more than simply an organizational chart. What's contained in what is a fairly complicated diagram, I admit, are some agencies that have actually been established and are being modelled and exercised. I would hope that as we mature the architecture it's not just for the conduct of the games. We are developing a more comprehensive means by which we do these security special events at the national level. I expect that those things will remain in existence because people will understand the utility of doing them.
For example, as opposed to the deputy minister and assistant deputy minister level of meetings occurring as a result of a crisis, there is the intent for this type of operation such that they will meet on a regular basis, so that information sharing is already ongoing, and if something happens you're not bringing everybody up to speed from a cold start. That is a substantive change in the governance mechanism of how, at the national level, people would be animated by events as they are unfolding.
So in my view, there are a lot of things that are becoming much more mature by the means of exercising them. In Exercise Silver, we exercise, both at the ADM and the DM level, the actual conduct of those groupings that are brought together, not just for crisis response, which is what we've always done up until now, but so that they are animated by the events as they develop. It's a warm start to any problem. That's an advantage over what we had in the past.
