National Defence Committee on March 2nd, 2009

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Thank you for being here today. We very much appreciate it.

There is barely a year left before the Vancouver Olympic Games, and we note that the $175 million projected security budget has not doubled, tripled or quadrupled, but is in fact five times more than projected. The figure now is close to a billion dollars. I'd like to know why the costs have gone up so steeply?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

As I said, sir, it's difficult for me to identify the reasons for that overall budget increase.

The Canadian Forces-Department of National Defence budget is really what I'm able to comment upon. From the time of the requirement for the skill sets the Canadian Forces would bring to this in response to an RCMP request, that was $212 million, and it has remained at $212 million.

On the growth of budgets elsewhere, I think there are other folks who are much better positioned than I to tell you how their budgets are unfolding. I can tell you how ours is. We continue to be on track for what we said this was going to cost.

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Perhaps you will be unable to answer this question as well: initially, under an agreement concluded with British Columbia on December 8, 2006, the costs were to be shared equally. Recently, we have seen that the government will have to cover 72 rather than 50% of the costs, as well as any cost overruns. Under the new agreement with British Columbia, Canadian taxpayers are going to foot the bill.

Can you tell us why that agreement was reached?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

Again, sir, I am not the fellow who is going to be able to tell you that information. The arrangements between the federal government and the Province of British Columbia as to a cost-sharing basis are well outside my lane of expertise.

What I can identify in some detail is the amount of money we need to be able to conduct the mission set. Beyond that, I think there are probably others who would be more appropriate to ask that question to.

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

I'll move on to a different topic.

On July 25, 2008, a report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service provided information on groups opposed to the Olympic Games, something that raised some concern regarding potential violent demonstrations.

Have you received further information on this?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

I'm afraid I don't have it in front of me, sir. I'm not sure of the CSIS report talking about violent demonstrations.

Do you mean demonstrations anticipated during the Olympics themselves?

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

According to the report, groups opposed to the Olympic Games could organize violent demonstrations, and that is something which is raising concern within the government.

One group of civil liberty defence organizations mentioned that there could be violent reprisals. Do you have any further information, or do you have any particular concerns about violent demonstrations by opposition groups?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

Sir, I don't have any more specific information than you have.

I would say that in terms of such demonstrations, I would not anticipate there being a substantive role for the Canadian Forces. Undeniably it's within the mandate of both the RCMP and municipal police forces to be able to address that circumstance. It is not an eventuality that I would anticipate the Canadian Forces being involved in. I would anticipate there being sufficient resources from a policing perspective to be able to address it.

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Have you received any specific requests relating to security from the United States? As you said earlier, the border is very close. Have there been any particular requests that might lead to changes in the RCMP's or Canadian Forces' initial plans?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

Sir, I can't answer on whether there have been any specific requests between United States law enforcement agencies and the RCMP. I am aware, in our conversations right from the start with the United States, that there have not been any requests for things to change. But collaboration means that we understand what they will intend with respect to deployment and capabilities. They understand the same things from us.

I have no doubt that both Canada and the United States, certainly both militaries, are ensuring that what we're doing is posturing in the most effective and efficient way we can. That hasn't been in response to a request from one to the other to do certain things, but as we have developed plans, we have been engaged in a process of sharing information to the greatest degree we can so that we're aware of what the other is going to do.

I can't think of a specific example, but I have no doubt that, understanding what's going to happen south of the border, we'll have also identified what we think is necessary to do here, and vice versa. But that hasn't been as the result of a request one way or the other.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rick Casson]

Thank you.

We'll go back over to the government side.

Mr. Payne.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have some questions around the ISU. I understand that certainly it maintains overall command and control over the Olympics and security. Obviously the RCMP and Public Safety have the lead on this whole file.

Can you explain exactly how Canadian Forces operates in this command structure? What are the lines of authority? How does Joint Task Force Games fit into the ISU? And what kind of backup communications systems do you have in place in case something falters with the plan you already have?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

From an organizational perspective, first of all, the integrated security unit is located in Richmond, as you're aware. There are elements of many other agencies located in there. From a military perspective, the commander of Joint Task Force Games is co-located, so there is a military headquarters that allows coordination between the two of them. There is also an air operations centre, which coordinates the activity between the RCMP's requirements and those of NORAD. So there is a fairly complicated organizational structure in place.

But it's not simply the military and the RCMP. It's also to allow other agencies that need to be represented within the ISU so that it can be coordinated. Undoubtedly, that was one of the major issues we wanted to come to grips with during the live play of Exercise Silver. We did that very well. That means we identified lots of things that we wanted to do better. In terms of the communications structure that is in place from a primary basis to satisfy that, we identified some problems with the primary means by which we'd do it--and we're working on a fix--and there are methods in place so that there are alternate operation centres. Should there be a problem, we would be able to distribute and exercise from alternate locations. And that is also something we will be further exercising, not in a whole-of-government sense in a major exercise but in terms of things the RCMP and the Canadian Forces are doing independently of all the other exercises that are ongoing.

The ISU is a complicated beast. It's never been done to this level of complexity before, and it's working well.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rick Casson]

You have two minutes left.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

I've had some indication that there is probably going to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 4,500 troops involved in the Olympic security exercises. The question is, how is the department doing in terms of practical realities such as housing resources, food, and transportation, and will the military be renting out houses, hotels, and motels? What's the field base going to look like?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

Sir, 4,500 is the full-blown number of Canadian Forces members either earmarked for deployment into the region or who we will put at specific notice to move in response. That doesn't mean all 4,500 will deploy into the Vancouver and the Whistler areas. There will be a number forward deployed. But 4,500 is the entire asset base that we have currently identified to be able to support all of the mission sets we have in place. For those we deploy, some will deploy into and some will deploy closer to the region where they're currently based.

In terms of the means by which we're going to accommodate people, there is a range of means that we will use. Some will go into our own facilities. We have some fairly substantial lay-down areas that we can use. We're also going to lease some provincial facilities in remote locations, which is where we need to put some substantive numbers of the Canadian Forces. And we will share accommodations in some cases with the RCMP, both commercially and potentially with accommodation vessels that we will put in the right places. So there's a whole range of options going into place to be able to ensure that contracts are in place, the structure is there, and that we're able to do the bed-downs we will need within the region.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rick Casson]

Thank you.

We'll go over to Ms. Neville, and then back to the government.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you very much.

Thank you for being here today.

I have a quick point of clarification. I'm assuming, by your conversation, that the security you're outlining for the Olympics includes the Paralympics. Is that correct?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

Yes, Ma'am, it does.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Okay. I just wanted some clarity.

My colleague earlier asked you a question about the increase in the numbers of people coming in and the issues related to human trafficking and prostitution. You may be aware, or maybe not, that this has been dealt with in a number of committees of Parliament as well as in the House of Commons. Are you undertaking any specific security measures to address the issue?

And then I have one more question.

[VAdm D. McFadden]

The Canadian Forces has not been requested for any specific mission set that would address that, so it is being handled directly by policing agencies and by Border Services. We don't have a mission set that would engage in the Canadian Forces participation.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you for the clarification.

My other question was one that Mr. Payne began questioning you on, which was the integrated security unit. It sounds like a very complicated beast that you're dealing with. Is it a continuous group of people? Is there movement in and out? Does it meet regularly? Could you provide a bit more about the operations of it?

[VAdm D. McFadden]

Certainly, Ma'am. It is an operations centre, which means it stands up; it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I will give you one example of how the Canadian Forces is developing its capabilities, some of which will be embedded within the ISU. Other government departments have different rates at which they're standing up.

We are at the moment in the Joint Task Force Games structure. So the military structure on the west coast that we're standing up specifically to support security requirements of the games is at the moment modelled for a planning headquarters. So it's engaged in many of the things we've been talking about. Over this summer it will shift from being a planning organization to a conduct of operations. That means we augment the number of people so that they become not just planners, but they do some work, run an exercise, and then go and study it again. But we dramatically increase the number of watch standers, people who are on that operations floor on a watch rotation basis.

The ISU will function from the latter part of 2009 in an operational mode, where it's able to be fully closed up and conducting intelligence coordination--so information that's coming into it. It will be processing that information. It will be assessing what that information means. It will be planning contingency operations that need to go on, and it will be prepared to control operations if they are required.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

How many people are involved?