Monsieur le président, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to brief you today on Operation Mobile, Canada's military contribution to the international efforts to respond to the crisis in Libya.
As you will recall, violent protests started erupting in Libya in the middle of February. In response to the emerging crisis, the government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, began a concerted effort to evacuate Canadians. The Canadian Forces were subsequently asked to assist, and on February 25 the Canadian Forces began their operations, known as Operation Mobile.
Canada's contribution consisted of two large C-17 Globemaster strategic transport aircraft and two C-130 Hercules tactical transport planes, and about 100 personnel that were dispatched to the region to assist in these evacuations.
This was done in concert with the Non-Combattant Evacuation Coordination Centre that was stood up under UK leadership in Malta.
The government also directed that HMCS Charlottetown, a Halifax-class frigate carrying about 240 crew members and a CH-124 Sea King helicopter, deploy from Halifax on March 2 to augment the Canadian Forces presence already in the central Mediterranean in order to offer support to any potential evacuation needs as well as for other regional events.
Over 11 days of operations between Malta International Airport and Libyan airfields, the Canadian Forces contributed to a whole-of-government effort, which saw the safe evacuation of 191 Canadians and citizens of other nations from Libya aboard Canadian Forces flights. The aircraft and their support personnel were subsequently withdrawn when the evacuation mission was no longer required.
There are two UNSC resolutions on the situation in Libya guiding international actions.
Adopted on February 26, the first UN Security Council Resolution 1970 called for an international arms embargo on Libya and the freezing of the assets of individuals close to the Gadhafi regime, or implicated in major violations of human rights.
The second UN Security Council resolution, resolution 1973, adopted on March 17, consists of three main elements: protection of civilians, enforcing a no-fly zone, and enforcement of the arms embargo.
Following resolution 1973, the government directed that six CF-18 fighter aircraft deploy to Italy along with their support personnel to assist allied efforts to implement and enforce this resolution.
You should have before you a slide that lays out the current distribution of our forces in the region. With the support and coordination elements we now have roughly 400 personnel in the area.
HMCS Charlottetown is currently assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, a NATO ready response force that is conducting a surveillance and presence mission in the central Mediterranean near Libya.
With the decisions taken in the North Atlantic Council yesterday, we expect that this mission will soon transition into an arms embargo enforcement mission to deter and prevent any movement of arms and mercenaries to Libya. The Charlottetown and its Sea King helicopter are well trained and are ready for maritime interdiction operations. I can certainly explain those further, if you desire.
The six CF-18 Hornets and their supporting CC-150 Polaris tankers and support personnel are in Trapani, Italy, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sylvain Ménard. They are now supporting the no-fly zone and protection of Libyans missions. This activity is under a Canadian Air Component Commander, Colonel Alain Pelletier who has been colocated with our coalition allies, in the coalitions air operations centre in Ramstein, Germany. Currently, coalition operations are being coordinated by the U.S.
I just want to mention that in looking at the slide you'll see a discrepancy compared to the announcements that were made today during the media briefing. There is in fact a seventh CF-18 in the region at the moment. It was provided in order to have sufficient aircraft during the transit to theatre so that we would have six in theatre should one of them break down. In fact, one of them did have a technical issue. That seventh airplane should return soon, along with one of the two tankers; it will need that support to return to Canada.
Canada's fighter aircraft and their crews are ready and trained to participate both in defensive and in offensive air missions. To date, they have flown both: defensive counter air missions, to react to potential air threats in Libyan airspace, and offensive missions, to reduce the threat that the Libyan pro-regime forces pose, both to the Libyan people and to coalition forces involved in the enforcement of the no-fly zone.
In the past 24 hours, Canadian aircraft have dropped precision-guided bombs on a ground target: a weapons storage facility. Some video of this was in fact provided during the media briefing today.
All missions are assigned by the coalition, but are approved by Canadian commanders and follow the Chief of Defence Staff's approved rules of engagement and Canadian and international law, including the laws of armed conflict. Major-General Lawson will be able to answer any questions related to capability and training of these highly trained and effective pilots, and Brigadier-General Cathcart can address any issues or questions you may have associated with the legal aspects of our operations.
There will also be a National Coordination Component at NATO Headquarters in Naples. This team of about 20 personnel under the leadership of Brigadier-General André Viens will be responsible for ensuring that Canadian activities are well synchronized with those of our allies.
We are ready to answer your questions. Thank you.