Thank you.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I thank you for the invitation to join you today.
Joint Task Force North, or JTFN, encompasses a vast region, including over 4 million square kilometres, about the size of western Europe, and including over 75% of Canada's coastline.
Our role in JTFN is to prepare for and conduct operations in the north. These may be defence of sovereignty operations or they may be safety and security operations in the service of other government departments, based on their requests for assistance.
In terms of our organizational assets to accomplish this role, we have several units based primarily in Yellowknife. We have JTFN headquarters and its area support unit with the mandate to maintain situational awareness for the region and to have the capacity to plan, coordinate, command, execute, and sustain operations. As well as maintaining a small liaison presence in both Whitehorse and Iqaluit, our region also possesses NORAD infrastructure such as the north warning system and CFS Alert.
Additionally, there is 440 Transport Squadron, generating its four Twin Otter aircraft to provide vital tactical air transport support for many northern mission profiles.
There is a Canadian army reserve unit, C Company of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, that is based there as well.
Finally, 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group headquarters commands its 60 patrols from Yellowknife. These patrols, including some 1,850 rangers, based in 60 of the 74 communities found in the JTFN area of responsibility, are our eyes and ears throughout the region, and mentor and guide southern-based military elements when they come north to train or operate.
1 CRPG headquarters also administers the Junior Canadian Rangers patrols in 41 communities.
To be ready for our assigned role and missions, we monitor our region, plan and execute operations to train and improve our capabilities, and foster great working relationships with a number of northern partners.
Regional situational awareness is accomplished via a number of means: our Canadian Rangers, using a number of military systems; by carrying out specific air and maritime surveillance and presence missions; and by sharing information with partners from other military units, allied military formations, and other government departments.
To improve our readiness and foster partnerships with all regional, federal, territorial, and aboriginal and first nations stakeholders—and amongst other goals—we routinely plan and execute four main operations a year, primary of which are Nanook and NUNALIVUT.
Of course, there are many challenges to operating in our Canadian north. Mother Nature challenges us with great geographical distances to cover and monitor and with many different types of challenging terrain in which to operate.
An evolving climate is raising new concerns for many communities in the region, which in some cases may translate into future issues requiring military disaster assistance response. Similarly, human activity in the region is increasing, which may also lead to high tempo for military responses to certain scenarios.
For these potential challenges, our deliberately planned operations permit us to better prepare for them by anticipating them, exercising through those scenarios, and learning valuable lessons along the way.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our approach to military operations and readiness for Canada's north.
I would be pleased to attempt to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you.
[Witness speaks in native language]