Thank you, Mr. Chair and members.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee today. I'm pleased to be here with Minister Kenney and, of course, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and officials as well.
Like Minister Kenney, I would like to preface my remarks by extending my condolences to the family of Sergeant Doiron, who was tragically killed in Iraq this past Friday. His death is a sombre reminder that the pursuit of international peace and security is not without risk. I wish to also extend a speedy recovery to his colleagues who were wounded during the incident.
It's a privilege to be here as Associate Minister of National Defence. I'm honoured to return to this department, working with great people, endeavouring to serve great causes on behalf of our country and free nations.
My role as Associate Minister of National Defence encompasses a number of very specific areas. First, it involves making sure our sovereignty is exercised in the north. The role of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic is clearly defined by the Canada First defence strategy. With increased commercial shipping, natural resource exploration, and tourism in the north, it is ever more critical that National Defence has the right surveillance and monitoring capabilities, emergency response options, and appropriate policies in place to enable the Canadian Armed Forces to fulfill its responsibilities in the Arctic.
Another major responsibility of my portfolio is information technology security and foreign intelligence, which serve to defend our nation's security, values, and interests. While this environment might be more abstract, its effect is unequivocally tangible. The Internet and communications technologies have transformed almost every aspect of our lives. These advances in how we communicate with each other have in fact produced incredible opportunities, but have also meant new vulnerabilities and challenges.
While the Department of Public Safety maintains the lead for implementing the Government of Canada's cyber-security strategy, the Communications Security Establishment, or CSE, has a vital role in protecting and defending federal government systems. National Defence also plays a supporting role, and has great interest in protecting its systems against cyber-threats given the military's reliance on cyberspace to enable its operations. As we have seen recently, cyberspace is progressively more of a target for both terrorists and malicious cyber-actors. Government of Canada networks are attacked millions of times every single day. Some of these provoking acts are done by foreign states like Russia, which seek to expand their influence at the expense of Canadian interests. We must remain vigilant and we must protect Canadian sovereignty from those who would do us harm.
Finally, Mr. Chair and members, let me turn to the relatively minor housekeeping items in the estimates before you that pertain to the Communications Security Establishment. You will note the transfer of two generators to Canadian Forces Base Trenton from CSE in the amount of $600,000. These generators were no longer required by CSE after the construction of the new headquarters. There was also a $10,000 transfer from Public Works to CSE for reimbursement on the transformation of pay administration. For the safety and privacy of its employees, CSE will use its own payroll system rather than be integrated into the government-wide system.
With that, Mr. Chair and members, I will bring my remarks to a close. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you.