Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee.
lt is very much a pleasure to be here again before you, albeit in a different role as the deputy minister of National Defence. lt has been a little over seven weeks since I took up my new duties, and I will confess that it has been an extremely busy introduction.
It is a role that I am honoured to have been asked to assume at such a very interesting and demanding time. I have devoted over 35 years of my career to public service and this is a job which will allow me to continue to contribute to the safety and well-being of Canada and Canadians.
Both my father and my grandfather served in the armed forces in the two World Wars, so it is indeed a great privilege for me to work in partnership and in support of the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces.
I thought I'd take a few moments to tell you briefly about my background. I have worked in areas of policy, programs, and regulation in a number of areas in the federal government: environment, transportation, infrastructure, national security, and now defence. I have a bachelor's degree in science and a master's in business administration. I did start my career early on in the federal government, in the field of natural resources and forestry.
I was involved in implementing policies and programs to improve forestry practices in Canada that supported an important part of our economy.
I then worked in the broader field of environmental policy, including mining and energy, and later as Director General of Environmental Affairs at Transport Canada where we led efforts to reduce pollution from all modes of transportation.
After I was asked to roll out a new highway infrastructure program at Transport and oversee the agencies that manage our international bridges, it gave me a good understanding of the challenges that Canada faces in managing its border with its largest trading partner.
In 2004, I became the associate assistant deputy minister of safety and security at Transport, with a particular focus on transportation security. It was a very challenging time, a couple of years after 9/11, as I led the development of a transportation security strategy for the department. I was was very much involved in managing responses to threats to our transportation system, including, quite literally, the overnight banning of liquids and gels on flights as a result of the threats to international aircraft, and our response in Canada to the subway bombings in London.
I was asked to move to Infrastructure Canada where first, as assistant and then associate deputy minister, I helped launch the first Building Canada Plan.
Then, when the recession hit in 2007, we were tasked with managing billions of dollars in infrastructure funding under the government's economic stimulus programs. That was a tremendous experience in working with provinces, municipal governments, and non-government partners to fund thousands of extremely worthwhile infrastructure projects contributing to Canada's economic recovery and helping to create jobs for Canadians.
More recently, and as this committee knows, I moved back into the field of national security, serving three years as the chief of the Communications Security Establishment, which was part of the National Defence portfolio.
This agency plays a vital role in gathering foreign intelligence and protecting Canada from cyber threats. I worked in close partnership with the Canadian armed forces, as well as federal law enforcement and security agencies, Foreign Affairs and our international allies.
Throughout my public service career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of different agencies in a number of different fields, and I think this experience will help me in my role as deputy minister of National Defence, certainly in experiencing the managing of very large budgets and large programs. I think when I was at Infrastructure we actually had about the third-largest budget in the government at the time. Also of help will be my knowledge of evolving international security and defence matters, an ability to work in partnership with a variety of organizations and international allies, and certainly, based on my time at CSE, a very sincere respect and appreciation for the capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces and the professionalism and dedication of the men and women who serve Canada.
I'm certainly impressed so far with the dedication, experience, and knowledge of the team at National Defence. It will be critical in my role to continue to work to build a strong partnership between the civilian and military members of the defence team. I will work closely with the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lawson, with Vice Chief General Thibault, and with the leadership of the forces. I am supported by two excellent associate deputy ministers, Bill Jones, whom you've already met, and John Turner, who is here today to speak to you.
I'm both pleased and honoured to have been asked to take on the role of deputy minister of National Defence in a very interesting and very challenging time.
Mr. Chair, I'd be pleased to take any questions you might have.