Madam Chair, thank you for the opportunity to appear today to discuss the role that the Canadian Armed Forces is playing in the whole-of-government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am Major-General Mark Misener, chief of staff to the commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command.
I will focus my remarks today on how the CAF operates to support this whole-of-government plan, the role of CJOC in this operation and our support to the COVID-19 vaccination plan.
At CJOC, we are responsible for the command and control of Canadian Armed Forces operations, whether domestic or international. In that sense, we are the action arm for the Canadian Armed Forces COVID-19 response, as we support the government in delivering on the support requested from federal, provincial and territorial governments. This also includes the planning needed to undertake these operations.
In close collaboration with the Public Health Agency, the Canadian Armed Forces initiated Operation Vector, our support to Canada's vaccine distribution. There are three key components to this operation.
The first is supporting the Public Health Agency with planning assistance. This includes support to the national operations centre, the warehousing of PPE and equipment, supporting provinces and territories with planning, and if required and requested, assisting the provinces with their own vaccine distribution plans.
The second component is maintaining a robust ready force comprising sea, land and air force elements. These elements also support other government departments in order to streamline communications that are integral to all government contingency planning.
The third is vaccinating our own CAF members as our allocations are provided, including our members deployed overseas.
As the Canadian Armed Forces, or CAF, planned Operation Vector, it was important that our tasked personnel came from the local communities to the extent possible, both to minimize movement between communities and to draw from their deeper understanding of the local situation on the ground.
Operation Vector is maximizing the use of our Reserve Force and the Canadian Rangers to respond to demands, so as to keep CAF members' movement as low as possible and thus reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
The types of tasks anticipated range from assisting with planning and coordinating the transport, storage and distribution of vaccines, to assisting local communities with setting up vaccination clinics.
To date, we have seen requests to move equipment, such as the transportation of freezers to the territories in the north, and, in preparation for the receipt of the vaccine, assisting in the transportation of Canadians in remote parts of our country to vaccine clinics as well as assisting with the set-up of vaccine clinics themselves.
As for vaccinations for CAF members, we've already received an initial allocation of vaccines for our military health care workers and are fully part of the national plan. As the availability of vaccines in Canada ramps up, the CAF will conduct our internal vaccination plan to ensure our members are safe, better prepared to operate in the COVID environment and will not transmit the virus to the Canadian population at home or to our allies and partners abroad.
The CAF has supported Canadians throughout the pandemic and remains postured and prepared to do our part alongside other departments, partners and Canadians in the vaccine distribution effort.
In fact, as part of Operation Laser, the Canadian Armed Forces are currently providing vital assistance and care to northern and isolated communities. The Canadian Rangers also continue to be active across Canada, providing assistance to northern and indigenous communities as required.
Madam Chair, I would now be pleased to take your questions.