Thank you, Madam Chair.
I hear it said that we are playing politics. Yet the reason we are here is because a political operation has been set up and we have a problem.
It reminds me eerily of the SNC-Lavalin scandal three years ago. It was the same kind of operation, coordinated to cover up and prevent the information from becoming public knowledge. Say what you will, that is exactly what is happening now. It should also be noted that some of the actors involved in the situation that concerns us today were also involved in the SNC-Lavalin affair. It's a funny coincidence, in my opinion.
What is important right now is that one of our institutions, the Canadian Armed Forces, is being shaken. Canadian Armed Forces personnel are doing what they can to uphold the military code and Operation Honour. Personnel receive training on a regular basis. My son has been a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for a few months, and the first courses he received were on Operation Honour. People at all levels are doing what they can.
In this case, the chiefs of staff and the Minister of Defence are involved. For his part, the ombudsman serves as an advisor and intermediary since military members do not always have access to their superiors. That's the role the ombudsman played in 2018. The problem was that the minister refused to hear what the ombudsman reported to him. Subsequently—and this is where the political operation started—the Privy Council arranged for the information not to fall into the public domain and for no investigation to be launched. This is very serious.
We are not playing politics. We are here to advocate for citizens and for the Canadian Armed Forces. This is a very large institution, in which I served for 22 years. I know what it's like because I've experienced it first hand. I also know that attitudes have changed over time. I joined the Canadian Forces in 1987, over 30 years ago. I know that the institution has evolved tremendously since that time.
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces want things to work well. However, if we learn that the Minister of Defence does not want to be informed of a serious situation, that is a concern. If a member of the Canadian Armed Forces reports a superior because he or she thinks something doesn't make sense, but receives threats, that's serious.
We can't ignore this and not make it a political issue. Everything is political, the appointments of the joint chiefs of staff are political, they are government decisions. Mr. Robillard is trying to blame the Conservatives by saying that the appointment took place in 2015. We know that very well and the public knows that an investigation was done at the time and no information was deemed sufficient to reject General Vance's appointment.
Three years later, the chief of staff was in office. In 2018, the ombudsman approached the minister on behalf of the military, but the minister would not listen. In my opinion, this is unacceptable and very serious. It is the duty of the Minister of Defence to protect his army. When someone is the Minister of Defence, his responsibilities are very different from those of other ministries, because 60,000 people look up to him. The military follows the minister, that is, the chief of staff and all the people in the chain of command. That's how it works.
We are asking to get this basic information in order to do our job. I think Canadians are asking for the same thing.