Evidence of meeting #34 for National Defence in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was arctic.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
I'm not arguing the importance of the question. I'm just not convinced that our panellists would be the most appropriate to respond.
You are welcome to respond.
Conservative
Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Department of National Defence
Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair.
I am aware of the article that has come out today.
My focus is on the national security of Canada and Canadians. We take that extremely seriously. We look at the threats every day to ensure that we're ready to meet those today and in the future.
With that said, we work very closely with all our partners to make sure we're doing appropriate vetting when it comes to the security of those who work within the Royal Canadian Air Force. We work with our partners to make sure that we understand what is going on around the world.
Conservative
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
I would hope it would be escalated and that this is being taken seriously. I'm hoping that through the National Defence Act and the Security of Information Act, there are ways to control individuals who may be lured away because of huge financial rewards for trading away what I would consider essentially a state secret. I'd hope that there would be proper reprimands for those who do it.
On the F-35, when do we expect the contract to be signed?
LGen Eric Kenny
The future fighter capability project is moving apace. We are in the finalization phase of this stage. It's being worked on by Public Services and Procurement Canada. At this phase, we are working with the U.S. government and with Lockheed Martin in particular to see if they can provide the requirements as laid out in the high-level mandatory requirements.
As per the minister's announcement, we are looking to see a contract by the end of this year.
Conservative
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
General Mialkowski, we were talking about recruitment and the difficulties in having enough operators. How severely impacted is the Canadian Army right now, especially in carrying out our NORAD commitments and our Arctic sovereignty training exercises like Operation Nanook?
Major-General Conrad Mialkowski Deputy Commander, Canadian Army, Canadian Armed Forces, Department of National Defence
With regard to NORAD operations, the Canadian Army is usually a supporting arm of the Canadian Armed Forces in NORAD activities. Perhaps a colleague from CJOC or potentially the commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force could contribute on that.
However, you did ask the question, sir, about training activities. Typically the Canadian Army participates in two of the four cyclical Nanook training exercises in the north. One is in the winter and one is in the summertime. Our most recent iterations of that were with approximately 100 soldiers from different parts of the country this year, as well as about two dozen local Rangers from Cambridge Bay and Resolute Bay.
Conservative
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
What's the staffing up at Resolute Bay right now?
It should be our centre of Arctic warfare excellence. Are you saying we're only putting a couple of dozen operators through there at any given year?
MGen Conrad Mialkowski
The Canadian Armed Forces Arctic Training Centre is using a portion of NRCan's continental polar ice shelf program. We use that space periodically throughout the year for activities in Resolute Bay.
In Resolute Bay specifically, we are normally focused on training in that March-April time frame when we can use the cold weather at the tail end of winter to do our Arctic exercises. That was the case this past period. In the upcoming year, we will be doing the same.
There is not a normal permanent presence in Resolute Bay, other than the Canadian Rangers of the patrol that exists in Resolute Bay. When we project folks from the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre, which has the responsibility for that training, or from other parts of Canada, or even allies, then it will grow up to and beyond 100 to 150 people
Conservative
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
I have less than a minute left.
In Operation Nanook and the exercises that we currently have today, how does the number of personnel involved compare to exercises of, say, a decade ago?
MGen Conrad Mialkowski
From the army perspective, it tends to be along the same line. Normally we had a subunit or a company of soldiers and local Rangers, or an aggregate of Ranger patrols from the region of the exercise area. That typically is about 150 soldiers from one of our divisions, and they would come together with those Rangers, who could number up to about two dozen or more.
Conservative
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
I have a quick question on the Rangers. Are we at the full complement of Rangers right now, or is the recruiting problem also affecting the number of Rangers in service?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
You're going to have to save that answer for another round. Thank you.
Mr. Fisher is next.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, gentlemen, for being here today. Thank you very much for your service to our country.
James touched on exercises in the Arctic, and I think we can agree as a committee that there's never been a more important time to do these exercises there.
He touched on a specific one, but maybe you could outline the exercises and operations that our armed forces conduct in the Arctic and how they serve to protect our sovereignty and our security.
Also, what are the limitations that the CAF currently faces with respect to its ability to conduct these operations and these exercises in the Arctic?
Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee Commander, Royal Canadian Navy, Department of National Defence
There are four different phases of Operation Nanook, and for a full explanation of that I would refer you to our friends from CJOC to give you the in-depth answer.
Having had experience with the nature of operations up there, I will say they cover the full realm of operations that we might have to conduct in the Arctic. They include all whole-of-government partners and the local territorial governments and indigenous partners to make sure that we are looking at security in a very comprehensive manner. The level of effort that we've put into those operations has grown over the years as we gain more understanding of the region and a better appreciation of the types of actions we might be required to take up north. Those could range from search and rescue to detecting and reacting to adversaries, but most of our focus is on sovereignty and security-type operations.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
That can't be from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, where we're cutting steel for the AOPS and looking across the harbour to where they're actually building the ships.
Vice-Admiral Topshee, it's nice to see you again. I know your strong connection to the east coast and I thank you again for all the work you do.
Perhaps you can tell us a little bit about what the Arctic and offshore patrol ships are up to and how they will be used in these Arctic exercises.
VAdm Angus Topshee
Absolutely. The Arctic and offshore patrol ship—the Harry DeWolf class—is a critically new capability for the Canadian navy. It's the first time we've had a ship that is capable of going into the ice packs since HMCS Labrador back in the 1950s. We have right now taken delivery of three of the six, and we expect that the fourth, fifth and sixth ships will arrive in each of the next three years. That class is tracking very well in terms of delivering on the statement of requirements and producing, in fact, a ship that is better than what we had hoped for originally.
The Harry DeWolf went through the Arctic last year via the Northwest Passage and circumnavigated North America. That is the first time that a Canadian warship has done that since 1954, proving our ability to operate throughout the Canadian Arctic archipelago.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
When we talk about climate change, we talk about the passages opening and the ice melting. Does that change the way we do things? Are we looking forward to how things will be in the future as the ice continues to melt? Is that something that is top of mind right now?
VAdm Angus Topshee
It's an excellent question.
The reality of climate change is that while there will be times when there are open navigation transits through the Northwest Passage in the height of the summer navigation season, the reality is that climate change actually increases the unpredictability. There is an Arctic gyre that tends to move the ice up against the western edge of the Arctic archipelago, and that includes lots of old ice inclusions and icebergs that can create navigational difficulties even in the summer navigation season. As well, we can see that the effects of climate change can create storms and other phenomena that complicate the situation in the north.
Climate change is not something that's necessarily going to make the north more accessible at sea. It makes it more unpredictable, and in some ways more dangerous.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
In the last panel we talked about investing in wellness. General Eyre spoke a little bit about it, but can you outline what that investment in wellness looks like for our members of the CAF?
VAdm Angus Topshee
The chief of military personnel is working on a number of different initiatives to make sure we take care of the quality of life for our members and their families across the board. I would defer to her to speak to those in great detail. Many of them are still waiting to go through a process of Treasury Board approval. All three services have taken measures to make sure that we value the sailors, soldiers, aviators and operators who work in the Canadian Armed Forces and that we recognize the difficulty of their service as well as we can.
Liberal