National Defence Committee on Feb. 9th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

I call this meeting to order.

I take note that we are about 10 minutes late, so with colleagues' permission, we will extend the meeting by 10 minutes further.

First of all, Minister, can you stay for a full hour, or are you obligated to leave by 4:30?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Chair, I will stay until 4:41.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Excellent. Thank you for that.

As you can see, we have Minister Anand with us. We welcome her to her first, and what I anticipate will not be her last, meeting with the committee.

I hope we have a constructive relationship and provide a useful challenge function to your very important role.

Before I ask you for your presentation, I take note that we are in a hybrid format due to the ongoing pandemic situation. The directive from the Board of Internal Economy has limited the size of the room and the number of people who can be in it. There are physical distancing guidelines, and we must wear a mask at all times.

With that, I'd ask the minister to make her initial presentation. Then we will go to our question rounds.

Welcome, Minister—

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

I have a point of clarification, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that we are to wear our masks when we're up and about in the room but not when we're sitting. Are you saying that the masks are to be worn at all times?

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

It says that it is strongly recommended that members wear a mask even when seated at their place during committee proceedings.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

All right. Thank you.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

That's new.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

I don't know if it's new or not. It was January 28, 2022.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Before we were vaccinated, we didn't have to wear one, but now that we're triple vaccinated, we have to wear one.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

You can take that up with the Board of Internal Economy.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

All right. I just wanted it to be clear.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

With that, please go ahead, Minister Anand.

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Chair and members of the Standing Committee on National Defence, thank you for inviting me to appear before you today.

Difficult times often foster the greatest change. I am honoured to have been entrusted with this role during a pivotal moment in our institution's history. Today I will provide you with an overview of our top priorities, as outlined in my mandate letter, and the work our organization is doing to set us up for success.

First and foremost, our success at home and abroad comes down to having an engaged and resilient armed forces with the numbers to sustain our regular operations and to step up during times of crisis.

The past two years have demonstrated the importance of this, as our personnel continues to do incredible work in the face of a global pandemic.

Last year the chief of the defence staff, General Wayne Eyre, announced a substantive forces-wide reconstitution program. A key part of reconstitution is ensuring that the defence team is a place where everyone feels safe, respected and protected.

This goal is a top priority for me and the entire leadership of national defence. It is truly heartbreaking to know that our members have been injured in the line of duty. Our members—and all Canadians—deserve to work in an environment where dignity and respect prevail.

The creation of the chief professional conduct and culture group last year supports these efforts.

CPCC is leading our much-needed conduct and culture change reforms across the organization. Its work is in parallel with and complementary to Madam Arbour's independent review into defence team policies and culture. We look forward to receiving her final report later this year and implementing her recommendations.

There is no doubt, Mr. Chair, that we are facing significant challenges right now from both domestic and global threats. However, we are also facing a fundamental challenge to the institution charged with defending our country against these threats. For too long, far too many members of the defence team have suffered sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination based on sex, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. I will say it again: Things can change, they must change and they will change.

I will turn now to international missions.

In today's highly complex operational environment, the skills and dedication of our people are more important than ever. Many of our international allies and partners face very real threats from state actors seeking to undermine the rules-based international order.

We are all troubled by the challenges to Ukraine's security and sovereignty due to Russia's military buildup in and around their borders. During my recent trip to the country, I saw the toll this threat has had on our Ukrainian friends.

We remain steadfast in our support. Since 2015, we have trained roughly 33,000 members of Ukraine's security forces through Operation Unifier. We just extended and expanded this mission for another three years.

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with Ukraine's minister of defence, Oleksii Reznikov, and we will work closely together to identify other areas where Canada can provide support. Our work in Ukraine demonstrates that Canada is always ready to help in times of crisis.

In all of our missions around the world, we are reaffirming our commitment to peace and stability in an uncertain time.

I'll move now to domestic missions.

Here, at home, we are also facing an unprecedented demand for military assistance. From the beginning of the pandemic, our armed forces have been helping out in hard-hit communities and supporting vaccination efforts across the country. Thousands of personnel from the Regular Force, reservists and Canadian Rangers were mobilized.

At the same time, we have been called on to deploy personnel in response to climate-related disasters, which have increased in scope and severity over the previous decade.

Moreover, Canada and North America are increasingly vulnerable to external threats that know no borders. Against a backdrop of rapid technological change and vastly increased adoption and reliance on digital technology in Canada, the government's cybersecurity expertise is essential.

The reputation of the Communications Security Establishment, or CSE, in the defence of Canada is well established. Together with our armed forces, the CSE plays a vital role in strengthening our defences here, at home.

We are also working with the United States to bolster our continental defences. This includes modernizing NORAD. As part of these efforts, we are improving how we monitor, defend and operate in the Arctic region. In fact, just last week we announced a new seven-year contract with the majority Inuit-owned Nasittuq Corporation to maintain the 50 radar sites of the north warning system as we explore options for modernizing Arctic surveillance.

Our fighting force must be ready to respond to a variety of threats from all directions at all times and in very close co-operation with our closest allies. That means having the right number of people in our ranks. It means making sure that they are included, respected and engaged. It means giving them the right equipment and training to match these threats.

To conclude, Mr. Chair, our military is indeed at an inflection point. We are facing a significant demand for Canadian Armed Forces support both here at home and across the globe. We are also facing rapidly evolving threats that risk outpacing our ability to defend against them. Our solutions must be built around people.

We need the right people, with the right training and the right equipment. We need to create a culture that supports the health and well-being of those individuals who perform the critical functions we entrust to them.

There's a lot to do, but I am confident that by working together we will realize our objectives.

Thank you. Meegwetch.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Thank you, Minister, and thank you for that timely speech.

With that, we'll turn to our six-minute round.

We're starting off with Ms. Findlay and then we will have Mr. Fisher, Madame Normandin and Ms. Mathyssen, in that order.

You have six minutes.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here today.

I note that you've said it's very important that we have an engaged and resilient CAF that's able to step up during times of crisis. The U.S. and United Kingdom are sending reinforcements to NATO states Poland and Romania to bolster their defences. Are there any plans to send military reinforcements to join our 550-person tripwire force in Estonia or any other frontline NATO state?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Thank you for the question.

Under Operation Reassurance, we are able to commit up to 900 Canadian Armed Forces members. We currently have about 500 on the ground, operating in land, air and sea. We are currently examining from an operations standpoint whether further commitment would be possible.

I can ask my chief of the defence staff Wayne Eyre, who is here, to comment further if you would like.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

I think we'll have a chance to ask him questions later, so I will do that. Thank you.

Minister, the United States is dispatching troops to Poland to help Americans escape Ukraine in the event of an invasion. To not repeat any blunders of the Afghanistan evacuation, do we have similar plans in place and people ready to go, or are we just asking people to leave?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

I can say that we are preparing for all eventualities. We are cognizant, of course, of the Russian escalation at the Ukrainian border, including in Belarus. The Canadian Armed Forces, for example, recently moved west of the Dnipro to indeed take account of the rising threat. We are preparing for various contingencies.

At this time, I think it would be prudent if I kept those contingencies close to the chest given that we are not planning for hypotheticals, at least at the current time.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Thank you, Minister.

In all of the mandate letters of your predecessor, Minister Sajjan, he was tasked with future fighter replacement. It's not in your mandate letter. Does that mean that it's no longer a government priority and the file is either dropped or sidelined?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Not at all. Our government has been clear: A modern fighter jet fleet is essential to defending Canada. That is why we are acquiring 88 fighter jets to replace our CF‑18 fleet through an open, transparent competition.

We have reached a key milestone in the process and we will be moving forward with two suppliers, and this competition essentially will ensure that we get the right aircraft at the right price, while creating job opportunities.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Minister, certainly as long ago as I was associate minister of defence, and before that, we've been talking about replacing fighter jets. There have been a lot of studies and a lot of proposals. It would seem that it's time to make that decision. Do you have a timeline for making that decision?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

As you may be aware, we did reach a key milestone prior to the holidays, at the end of 2021, in terms of the procurement process and narrowing the field down to two suppliers. That process is being run by the Department of Public Services and Procurement Canada, and I believe that the timeline is intact, but the questions relating to that timeline would be best directed there.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

There's also no mention in your mandate letter, Minister, about threats to national security, such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. How do you give direction to the Canadian Armed Forces about the forces needed and their connection to foreign policy when your government does not seem to see a threat to Canadian national security?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

I will say in response, as outlined in the Speech from the Throne, that peace, stability and international security are of critical importance to Canada's strategic interests.

That is why we will be moving forward as a government with establishing an Indo-Pacific strategy. That is why, we have in my mandate letter the importance of cyber-surveillance and cybersecurity. That is why we are working on reconstituting and rebuilding the Canadian Armed Forces.

All of these pieces are integral to ensuring that the Canadian Armed Forces and our broader government can act in the best interests of national security.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Minister, I have one last question.

There is also no mention in your mandate letter of the Five Eyes alliance, the Quad or AUKUS. Does this mean that Canada has given up on bilateral defence diplomacy and that your government is taking a pass on both the Atlantic NATO and the Pacific where it comes to those alliances?