National Defence Committee on March 25th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you, Mr. Kelsey.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Mr. Chair, I wasted a lot of time having to ask the same question again. I asked you to give me a short extension. You said yes.

[LGen Stephen Kelsey]

It was my fault, because of the interpretation.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Mr. Kelsey, I'd like to quickly ask you one last question.

Can you confirm that the budgets have not changed?

[LGen Stephen Kelsey]

Despite the circumstances in Iran, the budget doesn't change. The events in the Strait of Hormuz happened after the bidding process began.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

I did provide extra time.

Ms. Gallant, we'll go over to you.

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

Through you for the minister, Chair, what were you told went wrong during the CAF exercise in Alaska, where dozens of Canadian soldiers suffered severe cold-weather injuries? What were you told was the cause for that?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I was informed almost immediately after the fact—quite soon, as soon as that occurred—that the challenge was that a lot of our members of the forces were attending in very cold weather, in a very cold snap, with equipment that was not appropriate for that depth of cold.

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

Every other NATO multinational group in Latvia is deployed or assigned to areas of operation, but we are not because we cannot. Could you explain why?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

You'll forgive me. I'm not sure I understand the question.

I understand that we command the multinational brigade of 14 countries. I understand that we are coordinating all of those countries and preparing for the NATO standards, but I'm not sure I understand what role you think we're supposed to be playing or that we're not playing. Forgive me.

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

Our brigade headquarters currently operates in assigned areas, but not outside of Ādaži. Why is that?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

My understanding is that we are operating in the region. My understanding is that we are coordinating all 14 nations. My understanding is that's the role and responsibility of us as the commanding nation.

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

We can't go outside our assigned regions.

In terms of the cold-weather issues, it's equipment only, and you haven't been told about the lack of leadership and the people who are leaving the military: the cream of the crop. The so-called sediment is rising to the top, and that is part and parcel of what happened in that exercise.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I'm trying to reconcile that with the latest information we have, with a 13% increase in applications to join the Canadian Armed Forces.

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

Well, that always accompanies a severe drop in the economy. There's nothing else to do, but joining the military is historically—

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I thought it had something to do with spirit, morale, pay, new career opportunities and growth and investment.

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

Now, with the industrial strategy, we have winners and losers. How can we expect there not to be political interference in the process given the Liberal track record on things like ArriveCAN and SNC-Lavalin?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Well, the defence industrial strategy is set up at arm's length. There is a coordinating group of public servants across the system and across the department that will be helping to deliver on this.

There is a lot of capital flowing into the country right now. The Prime Minister has managed, for example, to find $80 billion of investment from the U.A.E. We're bringing in as much as we can to deploy in defence.

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

I have one last question.

Our allies are fed up with our troops being sent to Latvia without proper training. They now do their final confirmation exercise in theatre because they don't have the equipment here. When are we going to restore the capability at Wainwright? Also, at the firing ranges, when are we going to renew those contracts so they can do the simulated shooting?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Well, we're beginning by beginning, and we're dealing with the ammunition situation in the country first of all, one that we inherited—

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

It's on training.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Yes, and training, which is one of the reasons why we offered different kinds of compensation for trainers and instructors. We're working feverishly to be able to, as you say, improve those situations, and it's happening.

We are moving forward quickly. The money is being booked. The money is being deployed. Base commanders are being given different financial authorities to execute on plans to improve the situation. I think we're going to be seeing a lot of good things coming.

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

They'll be trained before they get into theatre, then. They'll do the final confirmation exercise at home before being sent into the—

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Yes.

Do you mind if I ask the vice-chief?