Evidence of meeting #31 for National Defence in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rangers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Jeff Kibble Conservative Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Thank you for your discussion on this.
I'd like to move to Dr. Lackenbauer.
I appreciate your enthusiasm for the rangers. It's a little overwhelming. I've worked with the rangers. They certainly are an inspiring group, and they're well respected within the military.
Can you expand a bit on your comment about how they can be part of the reconciliation process within a community? How could they help with that?
Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North, Trent University
It's a great question.
In a way, the rangers represented aspects of reconciliation even before that was a common political concept that we were thinking about as Canadians. What I mean by that is that it's predicated on respect. When things don't work as expected, people take ownership of it. You find ways to work together and build forward together. There are some topics that are understood to be sensitive, and because there are such great personal relationships in place, you have an interface between the rest of the military and the rangers in the form of these ranger instructors, who have the relationships to be able to navigate those topics in a very human way. That's one level to engage in.
On the other hand, it's about recognizing the amount of trust that's vested in the Canadian Armed Forces through the ranger organization. The fact that northern indigenous communities are willing to send their young people down to enhanced summer camps in places like Whitehorse.... These are people in communities that have been ravaged by the traumas associated with residential schools and by all the colonial violence that's been inflicted. Thinking about the trust that exists to be giving the rangers that responsibility—because they are trusted and respected—and knowing that if you send your kids there, the same respect will be shown to them as to anyone else, are really key.
Conservative
Jeff Kibble Conservative Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
I'm from south Vancouver Island. I live very close to the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group headquarters. I've worked with rangers. I've worked with the Raven program. We have a large first nations population where I'm from.
I'd love to see expanded ranger units on Vancouver Island. Are there steps the communities could take with the Canadian Forces or others to encourage expanding ranger units locally?
Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North, Trent University
That often comes through mayors and councils, first nations' chiefs, Métis councils or Inuit leadership.
Definitely, the process would be to indicate an interest. Again, there are comments or questions that underlie this about the scope of the rangers. When we look at the growth of the organization and the expansion of the number of ranger patrols, this is often authorized at a high political level on the grounds of Arctic sovereignty and security.
I would encourage you to ask questions about where the growth has taken place over the last 20 years. You'll find that just about all the growth in the number of ranger patrols has occurred in the provincial north and therefore not in Inuit Nunangat. Just about every community in Inuit Nunangat that can sustain a patrol has had one for many decades at this point in time.
Certainly, there are opportunities to discuss the rangers or a ranger-type model. Opening up more opportunities for service in southern Canada is warranted, but I think there's a bigger discussion to be had around that.
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa
I appreciate your enthusiasm in asking questions.
To all the witnesses, it was a very vibrant discussion today, and I appreciate your involvement and engagement and that of members who were asking questions.
Our next meeting is going to be on Wednesday. We will have four witnesses, all of whom are francophone. One is a professor, and three are veterans of the CAF. We'll continue this discussion at that time.
Is the committee in agreement to adjourn the meeting?