National Defence Committee on May 6th, 2026

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

Let's set aside the issue of future fighter jets and early warning aircraft for a moment.

Under Canada's defence industrial strategy, this is how the government plans to increase the Canadian share of defence equipment procurement to 70%. Let me get this straight: Are we talking about 70% of the value of the contracts or the number of contracts?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Give me a second.

The goal is for 70% of the share of defence acquisitions to be awarded to Canadian firms.

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

There is no interpretation.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

It's for 70% of the share of defence acquisitions to be awarded to Canadian firms.

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

So when we talk about acquisitions, we're talking about the contracts themselves, right?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I don't think we're talking about contracts exactly. We're talking more about equipment volume. It's not a question of dollars; it's a question of equipment.

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

Thank you. I'll make a note of that.

Does that include aircraft that have already been selected but haven't been paid for yet, such as the F‑35s?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

No, I don't think so. What's already under way will continue. The focus now is on moving forward as soon as the strategy is implemented.

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

I'll use the example of the purchase of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, launchers manufactured by the United States. It's been kept virtually under wraps so far, but we've already heard a little about it. Will this purchase be covered by the 70% quota, or are we not there yet?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

This procurement process started several months, if not years, ago.

Heather, can you go ahead?

[Heather Sheehy]

Thank you.

The HIMARS is something we have been working on for several years. The congressional notice has gone out, in terms of our intention to purchase these. We are very much looking at procurements through the build-partner-buy strategy that the minister has already spoken about.

There was a large assessment done in terms of where we could get this capability. This was done a few years ago. The capability is coming from an American firm at this point, because that is the firm that actually provides the capability. Moving forward, we will continue to look at every instance to make sure that we buy domestically when we can.

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

So, if I understand correctly, that matter has already been settled. The 70% quota wasn't in effect yet, so this contract isn't affected for now.

I have another question. There's been a wave of closer ties with Europe regarding military equipment procurement. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that is, at the very least, the impression we have. How do we justify the “buy Canadian” policy while pursuing this alignment? Are we able to meet the targets while also committing to another partner?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

We're confident that we will meet these targets.

That said, we have decided to diversify our defence-related economic ties with other countries. That's why Canada is the only country outside the European Union that has been granted permission to join the Security Action for Europe, or SAFE. It's a procurement system within the European Union, a phase I market worth 160 billion euros. So, there are enormous business opportunities for Canadian companies from Quebec and elsewhere, depending on the sector.

At the same time, we are doing more and more work and entering into more agreements with countries such as Denmark, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, Norway, New Zealand and South Korea.

So, we are increasingly diversifying our relationships.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you.

We're in the second round now.

Ms. Gallant, you have five minutes.

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

Thanks.

Minister, you mentioned that members of the armed forces need the tools and equipment to do the job. You also mentioned that we need the people to do the job.

Injured CSOR support personnel are just finding out that they are losing their allowance if they're injured and not back on the job in 30 days. That means that category one support personnel take a $600 per month hit, and for level two, it's $1,200 per month. They're used to getting this, in some cases, for years. Then, all of a sudden, that's taken from their paycheques.

Were you aware that this is going on?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I'm not sure if that's 100% accurate, Ms. Gallant. I'm hearing countervailing explanations about this. That's one of the reasons why I'm really happy that General Simoneau is here today, as the head of human resources for the Canadian Armed Forces.

If you would permit—through you, Mr. Chair—he's in the best position to answer that detailed question.

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

We have him for an hour later, but we only have you for an hour, so I'll ask you some more questions.

With close support, do you know how long it takes to train somebody from the time they're a regular CSOR member up to the point where they're a category one or a category two?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

That depends.

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

Yes, it does depend, but roughly how long is it—in months or years?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Are you talking about the special forces?

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

Yes.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I don't know. If I did know, Ms. Gallant, I'm not sure if I would share that.

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

When you learn about our injured CSOR close support losing the $600 to $1,200 a month, will you ask Treasury Board to reverse that?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

I will certainly look into it. If it's a real loss, of course, it's something that I'll take up with General Simoneau. I hope he's in a position to better explain it to you in the next hour.

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

Thank you.

For which looming conflict do we need an extra 300,000 reservists?