National Defence Committee on June 3rd, 2026

[Vincent Robitaille]

I think you're referring to the legislation that's currently at second reading.

In due course, I'll let the experts speak to this when it's done. However, at an eye level, there are many Crown corporations and agencies that have the ability to—

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

No, sir, I'm talking about this one here. I'm asking, is there a mechanism in the DIS and in the legislation that forces the minister to report prior to spending money?

[Vincent Robitaille]

Those important transactions would be part of any departmental reporting.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Is that a yes or a no?

[Vincent Robitaille]

I think I answered the question.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

All right, but I don't actually have an answer. I still don't know if the minister has to report that before spending money.

[Vincent Robitaille]

We're talking about legislation currently under study. However, as the minister said, it's going to be subject to all departmental planning and reporting. That would include any investment activities.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

In that case, there is no metric set up for these things. There's no metric that can be slid around it. There's just a lot of collaboration.

[Vincent Robitaille]

We're talking about things that are under consideration at this point. In due course, if the legislation is adopted, departmental plans will describe those activities and how they're going to be managed.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

I'm going to turn the rest of my time over to my colleague.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you.

How much time do I have, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

You have one minute.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Perfect.

Mr. Brandao, you called the defence industrial strategy the North Star. The North Star tells you which way to steer.

Could you tell the committee to which current published threat assessment the strategy is anchored?

[Diogo Brandao, Senior Director, Policy and Engagement, Defence Investment Agency]

Yes, I did make that statement. I believe I made that statement at the DEFSEC West conference as part of a panel and, actually, with some of my colleagues who are here today.

I made the statement in the context that it will drive how we implement, build, partner and buy as a framework. That framework will drive the procurement strategy considerations that ADM Robitaille and his team will —

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Was there any threat assessment? I listed a whole bunch of them: cognitive warfare, prekinetic threats, coercive trade, etc. We're steering towards the North Star without any guidance on these threats. Was it purely figurative? I'm still at a loss.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Mr. Kibble, we're at a loss for time. I'm so sorry.

We're now over to Ms. Lapointe.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Madame Hadwen, Sudbury has a strong cluster of companies involved in mining technology, automation, advanced manufacturing, engineering and critical minerals. Many of those capabilities have potential defence applications, so they are dual-use technology.

As the defence industrial strategy is implemented, where do you see opportunities for regions like northern Ontario to contribute to Canada's defence industrial base?

[Wendy Hadwen]

Thank you for the question.

There is a chapter in the defence industrial strategy on supply chains, which in some measure also answers Mr. Simard's question. I expect Kendal will want to add to this.

As we begin to unpack the sovereign capabilities and look at what it means to build-partner-buy in order to deliver an advantage for the Canadian Armed Forces, or an industrial advantage, we notice that a lot of materials science is coming to bear to give us the chance to do experimental things, for example, or to try to marry up the needs of the armed forces with the production capabilities of industry.

I will take the opportunity to highlight that we have already announced and stockpiled scandium and graphite. Those were the first two examples of some work we did together with NRCan on the critical minerals strategy implementation that lined up very much with the defence industrial strategy. As you know, in NATO, we are mapping the supply chain. We agreed on a project at NATO last year at the summit. I would expect more work to come out this year at the NATO summit.

Altogether, this amounts to reducing our dependence on foreign suppliers and doing more to increase our resilience with respect to our own supply chain. This work is just starting, and I can see it going in big directions.

I'll turn to Kendal.

[Kendal Hembroff]

Maybe I'll give one quick comment.

Defence is a somewhat unique sector, in that there are opportunities and capabilities across the entire country. Certainly, our objective is to make sure that when we grow the defence industrial base, we're doing it in a way that includes regional considerations.

I will say that in the three short months since the strategy has come out, the government, through a range of different programs, has invested directly in a number of companies across the country—over 500 to date. Unfortunately, I don't have a full breakdown regionally, but if there's interest, we could provide that at a later date.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you.

Madame Folkes, small and medium-sized businesses often tell us that federal procurement can seem complex and difficult to navigate, particularly if they have never worked with government or the defence sector before.

As the defence industrial strategy is implemented, what changes should companies expect to see that will make participation in defence procurement easier?

[Paula Folkes]

Thank you for the question.

As my colleague from Innovation, Science and Economic Development mentioned, it's very important to have this concierge service. It's going to provide the support that small and medium-sized enterprises—and I would even say micro-businesses—need in those innovative sectors, whether it's defence, security or dual use, to understand how to navigate the federal procurement system—where to go first.

The other thing is that within our strategic partnerships, when we identify a strategic partner, we expect them to work collaboratively with the Government of Canada to help small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-businesses in Canada get into the supply chain. Within PSPC, as you know, we've implemented the buy Canadian policy, which prioritizes Canadian companies and federal procurement. Beyond that, we also have indigenous participation plans, which is another avenue to get small and medium-sized enterprises that are also indigenous into the supply chains.

We expect our strategic partners to integrate as many Canadian enterprises into their supply chains as is practical to deliver the capability to the CAF on time and on budget.

Thanks.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Madame Folkes, businesses are also interested in predictability. Looking ahead, what improvements are being made to procurement processes to reduce the delays? What should companies realistically expect in terms of timelines from identifying an opportunity to participating in a project?

[Paula Folkes]

I think that both ADM Robitaille and I are excited to answer this question.

One thing, to be very frank with the committee, is that moving towards 2% and then 3.5% of GDP for defence spending, and then to 5% of GDP for defence spending, will really help with sending long-term demand signals to Canadian industry.

It will also help accelerate procurement. We've seen some procurements that have not had funding allocated in the early days of those procurements, whether it's in the identification phase within the Department of National Defence or options analysis, and we haven't been able to advance the projects or move to a contract award. Now, with sufficient funding, particularly when expenditure authority and contracting authority are granted quickly, we'll be able to move quickly to the procurement phase. The new authorities that the Defence Investment Agency will have will also help accelerate that.

I'll turn it over to ADM Robitaille to provide a further response to this question.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

I have to turn the floor over to Mr. Simard.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you very much.

Since we have people from the Department of Industry with us, I'd like to go back to what I asked the minister earlier.

In this desire to reorient aluminum production, I sometimes get the impression that there is a misunderstanding at the Department of Industry. The aluminum sector is part of a very specific industrial dynamic. There's primary production, which provides ingots, billets and sometimes spools. There's secondary processing, which is done by extrusion. Billets are pushed into a matrix to form various pieces. We cast aluminum. You need a mill to make aluminum foil.

Unfortunately, the aluminum processing sector is very weak in Canada right now. There's no mill in Canada. So wanting to use even more aluminum in applications, without a mill, is kind of wishful thinking. A mill costs about $2 billion.

So I understand your strategy. It's all well and good to want to redirect aluminum production to Canadian uses, but we have to be aware of the existing ecosystem. I don't mean to criticize, but I sometimes get the feeling that we're not aware of our aluminum ecosystem. We are major aluminum producers, but we mostly export it. The added value is created in the United States. It's unfortunate, but that's a fact.

I've witnessed that for 30 years, in Saguenay—Lac‑Saint‑Jean. My father, a former Alcan worker, keeps saying that everyone in aluminum processing has fallen flat. I don't see how we're going to get there in the short term.

Are you aware of that?

Do you have a strategy for that?