House of Commons Hansard #56 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Madam Chair, I also wanted to mention that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Edmonton West, who is also an associate critic for procurement and public works.
The Deputy Chair NDP Carol Hughes
Members must have unanimous consent to split their time.
Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to split his time?
National Defence—Main Estimates, 2016-17Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
members
Agreed.
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleagues.
I will continue with my questions on the Halifax-class modernization program.
Apparently, the first vessel has been modernized. Could you please tell me when the program will be completed, what is the schedule for the next vessels and how much will be invested this year?
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Madam Chair, the Halifax-class program will be completed in 2018.
Other cuts have been made to the Cyclone maritime helicopter program.
Can the minister tell me what impact the $90 million in cuts will have on the Cyclone maritime helicopters?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, the plan is to purchase 28 Cyclone helicopters. Some have already been delivered. They are going through their tests right now, as more come on line. There are no cuts that have been made to the actual program. The plan is to make sure that we have the right number of Cyclone helicopters, and we are working diligently toward that.
I am happy to say that I got to fly one of those simulators, and I was able to land one of the Cyclones, on a simulator, on the ship as well.
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Madam Chair, we see that the Department of National Defence is now going ahead with cuts. However, climate change is making it easier to access the Northwest Passage. We are seeing other countries making investments, especially in icebreakers and vessels, in order to have a presence in the Canadian Arctic.
Does the Minister believe that sufficient investments are being made to ensure Canada's Arctic sovereignty in the far north? Is it not important to ensure that we can protect Canadian sovereignty in the far north by having a fleet that can rival the fleets of other countries?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, I want to be very clear that we are making no cuts. In fact, we are committed to the national shipbuilding strategy that was developed early on by the previous government. We are working diligently to make sure we have the right ships, and that we have the ships for the Arctic. In addition, the Coast Guard is having its ships built as well. We are fully committed to the national shipbuilding strategy. I cannot say it any clearer than that.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, we learned a new word today for cut. It is “re-profiling”, as in re-profiling like a knife, or I re-profiled my finger on paper.
The $3.7 billion that has been re-profiled five years down the road, after this first mandate is over, could the minister tell me which projects that is for?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, there are a number of projects, and the schedule for the procurement is based on the ones that were there when I became Minister of National Defence.
In terms of the question regarding re-profiling, I just want to remind the member that the former government—
The Deputy Chair NDP Carol Hughes
Order, please. I am sorry. It is about an equal amount of time. I am sorry I did not get the time.
I want to clarify something. Initially, I was under the impression that it would be half and half. I am told that, if the other member wishes to ask questions, he will be able to do so as well.
The hon. member for Edmonton West.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, I would like to find out from the minister what the projects are exactly.
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, the projects are the Arctic offshore patrol ships, the replacement of our fighters, the maritime helicopter project, the Halifax class frigate modernization, and the integrated soldier system. These are all on the same timeline as the previous government.
I would also like to remind the member that, when it came to re-profiling, the former government re-profiled $10.3 billion between 2008 and 2015, so for the definition he should just look back.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, the projects pushed back five years for the $3.7 billion, the Arctic ships, the planes. Is this solely matching money to when the projects are ready, or is the matter that the money is not available right now for five years?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, actually the projects are not ready. This is to protect the money, to make sure it is there when we need it. This is a schedule that I received once I became minister. However, I am working diligently to speed up the process on different projects to make them move faster. We will re-profile the money back if and when it is needed.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, the parliamentary secretary discussed lapsed funding from last year. I think it was $1.1 billion. Could he please reconfirm for me what the items were that lapsed.
John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON
Madam Chair, the total amount lapsed was $1.7 billion. That was from the previous government's budget; $71 million of that $1.7 billion has been sent back to treasury, and the rest has been pushed on to further fiscal years in order to be able to fulfill the schedules that Parliament approved initially.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, we understand one of the issues for re-profiling is the F-35 or the Super Hornet.
Could the hon. defence minister give us a ballpark timeline of when we will get going on that project, or when we will start planning it?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, our government is committed to replacing the F-18 fighter.
We are working diligently right now, as I stated. Even though the defence review is going on, this project is on a separate track. I do not have an update for the committee members yet, but when I do, we will announce it.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, could the defence minister tell us when we will have that update?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, I wish I could give you a time frame for that.
However, when I have accurate information that I can provide, I will do so in an open manner, as I have done with everything else.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, when will we have an accurate update? No, I am just kidding.
We have seen that the F-35 project has already created large investments in our aerospace industry. Contractors in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick are enjoying the fruits of the F-35 project that is going on with our allies right now.
I would ask the defence minister, when we make the decision on what plane we are going forward on, are we going to have job creation and investment in Canada as a part of that decision-making process?
Harjit S. Sajjan Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Madam Chair, yes, absolutely, this will be part of any of our procurement projects, especially for the replacement of our fighters.
Just to remind the member on the F-35, it has been $700 million; however, we had to invest $300 million, as well, so it is a net benefit of $400 million for that.
Regardless of what we purchase, Canadian industries will have a benefit.
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Madam Chair, the International Business Times reports that Canada ordering the Super Hornet would save thousands of jobs in the U.S.
I am just wondering if the hon. minister could advise us, if we go with the Super Hornet, if we have done studies on how many jobs it will create in Canada as opposed to how many the F-35 will?