Debates of May 29th, 2017

National Defence—Main Estimates, 2017-18

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, the question was not whether the minister would reiterate the goal; it was whether he had a strategy, so I will ask again. Does he have a strategy to meet the recruitment objectives for women 10 years from now?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, yes, the Canadian Armed Forces has a strategy. The chief of the defence staff not only has put it as a goal but also has made sure that the recruitment advertisement is focused on women. We have an outreach as well. We have gender-based analyses done in all our policies. Yes, we do have a strategy.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, because there is a strategy, presumably it is in a document. I wonder if the minister could table that strategy in the House.

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, when it comes to recruitment or any other issues, as the critic for his party also knows, our department is available. When it comes to information like this, I am happy to make the right people available to direct the information.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, we appreciate that very much. We are just wondering if the minister would table it in the House so that information is available for all members. It is an efficient use of his department's time, after all, to make it available to us all at one time instead of in one-offs.

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, absolutely. Once we develop the strategies and progress, I am happy to present the information, as we do with many different things. I just thought the member had raised the question, and he is very passionate about it, that he wanted something even more direct, and I would be happy to provide that.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, if you will pardon my confusion, in the first questions were told that there was a strategy so presumably then it could be tabled. Then we were told that it could be tabled after the strategy was developed. I am afraid I will have to leave it at that, with a slight bit of confusion. There are other issues we would like to cover.

Canada has begun a process of reconciliation with first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. What do DND's strategy and action plan look like in terms of calls to action for truth and reconciliation?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, when it comes to our aboriginal community, our recruitment and our focus, we have an advisory group within the Canadian Armed Forces. We have three other advisory groups as well. The aboriginal advisory group advises the chain of command. There is also the champion for aboriginal groups. There are programs like bold eagle. We work very closely with our indigenous communities.

The Department of National Defence is one department of a wider government, and we take our relationship with the aboriginal community just as our government has put a priority to this.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, could the Minister of National Defence tell us how much his department is investing in activities to promote the engagement, recruitment, and retention of first nations, Métis and Inuit personnel?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, when it comes to recruitment within aboriginal groups and all the greater diversity, we have put a greater emphasis on ensuring we do more to reflect the population in the Canadian Armed Forces when it comes to recruitment. In fact, when it comes to the defence policy review, we did a separate consultation with the aboriginal community. We put a lot of emphasis on this, and we want to ensure that in the Department of National Defence, as wider government initiatives, we also do our part.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Therefore, Mr. Chair, if there is a separate strategy for the recruitment and retention of indigenous people in the Canadian Armed Forces, how much money has the government allocated for that strategy?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, for our target of indigenous peoples and women, we have put aside $85 million in total.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, is that a combined strategy for the recruitment and retention of women and indigenous people, or are there two separate strategies?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, this is for the total recruitment.

I want to also stress for the member that we as a government take the recruitment of women, indigenous communities, and diversity extremely seriously. Let us not stop there. We also have to look at how we train and how they are integrated into our units. We have to focus on the environment. We are taking a look at the entire picture. That is what we are focused on.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, Canada has a long-standing and proud global peacekeeping tradition.

Over seven months ago, the government announced that Canada would reclaim its place as a peacekeeping leader, but no money has been allocated to peacekeeping operations, and the government has not told us where or when Canada will deploy its peacekeeping troops.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell the House what resources have been allocated to peacekeeping and what the budget is for these activities?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, our government has committed to supporting the United Nations in peace support operations. I was just at the United Nations headquarters last week, attending one of the ceremonies. I spoke with the leadership of various countries.

We will be announcing our support for peace support operations, but we need to ensure we get this right. This is not just about sending troops and picking a mission; it is about making a contribution. We have pledged up to 600 Canadian Armed Forces personnel and 150 police officers. Let us not stop there. We have to look at this from a whole-of-government, comprehensive approach, what the UN is now calling an integrated approach, from capacity building. We need to look at development, because bringing support and reducing military conflict is just one piece of the puzzle.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, we hear that we have to wait on the peacekeeping commitment, the defence policy review, and to replenish our air force and navy. Does the minister think it is appropriate that Waiting for Godot be the unifying theme of our defence policy?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am very proud that within 18 months we have been able to accomplish this. On June 7, we will be announcing a defence policy. We will be committing troops to United Nations operations. We have taken a leadership roll at NATO. Within 18 months, our government has a track record of being a credible partner around the world. I am very proud of the efforts of the Canadian Armed Forces, and all the efforts within our government.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, I am curious to know if the details of that defence policy review were shared at the latest NATO conference.

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, at the NATO conference, we talked about the great contribution and leadership that Canada had undertaken. The Prime Minister talked about our leadership role with the Framework Nations. We talked about our frigate that was in the Mediterranean, our air policing, but also a wider look at what we were doing in Ukraine. We are very proud of the leadership role we have taken at NATO.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, was that a yes, details were shared, or a no, they were not?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, I have made many speeches on this. I have said that when it comes to our defence policy, this is a defence policy Canadians have had input into and this defence policy will be presented to Canadians.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, I am wondering if the representatives of Canadians will have an opportunity to weigh in on that defence policy. Will the minister present that policy in the House and provide an opportunity for debate either in the House or at committee?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, I hope the member provided input into the defence policy review. All parliamentarians had an opportunity. Canadians had an opportunity. Experts did as well. We received tremendous feedback. I hope the member provided input, as members from the other parties opposite have. We take that very seriously. This is Canada's defence policy for all of us.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, members are of course always glad to weigh in at the beginning to what goes into what the government ultimately produces, but we also like to have input and the opportunity to evaluate what comes out of that black box of government. That is why we want to know if the government is going to be tabling that in the House and providing an opportunity for debate either in the House or committee.