Mr. Chair, I want to thank you for last year, the first time I was in committee of the whole. I want to begin my remarks tonight by thanking all members opposite for choosing committee of the whole to learn more about my file and spend more time in the House on a very important topic. As I have always stated that I think all parliamentarians want to ensure our Canadian Armed Forces are looked after.
I am grateful for this opportunity once again, because it gives me an opportunity to talk about the incredible work done by members of the Canadian Armed Forces and national defence. It allows me to take stock on the progress we have made in the past 18 months, as measured against my mandate letter, and gives me the chance to engage with my fellow parliamentarians.
As I have stated in the House, my job as minister is to serve the men and women in uniform, who proudly serve our country. It is a privilege to have been given this responsibility. I welcome the chance to present these estimates and to answer questions as well.
To that end, I will be requesting total funding in the main estimates of $18.66 billion for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as just under $596 million for the Communications Security Establishment. As directed in my mandate letter, this will maintain current funding levels and planned increases. I will also be commenting on a few differences in the estimates that were presented last year.
First, operating expenditures for DND have gone up by $436.5 million. This is mainly due to a change to the defence escalator, which increased from 2% to 3% beginning this fiscal year.
Second, capital expenditures are down by $293.2 million. This is a result of the normal variance in large projects, such as the Arctic patrol vessel and the Halifax-class modernization. As announced in this year's budget, some capital funding has been re-profiled into future years. We have protected these funds to ensure they are available to meet the schedule of major projects, such as the fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft. We will seek additional funding in supplementary estimates to support our international missions. This is sound and prudent management.
The estimates we are discussing here today provide the funding that is needed to support every aspect of the defence team's mission. This includes shielding Canadians from harm at home. One of the priorities identified in my mandate letter from the Prime Minister 18 months ago was disaster relief. We have seen many examples of this in just the past few months, whether it was dealing with the flooding in Mud Lake, Newfoundland, or across Quebec and Ontario or helping the people in New Brunswick deal with the effects of the devastating ice storm. When the women and men in the Canadian Armed Forces have been called upon, they have delivered.
Beyond our shores, this year's funding is required to train, prepare, and support the more than 1,400 members of our Canadian Armed Forces currently deployed on 14 overseas missions, contributing to international peace and security. As the Minister of Finance and I announced two weeks ago, Canadian Armed Forces members deployed on all of these missions will now receive income tax relief. This includes the refocused mission in Iraq and our continuing fight against Daesh. The coalition is maintaining its movement and Daesh has lost more than half the territory it once held. It includes the missions supporting our commitment to NATO, which was another priority in my mandate letter. We are demonstrating our commitment, solidarity, and resolve to our allies.
The Canadian Armed Forces' upcoming deployment in Latvia is a prime example of this commitment. There we will lead a battle group composed of soldiers from six allied nations. This includes our own troops, which will be deploying in June. Together, with our existing air and maritime task forces, this represents the Canadian military's most significant activity in Europe since the Balkan conflict. It is especially important today, on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, to note that we will be making commitments to peace support operations.
I was at the UN last week meeting with allies and doing our due diligence, and I will be pleased to host the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial conference later this fall. This ambitious agenda requires our support to help ensure the Canadian Armed Forces have the tools they need to do this important work.
I will continue to work with my cabinet colleagues to improve on defence procurement. We are acquiring and replacing our legacy fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft. We will continue to invest in our navy. Our Arctic offshore patrol vessels are now under construction and the Canadian shipbuilding strategy continues to progress.
We are committed to investing in the air force, as directed in my mandate letter. We will procure a replacement for the CF-18 fighters, while examining an interim solution to meet our NORAD and NATO commitments simultaneously. These funds are also needed for our most important assets, and that is of course our troops.
I am sure all members of the House agree that our women and men in uniform form the core of our national defence, and their families are very important and play a tremendous role in the success of the Canadian Armed Forces.
With the funds provided in these estimates, we will provide better support to our members so they can maintain that degree of excellence that Canadians expect of them. The funding in these main estimates will support that work in the form of several ongoing initiatives to improve the workplace culture of national defence and the well-being of the serving members. The most notably is the military's ongoing efforts to eliminate harmful and inappropriate sexual behaviour through Operation Honour.
All these efforts, brought together, will help create a highly dynamic, skilled, and diverse force that can succeed in the modern security environment. They will also help to ensure support is provided to our Canadian Forces members and to their families, both when they are in the ranks and when they leave uniformed service. This funding we debate today will support our efforts to close the seams between national defence and veterans affairs.
Both my associate minister and I committed to reducing complexity, overhauling service delivery, and strengthening the partnership between our two departments. That is what we are aiming for, and the funding being debated today will help make that possible.
These main estimates will provide the defence department with the funding it needs to meet the needs of today. We must also ensure that our military is set up for success in the future and that we address the results of the underfunding by successive governments. On June 7, we will demonstrate the government's commitment to the future of the Canadian Armed Forces by announcing the results of our new defence policy. This will provide our armed forces with the funding and support they need to meet the challenges of the future.