Debates of May 15th, 2019

Department of National Defence—Main Estimates, 2019-20

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

Mr. Chair, as I stated, the entire process we have gone through in this case has been completely independent, which has been verified and confirmed by the prosecution and defence.

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

Mr. Chair, when was the minister first made aware of the use of code words?

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

Mr. Chair, when it comes to any type of judicial process, it is important to remain independent. That is exactly what we have done, and it has been confirmed by the prosecution and defence.

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

Mr. Chair, does the minister approve of the decision to use code words?

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

Mr. Chair, we do not use code words in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Another thing I want to say is that the entire process we have gone through has been completely independent. This has been explained by the many witnesses in the trial.

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

Mr. Chair, has the minister authorized code words or phrases in any other ATIP inquiries?

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

Mr. Chair, I have hard time keeping up with the acronyms in the Canadian Armed Forces.

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

Mr. Chair, were any code words used to bypass ATIPs regarding the national shipbuilding strategy?

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

Mr. Chair, the entire ATIP process is completely independent of my office.

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

Mr. Chair, were any code words used to bypass ATIPs regarding the purchase of Australian F-18s?

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

Mr. Chair, as I stated, the entire ATIP process is completely independent. If the member wants to talk more about how we are working with the Canadian Armed Forces, I will be happy to do so.

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

Mr. Chair, were any code words used to bypass ATIPs regarding the proposed purchase of Super Hornets?

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

Mr. Chair, we are committed to ensuring the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces have all the tools necessary for the air force. I have a list of things I would love to talk about regarding the work we are doing at the base in Petawawa.

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

Mr. Chair, were any code words used to bypass ATIPs regarding the upcoming competition to replace the CF-18s?

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

Mr. Chair, as I stated, the entire ATIP process is independent of my office.

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

Mr. Chair, were any code words used to bypass ATIPs regarding the infamous 2017 Team Canada “booze and abuse” flight?

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

Mr. Chair, we are committed to ensuring we create an environment for our women and men in the Canadian Armed Forces that is inclusive to all. That is exactly what we are going to be focused on.

The Conservatives focused on other things, and maybe that is why they did not deliver for the Canadian Armed Forces and kept cutting. They will continue on the same road.

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

Mr. Chair, did Mr. Finn write a memo claiming that the shipyard chosen to build the temporary supply ship was incapable of doing so?

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

Mr. Chair, could I have the question repeated, please?

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

Mr. Chair, did Mr. Finn write a memo claiming that the shipyard chosen to build the temporary supply ship was incapable of doing so?

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

Mr. Chair, we are committed to ensuring our navy has all the tools it needs, including the two joint supply ships.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

If this is so important, how can they laugh at it? We do not have joint supply ships. We are focused on delivering for our Canadian Armed Forces—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

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

Mr. Chair, did Mr. Finn meet with the RCMP during its investigation of the Norman case?