Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.
It is such an honour to join my colleagues this evening for this incredibly important debate on one of the greatest challenges that has ever faced our country. Many of my hon. colleagues have spoken about the whole-of-government effort to provide vaccines to Canadians and keep Canadians safe. I would like to focus my remarks on one specific aspect of our response, the important work being done by our defence team and the Canadian Armed Forces. No matter the mission, Canadian Armed Forces members have continued to demonstrate the very best our country has to offer.
This is clearer than ever, now that we are now transitioning to supporting the distribution of vaccines. This evening, I would like to speak about how the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence have been reliable partners in our whole-of-government fight against COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has required us all to make important changes to our lives and our routines to stay safe. This has truly required a whole-of-nation effort. From individuals to businesses, to our government, everyone has an important role to play in our response to COVID-19, including our defence team. Most notably, since the pandemic first emerged here in Canada, Canadian Armed Forces members and DND personnel have been working closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Starting in October, when the Public Health Agency of Canada began to develop its strategy to distribute vaccines across the country, defence team members once again answered the call. A number of Canadian Armed Forces members and civilian staff have been temporarily reassigned to support the Public Health Agency of Canada in the planning and coordination of these efforts.
They include Major-General Dany Fortin, who was named vice-president of logistics and operations in November. He is working alongside other leaders on a vaccine distribution task force at the Public Health Agency of Canada, or PHAC.
He is well positioned for this role, having led complex operations as the first commander of the NATO mission in Iraq from 2018 to 2019. Major-General Fortin is joined by several defence team logistics experts, operation planners, health care workers, engineers and information technology and systems experts. Each of these defence team personnel brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, which are critical to facilitating vaccine delivery, ensuring that vaccines are safely stored and effectively distributed to our provinces and territories. Canadians can have full confidence in their military to support this national effort under Operation Vector.
In December, Canadian Armed Forces members delivered five medical-grade freezers to two of our northern territories in support of our Public Health Agency of Canada partners. Earlier this month, in Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, they helped transport vulnerable individuals to and from vaccination sites. Last week, they helped local authorities in Watson Lake, Yukon, tear down a temporary vaccine site in the community and the Canadian Armed Forces is working closely with the Government of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation to finalize the planning to deploy to up to 32 communities in northern Ontario to help with the public health vaccination program.
Canadian Armed Forces units across the country are ready to support civilian authorities if and when they are needed. However, it is important to note that their primary role is not to administer vaccines. That important responsibility rests with local health authorities.
At this crucial time in Canada's fight against COVID-19, the members of the defence team are providing essential support to PHAC.
The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces remain ready and responsive at all times and have been since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, Canadians have been able to depend on the dedicated professionals on the defence team to help them and to save lives.
This past year has been a testament to their adaptability and resilience, and it is a stark reminder of how Canadian Armed Forces members risk their lives every single day to protect and defend our nation and its people. Despite the unique challenges of the past year, they have continued to make Canadians proud.
In February of last year, Canadian Armed Forces members were integral in bringing Canadians home in the face of the growing threat of the coronavirus. Through this work, we know how critical it is that Canadian Armed Forces members remain safe and healthy to deploy when needed. That is why defence team leadership took decisive action to protect all employees and Canadian Armed Forces. Our focus was on ensuring that critical capabilities remained intact, and many Canadian Armed Forces members came home from or delayed deploying on operations abroad.
All these measures made it possible for Canadian Armed Forces members to be ready to answer the call and help Canadians. That call came quickly.
By April, thousands of Canadian Armed Forces members were assigned to Operation Laser, the mission to support our government's response to COVID-19. They worked on the front lines alongside health care professionals in 54 long-term care facilities: 47 in Quebec and seven in Ontario.
In Ontario and Manitoba, Canadian Armed Forced members also helped the Public Health Agency of Canada manage PPE in warehouses, to ensure that it could be distributed quickly to the people who need it.
In addition, more than 1,200 Canadian Rangers deployed in northern and indigenous communities across the country, providing essential support when it was needed the most. Recently, as cases began to surge again in the second wave in the fall and winter months, Canadian Armed Forces members answered the call once again in several indigenous communities in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Among other critical tasks, Canadian Armed Forces medical assistance teams helped establish and operate alternative isolation areas in these regions, and Canadian Rangers are currently supporting the Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation in Saskatchewan, delivering food, firewood and care packages to members of the community. They are also ensuring that community leaders have the information they need to mitigate risks and put effective health measures in place for their residents.
Our Canadian Armed Forces are helping out in some of the hardest-hit communities in Canada and deploying abroad to support our partners and allies in training, deterrence and peace support efforts. While they protect the health and safety of Canadians, it is our job to protect theirs. We have worked hard to ensure that they have the appropriate PPE for each deployment and closely follow public health measures and quarantine requirements as needed. Canadian Armed Forces members have begun to receive the vaccine, starting with front-line health care providers. All of this ensures that they remain safe and ready to help Canadians through the pandemic and beyond.
It will take time for things to get back to normal. We need to be patient and stay committed to ensuring that Canadians have access to a safe and effective vaccine.
However, I am confident in the work of the defence team and our partners across government to reach that light at the end of the tunnel and bring this pandemic to an end.