Gordon O'Connor

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member had a number of questions. I hope I can keep track of them. The total cost to send the tanks, the cannon mortar and the engineers to Afghanistan was $189 million and that was the transportation plus what was necessary to get all the equipment up to standard for operations.

With respect to Excalibur, we do not own nor do we have any Excaliburs in the armed forces. I think someone is still trying to find out what the theoretical price is from a company but we do not have any rounds in the armed forces.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, the incremental costs for the mission in Afghanistan to date is $2.1 billion. It is estimated, going forward to the end of the mission, that there will be a further $1.8 billion expended. So, total incremental costs estimated to the end of the mission, that is February 2009, and also getting the forces home if that is the decision at the time, will cost $3.9 billion incrementally.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, I do not know if that is a question or not. I will say again that the military need this equipment. They are getting what they need. Every dollar spent will be returned to Canada in investments.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, I have to inform the hon. member that I am not the Minister of Industry and I do not know the details of benefits. He will have to contact the Minister of Industry for that. However, the equipment we are acquiring is what is needed by the armed forces and that every dollar spent on this equipment, no matter where it is spent, will be returned to Canada in investment, dollar for dollar.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, fortunately, I do not have to make that choice. What I try to do and what the government tries to do is find a balance among diplomacy, development and security. From our point of view, whatever it takes to be successful in the Kandahar area is what we are doing, so we do not have to make Hobson's choice.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, the member opposite obviously ignored my first answer. I guess I will have to say it again.

We have about 1,000 soldiers involved in the battle group protecting the entire province of Kandahar. There are 400 or so soldiers involved in the PRT, along with diplomats, policemen and people from CIDA. As I have said before, from our point of view, the main function of all of that military effort is to support development work. Development work is going on throughout the entire Kandahar province, as it is throughout the whole country.

It is not a military oriented mission as such, but we have to do what is necessary to bring the Taliban under control. We cannot allow the Taliban to win and take over. Remember what kind of murderous regime there was before NATO and the alliance moved in. The Taliban was running the country, executing people, suppressing women's rights, et cetera. I could go on but everyone knows the story. We need the military there to suppress the Taliban so we can get on with development.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, I mentioned that we were sending, and in fact they are arriving this month, a reinforced infantry company to protect the PRT. The PRT itself is essentially military. There are some diplomats there and some CIDA people, but most of the people in the PRT are military. The PRT and the protection put together will have more than 400 people involved.

With respect to the battle group, it may vary in numbers but the battle group number is somewhere around 1,000 armour, infantry, artillery, engineers, et cetera. Their job is to protect development and townsfolk in the entire province of Kandahar, not just the PRT inside Kandahar City. Their job is in the entire province. There are about 1,000 in the battle group who are trying to suppress the insurgency throughout the entire province and there are about 400 in the PRT.

The remaining people represent those people who we have to have to support the mission, the logistics support, the command and control support, and the air support. That is what the rest of the people do.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, the primary purpose of the military in Afghanistan is actually to support development. We have recently committed extra forces to defend the provincial reconstruction team. We have now committed a full infantry company, a reinforced infantry company, to defend the provincial reconstruction team whose primary mission is to get out among the people and improve their lives.

The battle group is there not only to protect the PRT but to protect the Afghan aid programs, the U.S. aid programs, the Afghan government, the UN aid programs, and all the aid programs. The battle group is there to keep the insurgency under control so development can proceed.

When I talk to troops, I tell them that our mission there is to protect the development mission. That is why we have put so much military effort in there.

Our focus has not changed. It is the same mission that we inherited and we are carrying on with it. What has happened in the meanwhile is that the level of violence has gone up and we have had to react. If we do not keep the level of violence down, we cannot continue with our projects.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, the government extends its gratitude to the men and women of the reserves. The reserves are an integral part of the Canadian Forces. We could not fulfill many important roles, both at home and overseas, without them.

There are currently approximately 25,000 members of the reserve force within nine separate organizations, including the army, navy, air force, communications, medical and legal reserves. Forty-five per cent of the reserves hold full time civilian jobs and 40% are students. As we promised during the election campaign, we are working to expand the primary reserve to 35,000.

Not many Canadians know that our reservists fill such a diverse set of roles. For example, our naval reservists provide port security and operate maritime coastal defence vessels. Members of the air reserve perform squadron augmentation and support roles. The army reserve will participate in territorial battalions.

The Canadian Forces continue to work on the land force reserve structure, an ongoing project designed to help to ensure the long term relevance and effectiveness of the army reserve and the Canadian Forces as a whole by expanding the role and size of the land force reserve.

The second phase of the project, which focuses on change in growth, wrapped up this summer. The restructure of the land force reserves continues to move forward. The land force reserve restructure resulted in significant benefits, including improving the way the CF recruits reserves, development of personnel policies to support force generation for operations and the growth of the army reserve from its current strength to more than 16,000.

The land force reserve restructure process was recently integrated into the overall CF and army transformation process. Work is now underway for a third phase that will guide future growth and further integration of the army reserve.

Reservists are playing an invaluable role in our current mission in Afghanistan. The Canadian Forces currently have mechanisms in place to assist reserve members in maintaining their civilian employment while they are deployed. For example, the Canadian Forces liaison council has a highly successful process in place to advocate on behalf of reserves. The council has lobbied more than 4,900 employers that have pledged to support the reserve and more than half of those have committed to allow their employees to participate in operations. Among them, the federal government, all 10 provincial governments and 147 municipalities have stated their support.

An estimated 40% of reserves are students. The Canadian Forces liaison council has launched a special project to reach the 308 post-secondary schools and obtain their support for reservists who attend their institutions. In the first year of the project, 163 institutions have pledged their support.

We will continue to work with the private sector to help them understand the important role reservists play in the Canadian Forces for their country and the skills and experience they bring back to their employer upon returning from a deployment.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Chair, a lot has happened since this government took office. In a matter of mere months we are getting things done for Canadians. We have begun to clean up government and politics by introducing the federal accountability act. We have strengthened crime legislation by tackling gun, gang and drug crimes. We have worked to keep the economy strong by cutting taxes and paying down the debt. We have protected Canada's sovereignty and advanced Canada's interest in the world and have taken a leadership role in international affairs.

On top of that, we have also done a lot for our Canadian Forces. I know that members of the House are unanimous in their desire to support Canada's military, but I also know we do not always agree on how we should do that. Indeed, investments in defence can be contentious. They often amount to very large sums and are paid for with hard-earned Canadian tax dollars. They demand the responsible and critical oversight of the House. So I welcome this opportunity before the committee of the whole today to assure each member and all Canadians that current spending by the Department of National Defence is well justified and in the interests of Canada.

To inform this debate, I want to explain the current government's vision of the defence of Canada.

I want to explain the departmental management framework that is guiding all our spending decisions while we are working to make that vision a reality. I especially want to stress that this government is going forward with a number of practical initiatives that will provide our troops with the support they deserve.

We all know that the world has changed considerably since the end of the cold war. We face new security challenges like global terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and failed and failing states. The stark reality remains that we lost 24 men and women in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and, unfortunately, September 11 was not a solitary event. Since that date, we have been reminded numerous times that international terrorism still poses a threat to us.

While the cold war is over, the need for diligence in Canadian defence and security has not decreased. More than 3,000 Canadian soldiers, sailors and air force personnel are deployed overseas in operations today. On any given day, about 8,000 Canadian Forces members are preparing for, engaging in or returning from an overseas mission. At home approximately 10,000 military men and women diligently work to defend our territory and its approaches, to assert our sovereignty and to serve our communities.

The expectations of a declining military role in the post cold war world have not panned out. The demand for defence capabilities continues to be strong. That is why the government is committed to strengthening the independent capacity of the Canadian Forces. We need a three-ocean navy, a robust army and a revitalized air force that is able to operate as an integrated Canadian Forces team to defend, to help protect the North American continent and to contribute to stability abroad.

To guide our steps forward, the Department of National Defence, in accordance with the Treasury Board's government-wide mandate, is implementing a new planning and accountability structure. It is called the program activity architecture and is based on three strategic outcomes that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces provide to Canada.

The first is that Canadians are confident that the Canadian Forces have the capability and the capacity to meet Canada's defence and security commitments.

The second is that the Canadian Forces achieve success in operations, whether at home dealing with severe spring floods in Manitoba or abroad bringing security to southern Afghanistan.

The third is that the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence promote good governance, Canadian identity and influence in a global community.

Canadians identify with and are proud of the Canadian Forces. On the international scene, the professionalism, performance and bravery of our men and women bring much credibility to Canada.

To achieve these results, the program activity architecture describes three main activities around which the work of the department is oriented.

The first activity consists in generating and sustaining relevant, responsive and effective combat-capable integrated forces. The second consists in conducting successful operations, and the third consists in contributing to the Canadian government, Canadian society and the international community in accordance with Canadian interests and values.

Together these are obvious but profound goals for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.

The government has moved forward on some major initiatives that will contribute to achieving these goals, which the recently tabled supplementary estimates support. For instance, we announced plans to expand the numbers of the Canadian Forces. We have initiated a program to increase the regular force by 13,000 and the reserves by 10,000.

A force expansion of such magnitude requires an aggressive national recruitment campaign, as well as the expansion and modernization of our recruitment and training systems. We are also working hard to retain existing military members by providing fair pay and allowances, improving base infrastructure and providing appropriate compensation for special forces and other members engaged in operations.

In addition, as I announced in June, we are planning to acquire medium size logistics trucks, medium to heavy lift helicopters, strategic and tactical aircraft and joint support ships. These procurement projects will not only enhance the capabilities of the Canadian Forces, but through the industrial regional benefits, policy they will also support our domestic defence industry.

To assure Canadians that their military is serving them at home, we are exploring options for Arctic defence initiatives and for territorial and rapid reaction battalions. Because Canadian security is inseparable from stability abroad, we are throwing our full support behind the mission in Afghanistan.

We have extended the mission to February 2009 and we have enhanced the configuration of our military contingent to address current military needs in theatre. They are extremely positive developments for the Canadian Forces and for all Canadians. Because the department has created a management framework that guides our resource allocation, we know that these investments are the right investments for Canada.

Having said that, the substantial efforts we have made so far cannot be the end of the story. It will take several years to restore the Canadian Forces to the level sufficient to meet Canada's defence needs. That is why in the coming months the government will release a Canada first defence strategy. This document will outline the capabilities that the Canadian Forces need for the next 10 years and beyond.

When I say that this government is determined to do more for the Canadian Forces this year and in the years to come, I do not mean that we are simply going to spend more money.

We have also looked at a number of ways of reducing costs in order to make better use of every dollar allocated to national defence. For example, we are transforming our defence procurement process so that we can provide the Canadian Forces with what they need when they need it, but in an economical and timely manner.

Managing the resources of a federal department requires difficult decisions, but at the heart of every decision that this government makes is our fundamental commitment to enhance the security of Canadians.

The Canadian Forces need our support today, tomorrow and the years to come. We just cannot give them verbal support. The Canadian Forces need tangible resources to do their job. It is that simple.

I welcome questions from members and I welcome constructive debate.