House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 49% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, as it is in my mandate letter to work with the associate minister as part of the transition from service member to veteran, we are working on a plan. We have identified in this budget $10.2 million for the transition from military life to civilian life. We do need to make it easier for a member to get into civilian life because it does pose considerable challenges.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, the money allocated to the confidential sexual misconduct response centre is $2.2 million.
Much more work is also being done through the chain of command beyond the centre because this type of behaviour needs to be completely eradicated from the Canadian Armed Forces. Of the 246 individuals who have contacted the centre, 156 identified themselves as members of the force and 34 made contact in regard to sexual assault. Twenty sexual misconduct investigations have been started by the NIS.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for her moving words. It definitely puts into perspective everything we do here.
This is probably one of the most important aspects of what we do, the challenges that our men and women face. They face certain challenges. We train them physically, but the mental side is more challenging. I am working very closely with the associate minister, who is also the Minister of Veterans Affairs, on a strategy for mental health.
For the military personnel health care system there will be $696 million, but it is not the dollars that matter. It is the strategy that we will be creating and I will announce that as time goes on.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, I have not given any direction with respect to any cuts. We are committed to these programs. When it comes to some of the programs, in cases where there has been greater efficiency, certain equipment has been purchased early. This is the complicated nature of some of the defence procurement. However, no cuts to these programs have been made.
In fact, we want to ensure that the Arctic patrol ships will be delivered as quickly as possible. For example, with respect to the Halifax frigate modernization program, there is only one frigate left. That is one procurement project that has gone very well.
All of these projects are on line to be delivered, but every one of them has certain challenges. We are working through those challenges so we can speed up the process. However, we have to do it in such a manner to ensure that when we do have the equipment delivered, it will be done well. The TAPV is one example where something was delivered and it needed to be improved. In fact, that work was done under warranty, and now that project is back on track.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, that is a question I would rather have in private because of the classified nature of the answer. I think the member would understand that.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, I do take a lot of requests from different members of Parliament with respect to our reserve units. When it comes to reserve units, one thing we have to be mindful of is ensuring the reserve units themselves remain strong. We will be looking at this. Reserves play a critical role. I have no intentions at this time. However, we will be conducting a review to ensure we remain efficient. As a former commanding officer of the reserves, I know the value reserves play for Canada and the regular forces.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, I have not looked at that, but right now I have no intention of closing anything down. We are conducting the defence review. We have a considerable amount of buildings that may not be utilized. In terms of our main bases, Bagotville is where a lot of our CF-18s are based. I look forward to visiting the area. In fact, we are going to be looking at ensuring we have all the capabilities in the right areas, and Bagotville plays a critical role.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, absolutely. The functions of our special forces and with the work they do, they are needed. We have our JTF2, our special operations regiment and the many other aspects of what they do. I have the privilege of finally knowing exactly what they do now. It is a critical capability and I am working aggressively to ensure they have all the capability to do their dangerous work.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, during my travels, I have talked to different division commanders, getting their perspective of what is happening in the reserves. There have been some challenges in recruiting. This is also not just because there has not been effort, there are also demographic challenges as well. In certain areas we are having challenges. If they cannot recruit, maybe allow certain other regions to recruit higher. We are going to be looking at different ways of increasing, and the defence review will be a part of that.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Madam Chair, the recruitment system has been a challenge for many of my predecessors. It is one that we are working on diligently. However, in the reserves, it is even more complex. This is not about having a full-time career; it is about part-time. It is about creating an environment. Also in the reserves, we should not just be focused on recruiting; we need to focus on retention. It is a different mindset in the reserves. We are looking at ways on how we can better attract, or more important, give better mechanism resources so commanding officers in reserve units can retain their soldiers as well.