Harjit S. Sajjan

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, when we discuss our government's commitment to work in a multilateral environment, whether it is the United Nations or NATO, it is about understanding conflict. We do need to learn the lessons from the past, and I have openly stated this many times.

I have served in Bosnia and in Afghanistan, and I completely agree with the member that this is a new way of looking at peacekeeping work at a certain time. When we talk about peacekeeping now, it is about understanding conflict. We need to make sure that we are ready for high-intensity conflict, and in between, work in a much more holistic manner, as a whole of government, as we did with Operation Impact.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, absolutely we will be taking in all the advice. In fact, members of Parliament here have direct access to me. When I was given the privilege of being the Minister of National Defence, I sent out a letter to all members of Parliament.

However, I want to make sure that the defence review reaches out to all Canadians to have their experience, their advice, provided to us. This is one of the reasons I have, on my minister's advisory panel, four exceptional Canadians to give me that advice through a very profound, filtered lens, so that when we do come up with a final conclusion of the defence review, it will have a significant impact.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, from the round of questions, I think the member wants to be given confidence that our government is going to be supporting our troops and making sure that they are going to be looked after and have the right capabilities. This defence review is just that.

We are going to have a very wide consultation among all Canadians, where all members of Parliament can participate, and we are going to have experts. This is exactly what it is for, making sure that our military is focused, that it has the ability to respond to the government's needs, that we are making sure our men and women have the right capability, that they are looked after, and that the Canadian Armed Forces is structured to better support its members.

I would also like to mention that it has been over 20 years since we have had a full public consultation defence review.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, I cannot comment on something I have just now been made aware of. As the member knows, I have made my department open, quite extensively, not only for briefings but I am also happy to answer these questions, whether it is at committee or not. I am happy to provide briefings from my department as well.

In terms of those camps, they are not just used by cadets. They are used by our troops in many different capacities, from temporary quarters to courses that are run. They are used by many folks and it was an opportunity for us to winterize them so that our troops can benefit from those barracks.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, as you know, the project for bringing in 25,000 refugees was a vast one. The military has the ability to respond very quickly. One of the great assets we had was infrastructure in place that could be utilized for the refugees. We are very proud of that fact.

When I was advised that some of the barracks had to be upgraded, I thought it was an opportunity because our troops also use the facilities. As an added benefit, not only could they have been used for the refugees, but now they will be used for the benefit of all of our troops.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, first, as I stated earlier, our government is not making any cuts to defence. We are sticking with the planned increases. As the member talked about, the discussions that happen within committee are its own, but we have absolutely no plans to shut down any bases.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, I would like to echo the sentiments of the hon. member in recognizing of our men and women who serve us day in and day out. They do tremendous work in supporting our great efforts.

I was asked a question by someone. “Isn't it tough to be away from your family?” I told the person that I had nothing to complain about. We have men and women right now around the world, away from their families. We have a lot to be thankful for.

The concerns that the member has raised could not be further from the truth. As I stated early on, when it comes to our government's commitment to our men and women, it is rock solid, and we delivered on that. We were going to maintain the planned increases. We have kept that commitment. The 2% planned increases have remained. That is a total of $361 million.

In addition to that, we had $200 million for infrastructure. The $3.7 billion the member is talking about is money that is not cut. It is actually re-profiled to further years, which would allow the procurement to catch up. It is not a cut. It is re-profiled for the years we will need it.

[National Defence, May 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for his concern. I was actually one of those reservists on those deployments who received the training.

I can assure members that we are accepting all the Auditor General's recommendations. I would also like to say that the Canadian Armed Forces has already started working on improving the training aspect for domestic and international operations, including the recruiting and retention for our reserve force to play a critical role in domestic and international operations.

[Privacy, May 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in the previous report that the commissioner released, he said that a CSE official proactively provided the information to them, which allowed them to conduct a thorough investigation.

I also want to remind the hon. member that CSE plays a critical role in protecting against cyber-threats, foreign espionage, and foreign-based terrorist threats as well.

[Privacy, May 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to make it clear for the hon. member that the Communications Security Establishment has no oversight over CSIS.

To answer her question, CSE has proactively worked with the commissioner on all aspects. They do have a good working relationship, because CSE abides by Canadian law, including the Privacy Act.