Harjit S. Sajjan

[National Defence, November 28th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is sobering and disappointing to know that members continue to be victimized and feel threatened in their work environment, but these survey results are critical for all of us in understanding the true scope and nature of the institution's problems.

The findings will assist the Canadian Armed Forces to focus our efforts in the areas of greatest concern. Every man and woman willing to serve their country despite many dangers and sacrifices in our military service deserves a professional environment in which they are treated with respect and dignity.

As I stated, we do need to do better.

[National Defence, November 28th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, sexual misconduct of any kind is completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated. Through Operation Honour, the Canadian Armed Forces remains fully committed to eliminating harmful, inappropriate sexual behaviour within its ranks. I sincerely thank the over 43,000 Canadian Armed Forces members who participated in the survey on sexual misconduct. We need to do better, and we will do better.

[National Defence, November 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, one, we do have a capability gap. I have spoken with the member opposite, who is the former parliamentary secretary to the minister of national defence, and he knows the numbers and the operational commitments that we have. Right now, we currently cannot meet those commitments simultaneously.

I do not understand why the Conservatives are against investing in the Canadian Armed Forces with an interim fleet right now.

[National Defence, November 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are investing in the Canadian Armed Forces. We are going to have an open and transparent competition, making sure that any company that meets the requirements will be able to compete.

In the interim, we are going to be filling the capability gap and not risk-managing as the previous government did. We are also going to be staying in the joint strike fighter program, which is going to benefit all Canadians.

We are going to be investing in the Canadian Armed Forces and not cutting as the previous government did.

[National Defence, November 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the previous government decided to risk manage the capability gap. Our government is not willing to take this risk.

We are going to be investing in the Canadian Armed Forces. That is why we are going to have an interim fleet of new aircraft to fill this gap, making sure we can meet all our obligations to NORAD, NATO, and any unforeseen situations.

If anybody thinks we are not going to have any unforeseen situations, then think about 9/11, when we had to put every single fighter up in the air.

[National Defence, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make sure that the member opposite understands how the process is going to work. After the defence policy is released, the process will begin for the permanent replacement of our fleet. In the interim, because of the capability gap, because we need to invest in the Canadian Armed Forces, we will be purchasing an interim fleet of 18 fighters to fill this gap.

I personally feel that investing in our Canadian Armed Forces is the right thing to do. That is exactly what our government promised to do, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[National Defence, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the previous government could not get this done in the last 10 years, and it should have had it done. We should not be flying aircraft that are 30 years old. These aircraft should have been replaced a long time ago.

We will be launching an open and transparent competition once the defence review is complete. We will be putting in an interim capability as well for the gap. We are going to be investing in our Canadian Armed Forces to make sure they have the right tools to fulfill their missions.

[National Defence, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we will be replacing the entire fleet with an open and transparent competition once the process starts after the defence policy review. There is a capability gap, and we will be buying an interim fleet. We will be staying as part of the joint strike fighter program as well.

[National Defence, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, right now, we cannot meet our NORAD and NATO commitments simultaneously. I have taken the advice from our chief of the defence staff. We have a capability gap, and the previous government policy was to risk manage that.

Our government's policy is not to risk manage it. We are going to be investing. We are going to make sure we have a permanent fleet replacement, with an open and transparent competition. We are going to have an interim fleet to fill this capability gap as well.

[National Defence, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the member opposite asked us to launch an open competition, and today I am very proud we have launched the competition. We will be launching this competition once the defence policy review is complete and we will start the process forward.

In the interim, because of the capability gap and because of the 10 years of neglect on this file, we are investing in our Canadian Armed Forces, making sure we can fill this gap and have the right equipment for our Canadian Armed Forces.