Harjit S. Sajjan

[National Defence, June 22nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite continues to play political games. As he very well knows, from the time that I joined and the time that I left and currently, what I am doing is making sure we look after our troops. We know we have a lot more work to do. The work we began in 2015, we are going to get it done. Where the member opposite cut, when he was the parliamentary secretary for national defence when the Conservatives were in government, we invested. We have a lot more work to do, and we will get it done.

[National Defence, June 21st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the work of the committee, it makes its own decisions, but I look forward to the recommendations on which the members have been working. I know our members of the committee are absolutely committed to supporting survivors. The antics that the opposition continues to make are to prevent that work.

Our government has worked since we formed a government on providing support to survivors, with the passing of Bill C-77. We know that we have a lot more work to do and we will continue to do it.

[National Defence, June 21st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely committed to making sure that we create a harassment-free workplace, free of absolute misconduct. I thank Justice Fish for the work he has done. We are accepting all the recommendations. In fact, we have actually started implementing 36 of the recommendations.

We will also be working alongside Madame Justice Arbour on the next steps as well.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of not passing a fault, maybe the member should ask himself this: What action did he take when General Vance was appointed and went under an investigation?

We will not take lessons from the member opposite when it comes to service of this country. I also served my country and I take very seriously looking after our people. That is why we increased our budget for the military and put people number one. Why I say we need to do more is because I also feel the pain of our members. I will do my darndest and best always for the sake of the Canadian Armed Forces until we get an environment that is inclusive and not the politics that the member opposite continually plays.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with the member opposite. When it comes to that, we need to do more. We have started, from 2015, making the changes that have been necessary, but we know they have not gone far enough, and we are willing to do more. We are willing to take in any further recommendations.

On the recommendations that were provided by Justice Fish, we have accepted. The work that Madame Deschamps brought on highlighted the problem that is facing the Canadian Armed Forces, as will the work that Madame Arbour will be doing.

We will be taking action. We continue the work on passing Bill C-77 and also ensuring we continue to create an inclusive environment for all in the Canadian Armed Forces.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we owe it to the women and men in the Canadian Armed Forces to ensure that we create an inclusive environment. We are working not only to implement the report of Madame Deschamps, but also Justice Fish's report on the military justice system and Madame Arbour and the work she will do, when it comes to the recommendations on the culture change that is needed, which will look at the performance evaluation system and also look at how leaders are selected and trained.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with the assertions that the member has made. Any allegations that were ever brought to my attention were always taken to the immediate authority. No politician should ever get involved in an investigation. No politician should start an investigation, especially on the Canadian Armed Forces members, as the previous government used to do.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, no person in Canada is above the law. The military police and the NIS are independent of the chain of command. When it comes to the incident of the golf course, the acting chief of the defence staff has also, as the member knows, advised me that the vice-chief of the defence staff is no longer in his role.

We know that we have a lot more work to do, and we will get it done. We have accepted Justice Fish's recommendations.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, talk about supporting the navy. The previous government allowed our two joint supply ships to be lost. We lost that capability. When it came to the interim supply ship, I supported this work. Our government approved it, got it done, but more importantly, we put the money into the defence policy so we can buy two brand new joint supply ships, and they are being built right now as we speak. Plus, we are also equipping the navy with the Arctic and offshore patrol ships, six of them, and 15 surface combatants, because we put the money there to serve our troops.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question because I also briefed him on the plan on how ISIS was going to be defeated on the ground working with our coalition partners, and that is exactly what we did. We increased our troops contributions on the ground. We increased our intelligence support, because that is what our coalition partners asked for. Now, 98% of the territory is not controlled by lSIS. We also took a regional approach. Our plan worked because we worked with our allies by supporting our troops on the ground.