House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 49% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, that was under the previous government. However, instead of talking about starting it, we should talk about finishing it. At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to have a replacement for the F-18, and we are committed to doing that.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, first, I too want to thank the member for his service, and in particular the empathy that he brought to the file when he was minister of veterans affairs. It was greatly appreciated by veterans.
I can assure the member that our government is committed to supporting our troops and ensuring that they have full capability, and it is working diligently.
Talking about previous governments, we are facing capability gaps. We should have had a fighter replacement by now, rather than trying to extend our CF-18s. When it comes to a transformation report, there were a lot of cuts that were done in the past.
However, instead of my getting into the laundry list on that, I want to give confidence to Canadians and to the opposition that our government is fully committed to supporting our men and women, ensuring that the money that has been reprofiled for the future is strictly reserved for the Canadian Armed Forces so it has all the capabilities that it needs for future threats.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, as members know, our current commitments in Iraq and Syria are the ones getting notable attention. However, we do have members also as part of Operation Reassurance. In Europe, we have a company in Poland that does training and capacity-building all across Europe. We have a frigate as well as part of the operations. We also have troops right now in Ukraine. We got to visit them and the wonderful work that they are doing. We conduct operations of counter-narcotics with tremendous success in the Caribbean, which is Operation Caribbe. There are a number of other operations I can list off that may not have a large number of troops but have a significant amount of impact. Our operation and the support we provide in the Sinai is one example of this, where we have another Canadian general being charged with that very important mission.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, there is a very unique perspective that the Canadian Armed Forces can bring from our various experiences from the early days, from Bosnia to most recently in Afghanistan, and now in Iraq. However, we also have an additional uniqueness that Canada brings to the table, which is our diversity and understanding of different cultures, which provides a very unique capability for the military. It is something that other nations just do not have.
Therefore, there are many aspects that the Canadian Armed Forces can contribute from our experience and from the uniqueness we have. I also want to point out that our troops from Quebec having that language skill and being able to build that rapport in the francophonie area is another aspect of a skill that can be brought to the table.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, I have been working very closely with the Minister of Foreign Affairs on this topic as we look at the greatest threats around the world. We have started the conversations at NATO as well on how we look at engaging in different parts of the world. The United Nations has many missions. How do we start integrating on the level of support?
We need to look at a much wider perspective than just from the military. We need to look at the vacuum that a lack of governance creates for radical groups. We also need to look at early capacity-building that can hopefully prevent conflict. We want to ensure that with anything that we do, we understand the conflict of the regions, not just one country but the wider region, and that we look at the problem from not just a military perspective, but from a whole-of-government perspective. I am happy to state even the coalition to counter ISIL, which we are part of, started to look at the whole problem of Daesh from a much wider perspective as well.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, I think Moose Jaw is where some of our NATO pilots were also training, and it supports an important function.
At this time, I have no intention of closing any bases. I want to make sure we look at all the infrastructure, especially as we go through the defence review. We need to look at all the access we have, as we move forward, so that we can make sure we can respond to all the challenges our nation has currently, and will have in the future.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, there is $4.6 billion set aside by the government for veterans in new money.
As I said, we are working in a manner that will ensure the transition is done well. There are a lot of programs. There are a lot of challenges. I know exactly what challenges they are facing. I have seen the impact upon some of our members. We need to ensure that transition goes well. The one big example that comes up is that if people are injured while in the military, why should they have to explain to a Veterans Affairs doctor that they have been injured?
These are the challenges we are working on right now. I just encourage the member not to turn it into a partisan thing, because there are many aspects I can start bringing up.
However, at the end of the day, what we need to be working on is that we all are going to work toward ensuring that our members are going to be looked after and that we give confidence to our veterans, because one thing our veterans do need, in addition to all the services, is to know that Canada has their backs, and Canada means us all.
We are committed to supporting our veterans, because I am also one of them, and there are members from other parties who are also veterans. I have never talked about my injuries. I was actually injured in Afghanistan. I have been through the process myself, so I do know how they feel. However, there are some serious injuries on the mental side of things. It is also unique. We cannot look at it very broadly. We need to be able to cater right down, sometimes, to the individual member. That is what we are trying to do with this transition.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, I want to make it very clear that our government is not making any cuts. We have had a pretty good conversation from a non-partisan perspective, but at the end of the day, our veterans, regardless of party, need to know that Canada has their backs. They do not care which government is in power. We need to keep working to improve. I can assure the member that we are extremely focused on veterans. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about some of the veterans we have lost.
This government has put it as a priority. That is one of the reasons I actually got into politics. We are fully committed to supporting our veterans. It is one of the reasons the Prime Minister made a unique position for the Minister of Veterans Affairs to also be my associate minister to work on this point, ensuring that the transition for our Canadian Armed Forces members is done in a manner that works well for all members as they transition into civilian life.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, when it comes to suicides in 2015, we had 15 regular force members and three reserve force members. However, at the end of the day, one is too many and we need to do our utmost to make sure that our members have the right resources. The JPSU chain of command and the work that we try to do with myself and the Minister of Veterans Affairs is all part of that. As I said, we owe it to our men and women to make sure they have the right resources for the challenges they face, and one is too many.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, the staff of the JPSU is obviously being assessed, but we can take it much broader than that. It is making sure that we have that transition piece when we are talking about JPSU and the units. We need to do more on the preventative side. If we focus within the units and prevent people getting into the JPSU, that is even better success. However, at the same time, we do need to make sure that they have the right resources, and this will be an ongoing assessment within JPSU. We have identified a few that we are working on and if the needs do change, we will adjust accordingly.