Harjit S. Sajjan

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, I do not have the exact answer about which budget, but I want to make sure we keep it responsive. Instead of trying to manage which budget, it will allow the chain of command to come up with that function on its own. There are 24 centres, but we need to make sure it is agile. We need to decentralize with that relationship, because at the end of the day, it is JPSU and its staff and the chain of command that know their troops the best. I trust in the chain of command to make sure that the right resources are allocated and that flexibility is better done at the lower levels.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, the budget is $17.5 million for JPSU, but I think it deserves a broader answer. I absolutely agree with the member that we should be assessing our delivery constantly to make sure we keep up with the needs. In fact, that is the one thing the chief of the defence staff has done as part of his review. He is making sure that the JPSU stays linked with the chain of command, because it is an integral portion. Members can go back.

When I was in Val Cartier, there was one member who was injured. He was shot in the leg and he did not want to be released. He was able to recover, do all of the tests, and go back into the unit. I had the honour of actually promoting him. It shows that the system does work, that the chain of command is compassionate and responsive. Regardless, we need to constantly assess to make sure we provide the right delivery for our members.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, the cadet program, in my opinion, is one of the best leadership programs in the country. It provides leadership regardless of whatever skills the cadets may choose in the future. It is something we in the regular force can actually learn from, because the diversity the cadets have in some of their units is unique. They end up recruiting as representative of the population, and we can learn from some of their methods.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, there are many aspects of how the training is integrated. It starts with basic training. The core foundation of reserve training is the level of training that the regular force gets. We train up to a certain level. As I stated earlier in response to previous questions, when it comes to operations, whether domestic or international, reservists are selected through the chain of command and then given theatre-specific training or domestic operations training before they take part in any type of operation. It is a system that has worked well in the past, but we are looking at ways to improve it as well.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, having two official languages, French being one of them obviously, if we want to attract the best and brightest from the region, we have to take a look at different options. The Royal Military College Saint-Jean is one option. We have reviewed it extensively. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. I am hoping to have the answer very shortly.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, when reservists go on operations, they become class E. It is the equivalent of being part of the regular force, and they get all the services and benefits of all members on deployment. It is included as part of the pre-deployment training, and when the individual returns they get the post-deployment benefits as well, from decompression to leave and all the required medical needs as well.

If a member of the reserves is injured and the injuries last, they remain on contract so that they can stay and get paid. They pretty much stay on contract until they are well enough to go back to civilian life.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, it all depends on what type of unit we are talking about, whether they are armoured, artillery, infantry, comms, and then we get the naval reserves as well.

We go through a series of procurement plans that support the reserves. In particular, I can talk to you directly about the G wagon, which provides the capability for armoured reconnaissance units in the reserves, but we are in the process of replacing that in the future.

We look at many different capabilities, but we have to ensure they do not only have the capability for today. As part of the defence review, we need to make sure that our reserves can be modernized for future threats as well.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, when it comes to the reserves, we have to be mindful that reserves are part time. They should not be expected to train at the level of the regular force, because the regular force is full time; that is their job.

In the reserves, it is about maintaining a level of capability so that when they are called upon, they can be selected DAG green. DAG is departure assistance group, green, and then they go through a series of pre-deployment training, and the length of time depends on deployment. Then they are able to make it up to the level of the regular forces before they go on operation. That is what the reserves are there to do.

When they are class B, it is different because they are working full time, but then they are expected to be at a higher capability as their regular force partners are.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, the reserves or any military personnel do not use civilian vehicles. They can only authorize and use military vehicles, and the type of vehicle they use is of an individual unit's choice, whether it is a G wagon or a command post that is used.

Many different vehicles can be used. It all depends on the circumstances and it all depends on the trade, whether armoured, reconnaissance, or artillery, or it depends on the type of exercise that is being conducted. Potentially, they might be doing a scenario that requires a civilian vehicle, and then they would request that to be utilized in the exercise. It all depends really on the situation and the training exercises.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Chair, when we have certain deployments they will be ready. All reserves are not usually deployed. It depends on what operations. Reserves are not designed to be put on deployments. If an operation comes up, a request is made through the various chains of command. It also depends on which region of the nation is responsible for those deployments and a call-out is done through the various commands. Then pre-deployment training is selected. Certain members are DAG green. After that, they go through their training, and then they are selected and go on deployments.