Jean Rioux

[National Defence, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, it is too bad that the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles did not attend last night's gala to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic, because the minister received a very warm welcome. Even officer cadets wanted to meet him, have their picture taken with him, and hear what he had to say. The veterans and sailors who were there showed their support, and I saw this first-hand. The warm welcome he received demonstrates that his credibility remains intact with the Canadian Armed Forces.

[National Defence, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Defence is a former reservist. He will always honour the service of our Canadian Armed Forces members, the ones with whom he served on his missions and those who served under other commanders or at other times.

Today, the minister and the government are responsible for making sure that our Canadian Armed Forces have all the equipment they need to successfully carry out their missions and all the support they need to ensure their well-being.

We conducted an extremely thorough defence policy review in which all members of Parliament had an opportunity to take part.

[National Defence, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, we will make sure that our troops have all the necessary benefits to carry out their duties. They will be paid retroactively. It is our government that dealt with the immediate inequity for the soldiers who lost their tax-free status in operation Impact. Our government is working hard to review the compensation rules and find a long-term solution to fix the mess we inherited and to ensure a fair and equitable process for all.

[National Defence, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, the minister has the highest regard for the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their service. He is now delivering on the broad mandate that he was given. He will soon unveil a new defence policy that will ensure that the military has the appropriate equipment and everything it needs on its missions to uphold Canada's sovereignty, to defend North America with NORAD, and to fulfill our international obligations to keep peace in the world.

[National Defence, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to providing appropriate compensation to our troops for the remarkable work they are do in Canadian Armed Forces operations. As the minister has said repeatedly, he is determined to take action on this.

We recently modified the dates on which risk levels came into effect so that Canadian Armed Forces members deployed in Kuwait when the risk levels were lowered will not be affected by this change during their deployment.

[National Defence, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the military justice system is extremely important, and National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are looking closely at this matter to improve the conditions of all men and women in uniform.

[Public Services and Procurement, April 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind members that we inherited an issue that the previous government was unable to resolve. The previous government did not have the will and was unable to advance the replacement of our aging fighter jets or to make the right decisions at the right time. The Conservatives also lost many years as a result of their poor management and indecisiveness. Too often they became mired in processes that were highly politicized and resulted in repeated failure.

Since coming to power, we have worked very hard to correct past mistakes and to ensure that our troops have the necessary equipment to meet Canada's defence needs.

[Public Services and Procurement, April 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and for the opportunity to talk about the replacement of our fighter jets. This is an item of unfinished business that we inherited from the previous government.

On November 22, the government announced a plan to replace our fighter fleet. It is a simple, three-part plan.

First, we agreed to implement new measures to extend the life of the fleet of CF-18s, which would allow them to remain operational until they were replaced. Second, as promised, we are going to launch an open and transparent tendering process to acquire a new permanent fleet. Third, we also agreed to explore the possibility of buying 18 Super Hornets to replace our aging CF-18s.

Over the past few months, Canadian officials have been meeting regularly with representatives of the American government and Boeing in that regard. The Minister of National Defence met with his counterpart, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, General Mattis, and has also written to ask him to give this matter his personal attention and support.

The Government of Canada recently sent a letter of request to the U.S. government, which described our requirements, indicated the timeline, and confirmed our intent to apply the industrial and technological benefits policy to this future acquisition. These discussions and these exchanges will allow us to determine whether the U.S. government can provide an interim fleet of Super Hornets at a reasonable price, in an acceptable timeframe, and on terms satisfactory to Canada.

We must ensure that our Canadian Armed Forces can carry out their mission, both here and abroad. A modern fleet of fighter jets is vital if we are to defend Canada and exercise our sovereignty, especially in the north. It is a vital contribution to NORAD and to the protection of the continent that we share with the United States.

The fighter jets are also a key element of our commitment to our allies in NATO, the alliance that ensures peace and stability in Europe.

We are fully aware of the challenges that a mixed fleet could pose. We will ensure that our air force has the resources to face these challenges. In fact, the majority of our partners and our close allies, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia, already operate mixed fleets.

The least we can do is provide our troops with the equipment and capacity they need. That is why we are going forward with this plan. Taken together, these measures will assure Canadians that Canada's fighter jet needs are met in both the short and long terms.

We will take as much time as we need to make sure the RFP process to permanently replace our CF-18s is fair and permanent. We will ensure that the industry has every opportunity to participate. The RFP process will also be guided by the results of the defence review. This process will ensure that we acquire fighter jets that are suitable for the Canadian Armed Forces in the long term, that are priced right, and that will have robust economic spinoffs for Canada.

[Foreign Affairs, April 10th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I think that the Canadian Armed Forces and the government are committed to investing for the future. We are talking about over $80 billion.

The government is committed to taking concrete action and playing a more active role in the global arena. We are actively examining all of the options to see how the Canadian Armed Forces and the Government of Canada as a whole can best contribute to building peace and security. The House can rest assured that the personnel who are deployed will have the right equipment, the necessary training, and the appropriate rules of engagement, as they do on all missions. The Canadian Armed Forces has developed a joint doctrine note on child soldiers, which will help ensure that our troops are properly prepared, both mentally and physically.

In closing, I would like to once again thank my colleague for his question and for his concern for the well-being of the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces.

[Foreign Affairs, April 10th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, this an important issue.

I would like to start by making a few corrections. The defence budget was increased this year, and $8 billion were indeed deferred in the budget for procuring equipment when it becomes obsolete. Just check the budget. There is $8 billion. There was $3 billion last year and there is $5 billion this year. Those numbers should not be added.

The government is firmly committed globally and contributes in more ways than one to making the world a more stable and safer place. Last August, our government committed to deploying 600 members of Canadian Armed Forces and 150 police officers to join United Nations peacekeeping operations. These three-year deployments are part of a multi-department strategy and have a budgetary envelope of $450 million. This approach will enable us to consider all aspects of peace operations, including mediation, conflict prevention, and peace building.

Canada also plans to host the next UN peacekeeping defence ministerial in 2017. My colleague across the aisle mentioned the possibility of Canada winning a seat on the UN Security Council. That would be a great way for Canada to actively promote Canadian values. It would allow us to achieve very noble objectives, especially in terms of governance, respect for diversity, and respect for human rights, especially those of women and refugees.

Future deployments of the Canadian Armed Forces have also been the subject of consultation with the United Nations and Canada's partner countries. We will ensure that any troops deployed have the appropriate equipment and the training needed to properly carry out their mission. Given that today's peace support operations are different than those of the past, we will also establish firm rules of engagement to maximize the chances of success. These rules of engagement will allow our troops to better defend themselves and those we are called upon to work with. In that regard, I want to reassure my colleague across the aisle that the safety of our troops is our top priority and is central to our military planning and our decision-making process.

Thus, even though our troops would be deployed under UN auspices, the chief of the defence staff would at all times be fully in command of our troops.

When the Government of Canada makes its decision about the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces, the pre-deployment training will be adapted for each mission to the specific conditions. Training could be provided with respect to cultural awareness, gender-based analysis, peace support operations, civilian and military co-operation, and dangerous environments. There will also be training on the joint doctrine note on child soldiers, which was recently adopted by the Canadian Armed Forces. This doctrine will help guarantee that our troops are well trained and mentally prepared to act in situations involving child soldiers.

These new guidelines will help guide the actions of the Canadian Armed Forces and minimize the difficulties associated with deployments to areas where there are child soldiers. Several other documents will be used by the Canadian Armed Forces for this purpose. The government has full confidence in the Canadian Armed Forces and their ability to carry out their mission.