Leona Alleslev

[Interparliamentary Delegations, June 7th, 2017]

Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34 I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the spring session held in Tirana, Albania, from May 26 to 30, 2016.

I also have the honour, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the standing committee meeting in Berlin, Germany, March 31 to April 1.

[Air Force Appreciation Day, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Air Force Appreciation Day.

As a former air force officer, a daughter of a major-general in the air force, and a wife of an air force fighter pilot, I can proudly say that the Royal Canadian Air Force is a core part of who I am.

After starting in 1914 as the Canadian Aviation Corps and then becoming the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924, Canada's air forces have served honourably for 100 years.

I want to thank those in the air force who protect our freedom both at home and abroad. It is an honour to serve one's country and with that honour comes great responsibility.

Our men and women in the air force understand this responsibility, and they sacrifice their lives in the service of Canada. I thank them for their strength, their loyalty, and their service to Canada.

Per ardua ad astra, through adversity to the stars.

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, we are very fortunate to have a government and a minister who has taken on the responsibility of conducting a comprehensive defence policy review. One has not happened in at least 20 years, if not longer.

I was fortunate enough to be on the team, as a low-level person, when the original white paper was written for defence in 1995. We now have another opportunity to make a comprehensive assessment of exactly where we are in the country on defence, what the requirements are, and what the changing landscape across the globe is. We are in an unprecedented period of change and instability, and we have not seen this kind of tectonic shift and unprecedented challenges for at least 25 or 30 years.

We as a nation have to ensure that we understand what that changing landscape looks like and what the threats are, not only from nations but from non-state actors, and not only from conventional warfare but from cyber-threats, hacking, and asymmetric threats. We are in an unprecedented time of need, and the defence policy review is an important piece for us going forward.

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I was fortunate enough to have a father who served in the Canadian Forces for 36 years, and he retired as a major general. I have a husband who also served as an air force officer. I was also fortunate to attend Royal Military College and I served as an air force officer.

I have friends across the country at all rank levels who both continue to serve or who have been retired for many years. I can safely say that on many occasions they have told me that they have confidence in our country, our government, and the Prime Minister and those whom he has chosen to serve in his cabinet in all roles.

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, there is a member of Parliament who is charged with that responsibility, and it is his responsibility to ensure that the people he appoints to his cabinet have the qualifications and the confidence of him and the cabinet, and that would be our Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has the confidence and the information to make an informed decision, and then we have the confidence in our Prime Minister.

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I can safely say that I was not in the room where it happened and that I was neither asked for nor responsible to determine the answer to that question.

However, there was a member of Parliament who is not here but who was responsible.

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, parliamentarians and the public can rest assured that this government's commitment to addressing the capability gap is unwavering. We will launch an open and transparent competition, and in the meantime, we will continue to explore the acquisition of the Super Hornets to apply additional resources to our CF-18s. The Royal Canadian Air Force and all Canadians can be confident that we will not put our men and women in uniform or our country at undue risk.

As the House is aware, the Government of Canada will soon announce a new defence policy that will ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces is prepared to face defence challenges and to contribute to a more stable world, now and into the future. The government will release this new defence policy for Canada in the very near future, and it will deliver on our commitment to achieve Canada's defence objectives and to be unwavering in our support for our men and women in uniform.

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

My sincere apologies, Madam Speaker.

At the time these aircraft were acquired in the early 1980s, the government bought 138 fighters, with a plan to fly them for 20 years, yet here we are today, over 30 years later, and we are still flying these jets. The passage of time and usage has taken its toll on these aircraft, and our original fleet is now reduced from 138 to 76 airplanes.

There is no question that the women and men of the Royal Canadian Air Force have done and continue to do great work with the resources they have been given. The Canadian Armed Forces is also doing a tremendous job risk-managing our ability to simultaneously meet our NORAD and NATO commitments with the current fighter fleet. However, the reality is that we now face a capability gap in meeting these commitments. The challenge is that the older planes are less reliable and are more difficult to maintain. Maintenance hours relative to operational available hours have increased significantly, and to keep the aircraft both operationally capable and safe for our pilots, they must regularly be removed from the flight line more often to be serviced.

Maintenance of any aircraft is important, and unquestionably, the government will continue to apply additional resources to the CF-18s and is doing so now. Even with the application of additional resources, there comes a point at which the risk becomes too great for the government to accept. If we do not move quickly to supplement and replace our fighter capability, we will be left with limited flexibility to respond to both domestic and world events and limited capability to fulfill our multilateral obligations.

We have been clear that the risk of relying solely on a more than 30-year-old fighter fleet is one our government is not willing to accept. To be a reliable partner and ally, Canada must ensure that we meet our NORAD and NATO commitments. Canada's fighter capability now and in the future must be able to defend Canada, defend North America, in partnership with the U.S., and support international operations. There can be no debate. We must act now to ensure the current and future viability of our fighter fleet.

As this government announced on November 22, we are taking a three-step approach to addressing the capability gap.

First, we announced that we will launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18s. Given the time it will take to conduct such a competition to acquire a permanent fleet, we must also explore an interim solution to supplement our current CF-18 fleet. That is why, on the same day, it was announced that we would explore the potential acquisition of 18 new Super Hornet aircraft to supplement the current CF-18s for an interim period, until the transition to the permanent replacement aircraft is complete.

As part of this exploration, we are in discussions with the United States government and Boeing--

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I would like to continue this debate by focusing on one of the more substantive issues that have been brought up today and to further expand on some of what the Minister of National Defence has already said. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the importance of Canada's fleet of fighter jets and the need to ensure this capability continues while meeting our commitments at home and abroad.

I am sure all parliamentarians recognize that situational awareness and the capability to respond over Canada's vast land mass, maritime approaches, and airspace are vital to exercising Canadian sovereignty. Canada's CF-18 fleet provides significant support to that awareness. I also remind the House that numerous times in recent years our fighters have intercepted Russian bombers capable of carrying cruise missiles that were exported beyond advanced fighters. In fact, they have been intercepted with a frequency at times nearing that of the height of the Cold War.

Beyond Canada's borders, we also have a responsibility to do our part to defend the continent at large. We need to be on guard not only for Canada, but also for our closest neighbour and ally, the United States. This defence relationship, known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is fundamental to our mutual security.

As chair of our Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, I would like to also assure the House that our membership and commitment to the NATO alliance is also very important and highly valued by our allies, particularly with respect to our upcoming mission in Latvia as one of the framework nations.

It is important to understand that other countries' military are not the only threat we face. Since 9/11, NORAD has been prepared to defend against attacks involving civilian aircraft. NORAD also played a major support role for high-profile events like the Vancouver Olympics, as well as G7 and G20 meetings both in Canada and the U.S. Whatever the assigned mission, our forces need the capability to act as and when required, and recent events underline the very real need to be able to intercept aircraft to control Canadian and continental airspace.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, Canada's current fleet of CF-18s is aging and needs replacing—

[World Masters Games, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, today I would like to recognize the Canadian Herons, Canada's national badminton team for seniors aged 65-plus, who won the gold and bronze medals in badminton at the World Masters Games in New Zealand this year.

I would like to specifically congratulate team member Cora Cuyegkeng, a constituent in my riding, whom I was honoured to meet and present a Canadian flag to, before her team left for New Zealand.

As Canadians, we are proud to compete internationally and showcase the athletic abilities of our citizens, both young and young at heart. This team of senior athletes demonstrates both the will to persevere and the important commitment to staying active. They are an inspiration for all Canadians.

With the warmer weather on the horizon, we hope, I would like to encourage all Canadians from coast to coast to coast to head outdoors and to remember that it is never too late to start being active.