Peter MacKay

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Let me respond with some specifics, Mr. Chair, because I do not want to denigrate his question at all.

We currently have 646 Canadian Forces personnel who are suffering from post-traumatic stress. In response to that, we now have over 370 full time mental health professionals who are working. We are going to hire more.

We have challenges, of course, given the vastness of this country and the availability of mental health care professionals. In many communities, it remains a challenge.

However, with regard to the member's specific question on any undertaking that I could give, this falls under Veterans Affairs Canada, not under the Department of National Defence. I will certainly make my colleague at Veterans Affairs aware of the hon. member's question and ensure that he has a transcript of it.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I will come back to that in an instant. I just want to be very clear on the record that the reference to the next generation of fighter aircraft does not preclude a competition, and an open and transparent one. In fact, the joint strike fighter program thus far has provided Canadian industry with access to high technology industry opportunities. Since 2003, 80 Canadian firms have already secured contracts with a total estimated value of over $325 million.

Mr. Chair, I would suggest to the hon. member that regardless of what aircraft we choose, Canadian aerospace has already been a beneficiary of participating in this program.

To come back to the member's question about post-traumatic stress, I certainly agree that we as a government and all governments, as this syndrome is happening around the world, need to do more to address these very real afflictions and illnesses. I mentioned earlier that this is a genuine injury.

Canada has been a leader in this regard. The mental health professionals whom we have working on these files and working directly with the individuals who have been afflicted are making major breakthroughs.

We are of course very cognizant of the other implications that my hon. friend referenced, including things such as substance abuse. Suicide or suicide prevention is obviously something we are continually concerned about and looking to address. We have committed to doubling the number of mental health care professionals who will help treat those who are suffering from post-traumatic stress and other mental illnesses.

We are very concerned, and I know the hon. member's question on this is sincere, but I can assure him that we are taking proper steps to address all of the practical implications and the stigmatization that is still there, both inside and outside the Canadian Forces. We need to do more in that regard. The Chief of the Defence Staff has been a leader himself in addressing this in a very open and frank way and encouraging greater dialogue. Encouraging greater mental health awareness, period, is something that we are all tasked with.

We had a colleague here in the House of Commons, Mr. Chair, whom I know you were very close to. This is something that we have to be very diligent about and very vigilant in addressing each and every day, and I thank the member for his question.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member is mistaken. None whatsoever. I should have referred to this with the more generic term that this is the “next generation” of aircraft. The joint strike fighter is one of the two aircraft, and there may be others. But I think those are the two main contenders that we are looking at. Obviously we want to get the best value, the best aircraft, and we have already embarked upon investments to ensure that happens.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, there are currently 80 in operation. We intend to come back with a fleet of 65.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, the reason we are extending the life of the F-18s is obviously so they can continue in service until we get a new plane. We spoke earlier about the modernization and how it will see us replace much of the onboard equipment and some of the other important things, such as landing gear. Stem to stern, these aircraft are being upgraded and modernized so they will continue to serve such a useful purpose until 2017. That will also allow us then to continue down the road of procuring new fighter aircraft. There is eye-watering technology now available, and a fifth generation fighter aircraft will be brought to Canada after the year 2017. We are part of a global program and a global supply chain that will create many opportunities for those who are in the Canadian aerospace industry. There is tremendous excitement in industry as we embark on this important replacement.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I know the member for Calgary Centre has been a long-time supporter of the Canadian Forces and is famous for his hospitality.

The work that we are doing at CFB Valcartier was announced back in February of this year. It includes new offices, laboratories, support space, and represents a total investment of $170 million. This project, as has been mentioned in previous discussions, will employ a large number of local people. There is almost 1,000 job opportunities on this project alone.

Following the design phase, which begins this year and which is valued at approximately $13 million, the project is expected to be rolled out in three phases. First, there will be a prepping of the site for the DRDC Valcartier north site. It will then involve some of the infrastructure investments that will be placed in the ground: sewage pipes, water and electricity. This phase is valued at $37 million and will begin in 2012.

The second phase will constitute the construction of the actual—

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his question and also for his unwavering support of the men and women in uniform, particularly at CFB Trenton, of which he has said he is extremely proud. I have seen him there on a number of occasions.

He is absolutely right. We have an enormous amount of property, both real property and infrastructure, that includes some 21,000 buildings, and 800 parcels of land that cover 2.25 million hectares of land.

In line with our Canada first defence strategy, much of the investment that we are making over the next 20 years very much involves the refurbishment and investment in infrastructure spending. In fact, over the past 12 months, we have announced over $2.5 billion in construction projects, which illustrate our government's ongoing commitment to fulfill that contract that we have between government and the Canadian Forces in a Canada first defence strategy.

Just to give the members a taste of that, in response to this question, at CFB Trenton, in the member's riding, we have announced six projects, an investment of approximately $334 million in infrastructure at 8 Wing Trenton. They include the construction of maintenance hangars for the new C-17s that he spoke of, the Globemaster aircraft, that are so useful in allowing Canada to reach out and touch places like Haiti; the construction of a new air mobility and training centre there; the construction of a new electrical/mechanical engineering and transportation garage; a new refurbished facility for aerospace and telecommunications engineering support squadron; a new training accommodation centre; new material distribution; and the list goes on and on.

We are making these investments right across the country.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I know for certain that the hon. member does not want to misinform Canadians or make allegations that she cannot support. I know she does not want to do that.

I will reiterate once again that there are clear decisions and directives given with respect to budgets and allocations on the advice of the Chief of the Defence Staff. We are constantly--

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member can ask this question as many times and as many different ways as she likes. What I have said to her consistently is that we make informed decisions based on the advice of the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Chief of the Maritime Staff, the army and the air force. We make decisions.

The Canadian Forces budget has increased overall, which will give them even greater capability to do the terrific work that they continue to do.

[Business of Supply, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, we did both.