National Defence  Mr. Speaker, what was despicable was actually sending our troops in the first place without all these compensations. When I first visited our troops, I discovered this. I have had conversations with members opposite on this. It is the reason why it was brought to my attention. We have to work through a process to be able to resolve some of these issues.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, as I stated to the member opposite during committee, we are committed to looking after our men and women, including their compensation. Our government had concerns regarding the current situation that was not fully fair and equitable. That is why I have asked the chief of the defence staff to work with the relevant agencies to review the compensation rules and propose changes, including finding ways to prevent the negative impacts on our deployed personnel.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, as I stated, we will always be looking after our troops. It was during my first visit into Kuwait when I was appointed defence minister where I realized some of these inequities. That is why I have asked the chief of the defence staff to look at these things. It is the interdepartmental team that does it.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, if the previous government had looked after the Canadian Armed Forces and made the purchase, we would not be in this situation, but we are, and decisions have to be made. We are committed to making sure that we have the right equipment. That is why we are moving very rapidly in making sure that we fill the gaps that have been created, and we are committed to making sure that we do that not just for our air force but for the entire Canadian Armed Forces.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, I have said right from the beginning that when it comes to conflict, we need to understand the situation on the ground. That is why we are taking the time to look at all the various factors. We are talking to experts, including former General Roméo Dallaire. When it comes to the issue of child soldiers, my chief of the defence staff has done considerable work on this.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, many times I have stated that Canada has a responsible place in the world. As we look at the various threats that we need to deal with, we need to reduce conflict as well. We need to reduce the recruitment into the violent extremist organizations so that we can prevent situations like child soldiers.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, we are committed to making sure that our women and men of the Canadian Forces, including our air force, have the right equipment. That is why we have committed to an open competition that we will be launching. Also, we are committed to making sure that we have the right equipment now to fill all the gaps.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the care and welfare and especially the mental health of our troops are extremely important given what we ask them to do. We are looking at all of the aspects of lessons from the past and what is happening now. As part of the defence policy review that we undertook last year, this is a very big component.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has made the decision to no longer risk manage our ability to simultaneously meet our NORAD and NATO commitments. Canada’s current CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet is now more than 30 years old and down from 138 to 76 aircraft. Canada has been risk managing its ability to meet these commitments for a number of years.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, in response to terrorist attacks against the United States, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, took control of Canadian and American airspace and mobilized assets to address the threat. The airspace in both Canada and the United States was shut down, and all airborne civilian and military aircraft were ordered to land at the nearest suitable airfield.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the report was removed from the website on November 4, 2016. The director of staff, strategic joint staff, ordered the deletion of the report. The minister and the minister’s office became aware of the deletion after the Department of National Defence had taken action to remove the report from the website.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the principles of the Access to Information Act, and as such, the information requested in the question has been withheld on the grounds that it constitutes a confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, whenever a disaster strikes Canadians, the Canadian Armed Forces is always ready to help. There is a system in place to allow for the provinces to do their own assessment. We are always ready and prepared to provide support. As soon as the request was made, the response was there, and we have right now 200 members of the Canadian Armed Forces proudly helping Canadians.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of New Brunswick who have suffered the impacts of this storm and particularly with the friends and families of those who lost their lives. On Saturday we received and accepted a request for assistance from the provincial government, and Canadian Armed Forces members are now proudly engaged in the emergency response effort.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, I proudly stand for B.C. and all of Canada. Our search and rescue is a critical component for Canada. This is a project that was started in 2004, and I am proud to say that this government is going to get this done, because Canada needs to have a very sound search and rescue capability, and this is one promise that we plan to keep.