National Defence committee  In terms of peacekeeping operations, we intend to deploy 250 CAF members, starting in the summer, for a 12-month mission, as you're aware. The budget for that is in two parts. There's the yearly flying rate for the air force, for the helicopters we're sending. We're sending two Chinooks and four Griffon helicopters.

National Defence committee  Thank you very much.

National Defence committee  We're going to ask General Lamarre to respond to your question.

National Defence committee  This subject is extraordinarily important to everybody in the department. Bill Matthews, the new senior associate deputy minister—you met him here a few weeks ago—has now been assigned the task of working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, supporting the Associate Minister of National Defence, Minister O'Reagan, in closing the seam work.

National Defence committee  I'll start and then ask both the vice-chief and ADM materiel to jump in. The joint supply ship is a project that has been on the books for the Royal Canadian Navy for several years and is part of the national shipbuilding procurement strategy, two vessels, both warships, built to warship standard as opposed to commercial standard.

National Defence committee  Thank you very much for the question. I'll start and then ask the vice-chief to jump in. I think that speaking for the civilian workforce and in discussions I've had with General Vance, we see ourselves as perhaps one of the most progressive workforces in government. If you look at the steps that have been taken within the Department of National Defence for encouragement of inclusivity, diversity, the aggressive stance taken with Operation Honour to ensure that our employees and CAF members feel safe in the workplace, that we stop sexualized behaviour, if you look just at this table—there are three deputy heads in the Department of National Defence under Minister Sajjan's leadership, two of the three, I and Greta Bossenmaier, are women—it says something about who we are as an organization and the values we believe in.

National Defence committee  I think there are two answers there. The Royal Canadian Navy is not procuring icebreakers. They're procuring Arctic offshore patrol ships. Those vessels have an ice capacity, and they'll be able to operate in first-year ice in the Arctic two to three months of the year. The Canadian Coast Guard has icebreakers.

National Defence committee  They've always had to.

National Defence committee  I'll ask the ADM, materiel, to respond in detail. The answer very broadly is yes. I think that we shouldn't conflate the national shipbuilding strategy with the requirements that have been laid out for the Royal Canadian Navy in the defence policy review, which states the capacity required very clearly.

National Defence committee  Thank you very much for the question. I'll start by talking about the conference. The UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference was an extraordinary opportunity for Canada to showcase not only what we are going to commit for peacekeeping, but additionally, the principles that the minister laid out—that our 600 troops are not as significant in the 20,000 people who are out doing peacekeeping at this time as much as our principles and our approach to peacekeeping and women, peace, and security.

National Defence committee  I absolutely do. I can ask the vice-chief to speak in more detail to that, but our Canadian values and our approach to peacekeeping—how we train, how we assist, and the missions we will take on—are absolutely what's going to be taught in that centre.

National Defence committee  That's absolutely the goal of the centre, and it's Canada's vision of peace support operations, but in terms of the detail, I'll ask the vice-chief to provide you with some information.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. Phoenix is an issue that we talk about daily, and almost hourly some days, within the Department of National Defence. We are 10% of the public service, and we are 10% of the problems. There are 16,000 employees affected by Phoenix right now. We treat every single one of them as critical.

National Defence committee  After the first AOPS is complete, we'll have a better idea of the total timeline to finish the AOPS. Then we'll be in a different process.

National Defence committee  In the spring.