Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, this is for the total recruitment. I want to also stress for the member that we as a government take the recruitment of women, indigenous communities, and diversity extremely seriously. Let us not stop there. We also have to look at how we train and how they are inte

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, our government has committed to supporting the United Nations in peace support operations. I was just at the United Nations headquarters last week, attending one of the ceremonies. I spoke with the leadership of various countries. We will be announcing our support fo

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am very proud that within 18 months we have been able to accomplish this. On June 7, we will be announcing a defence policy. We will be committing troops to United Nations operations. We have taken a leadership roll at NATO. Within 18 months, our government has a tra

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, at the NATO conference, we talked about the great contribution and leadership that Canada had undertaken. The Prime Minister talked about our leadership role with the Framework Nations. We talked about our frigate that was in the Mediterranean, our air policing, but al

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I have made many speeches on this. I have said that when it comes to our defence policy, this is a defence policy Canadians have had input into and this defence policy will be presented to Canadians.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I hope the member provided input into the defence policy review. All parliamentarians had an opportunity. Canadians had an opportunity. Experts did as well. We received tremendous feedback. I hope the member provided input, as members from the other parties opposite ha

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the beginning of the question?

Business of Supply  Yes, Mr. Chair, we need to do more when it comes to the recruitment of women into the Canadian Armed Forces. The chief of the defence staff has set a goal of 25%, ensuring that the recruiting advertisement reflects this as well. We also have to be mindful that this is not just

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, yes, the Canadian Armed Forces has a strategy. The chief of the defence staff not only has put it as a goal but also has made sure that the recruitment advertisement is focused on women. We have an outreach as well. We have gender-based analyses done in all our policie

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, when it comes to recruitment or any other issues, as the critic for his party also knows, our department is available. When it comes to information like this, I am happy to make the right people available to direct the information.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, absolutely. Once we develop the strategies and progress, I am happy to present the information, as we do with many different things. I just thought the member had raised the question, and he is very passionate about it, that he wanted something even more direct, and I

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, when it comes to our aboriginal community, our recruitment and our focus, we have an advisory group within the Canadian Armed Forces. We have three other advisory groups as well. The aboriginal advisory group advises the chain of command. There is also the champion for

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, when it comes to recruitment within aboriginal groups and all the greater diversity, we have put a greater emphasis on ensuring we do more to reflect the population in the Canadian Armed Forces when it comes to recruitment. In fact, when it comes to the defence policy

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the well-being of the Canadian Armed Forces is a paramount responsibility of our government. The first step for us is to allow the surgeon general, the expert in the Canadian Armed Forces, to do the evidence-based work that he is doing. We look forward to the results s

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, once the findings are put forward from the surgeon general and the chief of the defence staff reviews them, we will take the appropriate steps to make sure that the right medication is given to our troops. This is one of the reasons we have taken this action with the s