National Defence committee  The CJIRU has some very unique training outside of the normal SOF training, because they are very specialized in chemical, biological, and radiological hazards. For example, we have agreements with colleges and universities, so we actually have a number of junior members in that

National Defence committee  It's something that we could participate in. Normally what we would see happen is that if a municipal, provincial, or federal agency doesn't have the capability or the capacity, they could turn to us. For example, we could have a unique surveillance system, a robotic system. We d

National Defence committee  That's speculative.

National Defence committee  Yes, it does. In pretty much everything we do, whether it's the formulation of a fairly benign project or the actual mission to do an operation, we go through a robust risk assessment. It's done at the tactical level, right at the working level, and then through and up to the com

National Defence committee  Yes, we are, to a degree. The security and intelligence practitioners within the government are more of a lead on that side, but we are so well-networked.... It goes back a little to the previous question in terms of response and working with others. One of the great attributes o

National Defence committee  It depends on where one would work within the organization, but we don't recruit straight from the street. We recruit just from within the Canadian Armed Forces. We are a reflection, so to speak, of the Canadian Armed Forces, because we draw all of our people from the navy, army,

National Defence committee  Yes. In the early nineties, JTF2 was created to take over from what was called CIRT, a component of the RCMP. They took over that counterterrorism domestic mandate in the early nineties.

National Defence committee  The unit itself has certainly evolved over time. Afghanistan was a big turning point for the evolution of JTF2. It is still a stand-alone unit. We have the five units. They are separate, but a number of the forces that we would deploy would be made up of elements from each of tho

National Defence committee  Yes, sir.

National Defence committee  In 2006, as part of the transformation of the Canadian Armed Forces, it was determined that we needed a unified integrated joint, and more robust special operations capability, so CANSOFCOM, as a level-one entity within the CF reporting directly to the CDS, was created.

National Defence committee  Yes, that is true. They are one element that has a unique relationship. In the military lexicon, they're under the operational command of my commander. They are assigned to us in the direct support they do with regard to our missions, but they still have another parent-functional

National Defence committee  Exactly.

National Defence committee  I don't think it would be fair to say that we would be the first responder. First responders—fire departments, paramedics, and municipalities—will respond in minutes, I would estimate, to a call. We don't have that level of readiness. I can't give you the specific number of minut

National Defence committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for that question. I wasn't in my position at the time the CJIRU was created in 2007. Its physical location is certainly one aspect that I believe would have been taken into consideration, but at that time there were a number of factors, from proximity to t

National Defence committee  I could take up the rest of my time here, I'm sure, to answer that.