National Defence and the Canadian Forces
www.forces.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Minister's Speeches Archive
Speaking Notes for the Honourable Bill Graham, P.C., M.P. Minister of National Defence at a joint session of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Ottawa, Ontario - May 16, 2005
NOTE: The following transcript is presented in the language(s) in which it occurred. There is no translation available. We are providing the transcript for your information.
[ check against delivery ]
Mr. Chairmen,
Colleagues:
I am very pleased to be here this morning with Minister Pettigrew to discuss Canada’s new International and Defence Policy Statements.
With me at the table today are: Mr. Ward Elcock, Deputy Minister of National Defence, and General Rick Hillier, the Chief of the Defence Staff. Also joining us are: Mr. Claude LeBlanc, Acting Director General of Policy Planning, and Mr. Ken Ready, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister for Materiel.
I know that it will not surprise committee members when I say that the process of bringing together our comprehensive review of Canada’s international policies was more challenging than we had initially anticipated.
But I am – and I believe that Canadians are – pleased with the final result. And I am particularly excited about what it means for our military. With our new Defence Policy Statement, we have outlined a bold, new course for Canada’s military – a course designed to meet, head on, the security challenges of the twenty-first century.
A Greater Focus on Canada
More than any time in recent memory, events and instability far from our borders pose a threat to the safety and security of Canadians. We have seen this all too clearly in countries like Afghanistan.
In the face of these new security challenges, the first priority of our military will be the defence of Canada and Canadians. After all, there can be no greater role, no more important obligation for a government, than the protection and safety of its citizens.
Pour y parvenir, nos forces maritimes et aériennes accorderont une importance accrue à la défense de nos côtes, de nos eaux territoriales et de notre espace aérien.
Nous améliorerons les méthodes de collecte, d’analyse et d’utilisation des données obtenues de toutes sources, notamment des satellites, des véhicules aériens téléguidés et des radars installés partout au Canada.
En outre, nous mettrons sur pied une nouvelle structure de commandement national, appelée Commandement Canada, qui mobilisera les meilleures ressources militaires disponibles à l’échelle du pays en vue de réagir rapidement et efficacement en cas de crise nationale.
Les effets de notre nouvelle structure de commandement seront également perceptibles dans le Nord. Grâce à l’intensification de la surveillance combinée des satellites, des véhicules aériens téléguidés et des radars, à une présence militaire plus évidente et à d’autres capacités améliorées, les Forces canadiennes seront davantage en mesure d’intervenir en cas d’urgence dans le Nord, et le Canada pourra défendre plus vigoureusement ses intérêts dans cette région névralgique du pays.
Partenaires dans la défense de l’Amérique du Nord
La priorité absolue de nos militaires sera donc la défense du Canada et la protection des Canadiens et Canadiennes. Évidemment, dans le contexte de sécurité actuel, il faudra travailler en étroite collaboration avec nos voisins américains pour renforcer notre capacité de défendre notre continent commun et nos pays respectifs.
En effet, l’une des priorités clés du nouvel Énoncé de la politique de défense concerne l’adoption d’une approche plus évoluée dans nos relations avec les États-Unis — ce qui comprend la consolidation de notre capacité collective à défendre l’Amérique du Nord.
Plus particulièrement, chers collègues, nous croyons que le temps est venu de songer à accroître la coopération en matière de défense et d’y inclure des éléments maritimes et terrestres.
Nous ne savons pas encore si la meilleure voie pour y arriver passera par un NORAD modifié ou par d’autres moyens. Cependant, le gouvernement est résolu à explorer des nouvelles façons de travailler avec les États-Unis pour assurer la défense de notre continent commun.
A Greater Role in the World
But I can assure you that our increased focus on domestic and continental security will not come at the expense of our role internationally.
Canadians are proud – and rightfully so – of the role our country plays in the world.
And this is the driving force behind our new vision for the Canadian Forces. We are committed to having a more significant and influential presence in the world – one in which our voice will be heard, our values seen, and our efforts felt .
The Government recognizes that a strong, capable and professional military is essential to the impact that we – as a country – can have in the world. In fact, we have seen over the past decade in countries around the world that the face of Canada is often that of the men and women of the Canadian Forces.
In order to have a greater impact in the world, particularly in failed in failing states, our new Defence Policy Statement will increase the capacity of the Canadian Forces to participate in overseas operations.
The addition of significant new equipment and five thousand Regular Force personnel – the bulk of which will go to the army – will essentially double the capacity of our land forces to undertake challenging international operations anywhere in the world.
Our new Defence Policy Statement also calls for the creation of a Standing Contingency Task Force to respond rapidly to emerging crises. This high-readiness task force will be ready to deploy with ten days’ notice, and provide an initial Canadian Forces presence to work with security partners to stabilize a crisis or facilitate the deployment of larger, follow-on forces.
We will also create a Special Operations Group to respond to terrorism and threats to Canadians and Canadian interests around the world.
Of course, in all of our international military activities, we will continue to work very closely with CIDA, Foreign Affairs and others in order to maximize the impact and effectiveness of our involvement in the world.
As an example of this comprehensive approach, I am pleased to advise the committee this morning that Canada is now preparing to assume a leadership role in paving the way for a secure, democratic and self-sustaining Afghanistan.
To that end, we will be expanding the scope of our military commitment in that country.
First, we will extend the mandate of our reconnaissance squadron already in Kabul until late this year. In doing so, we will be continuing to provide the International Security Assistance Force with valuable intelligence and situational awareness capabilities and we will help facilitate the Afghan election process.
Second, we will be deploying a Provincial Reconstruction Team to the city of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, for a period of about eighteen months beginning in August of this year.
This team will bring together approximately 250 Canadian military personnel, civilian police, diplomats, and aid workers to provide an integrated ‘3-D’ effort to reinforce the authority of the Afghan government in, and around, Kandahar and to assist in the stabilization of the region. This PRT will conduct security patrols, assist local reconstruction efforts, report on governance issues, and to facilitate reforms to the security sector.
Finally, in early 2006, we will be deploying an army task force of about 700 Canadian Forces members and a brigade headquarters of approximately 300 military personnel to Kandahar for a period of between nine and twelve months. These forces will conduct operations to strengthen the security situation in the country. They will also play a key role in completing the transition from Coalition to NATO leadership in Afghanistan.
We are still working out some of the specific details of our new contribution to Afghanistan with our allies and partners and other government departments. But, colleagues, this is a significant new commitment to Afghanistan and to the international campaign against terrorism. And it demonstrates, in a real and meaningful way, our willingness to play a leadership role in the world – the goal set out in our international policy statement.
Conclusion
This is an historic time for the Canadian Forces, and it is a privilege to be Minister of National Defence at such an exciting period.
With the addition of nearly thirteen billion dollars in new funding for our military in the recent federal budget, we have the resources that we need to strengthen our capacity to defend Canada and Canadians, as well as to play a more significant role in the world.
With General Hillier and his senior staff, we have a vibrant, new military leadership with innovative ideas rooted in recent operational experience, both here in Canada and throughout the world.
And this new leadership team is working right now to fundamentally transform our military into a relevant, responsive and effective force – a force that is made up of some of the world’s most dedicated, professional and skilful men and women in uniform.
And with our new Defence Policy Statement, we have the intellectual framework required to guide and shape the Canadian Forces to face the defence and security challenges of the 21 st century.
Colleagues, it is with great pleasure that I join Minister Pettigrew in introducing our International and Defence Policy Statements to your committees, and I look forward to the discussions that they will engender here in Parliament and across the country.
RSS DND/CF News (What is RSS?)
