House of Commons CANADA Standing Committee on National Defence NDDN Ï NUMBER 024 Ï 3rd SESSION Ï 40th PARLIAMENT EVIDENCE Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Chair The Honourable Maxime Bernier 1 Standing Committee on National Defence Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Ï (0900) Two and a half years ago, the Government of Canada released the [English] Canada First defence strategy in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In CFDS we committed to rebuilding the Canadian Forces into a first-class The Vice-Chair (Hon. Bryon Wilfert (Richmond Hill, Lib.)): modern military, an integrated, flexible, multi-role, combat-capable Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is the Standing military, a military that's able to meet the threats of today and Committee on National Defence, meeting 24. tomorrow. We are at the moment short one minister, the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Peter MacKay. I understand he was to lead We identified six key missions for our modernized armed forces: off, but we do have two other ministers here, and I'm sure they're conducting daily domestic and continental operations, supporting a quite able to do their presentations. major international event in Canada, responding to a major terrorist attack, supporting civilian authorities during a crisis in Canada, I'm going to make the ground rules clear so we understand what leading or conducting a major international operation for an I'm expecting today. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we are extended period, and deploying forces in response to crises studying the next generation of fighter aircraft. That's what the topic elsewhere in the world for shorter periods. is, and that's what we're going to be talking about. If you wander off into other areas, I'll drag you back. Our commitment, colleagues, to procure the F-35 is part of the Ministers will have seven minutes. I will notify the minister at six overall strategy to give the Canadian Forces the tools they need in minutes to sum up. I'm hoping to get to three rounds today. Panel order to deliver security to Canadians. one will go from 9 until 11 o'clock. We have another panel that will go from 11 till 1 o'clock, and another panel from 2 until 4 o'clock. [Translation] I will give 10 minutes on the first round, five minutes on the second round, and five minutes on the third round. I assume we will This government has already made considerable progress with have many questions. equipment procurement. We have delivered the C-17 strategic airlifter, which has reliably brought aid and supplies from one corner This committee is for the members to ask their questions, so I'd of the world to the other—be it Alert, Haiti or Afghanistan. We have like to see as many as we can. In the absence of our chairman, the accepted delivery of our first C-130J tactical transport aircraft, which Honourable Maxime Bernier, I will, as the vice-chair, take the are preparing to make their operational debut in Afghanistan this committee today. winter. We have begun work on recapitalizing our family of land combat vehicles, and our recent announcement of the National Welcome, Minister. Attendance was not taken, but absences were Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy has paved the way for the duly noted—but I'm glad you're here. renewal of the fleet. Minister, you have seven minutes. At six minutes I will intervene and let you know you have a minute to go, and then we'll go to the And now we are addressing the need for a new fighter aircraft. first round of 10 minutes. [English] Are there any questions? As there are none, Minister MacKay, you have the floor. Mr. Chair, I welcome the discussion today surrounding the next- generation fighter. Indeed, it's not unlike the debate surrounding the Ï (0905) CF-18 announcement in the 1980s. People said the fighter aircraft at Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence): Thank that time were unnecessary, but look at what they have done. Look at you, Chair, chers collègues. I'm happy to be here to have the how they have served us over the past three generations. We bought opportunity to speak to the government's intention to acquire 65 F- them to meet the demands of the Cold War, but they have performed 35 Lightning II aircraft to replace our current CF-18 fleet. This will admirably, not only in western Europe but during the first Gulf War happen by the year 2016; we will begin to receive the aircraft that in 1991 and again in Kosovo in 1999, and in the Canadian skies year. today, as we sit here. 2 NDDN-24 September 15, 2010 We have grown to understand the importance of not only having seamlessly interoperable with our American and NATO allies long fighter aircraft in our inventory but also of having one that is flexible into the future. enough to deal with the threats and the missions that were unexpected at the time in which they were procured. We know that some of the threats faced by the Hornet in the 1980s and 1990s have It has already generated—and will continue to generate— faded. Others, like the occasional test of our air identification zone economic and industrial benefits for Canada as part of a larger by aircraft with strategic capabilities, have in fact persisted. New global supply chain, which ministers Ambrose and Clement will threats have emerged. speak to shortly. All the while, we know that our force continues to need to be [English] ready. They need to exercise vigilance. While we have carefully invested to help keep our CF-18s remain effective in a challenging and changing environment, we cannot keep them flying indefinitely. Mr. Chair, let me conclude by saying that Canada needs this We know that buying new fighter aircraft requires considerable aircraft. This is an aircraft that will enable the Canadian Forces to investment but will result in major benefits in return to Canada. meet the increasingly complex demands of the missions that we ask When we presented the Canada First defence strategy, we knew that, our pilots to perform. It's a capability that we need for our and we determined that notwithstanding the changes in the security sovereignty, for patrolling our airspace, and for ensuring that we can environment, this was not a capability that we felt Canada could or shoulder our share of the NATO and international load, and lead by should forgo. example. An operational gap, I stress, is not an option, because we still need fighters. We still use them every day. They allow us to protect our Mr. Chair, colleagues, we have the best sailors, soldiers, and air sovereign territory, our airspace. They enable us to do our part, along personnel in the field. They deserve the best equipment to ensure that with other American allies, as we fly alongside them as part of their missions are a success and, of course, to allow them to come NORAD. They also allow us to rapidly and effectively project home to their families safe when the job is done. leadership abroad when the call comes. When we retire the CF-18s between the years 2017 and 2020, as I look forward to your questions. we inevitably must, we will need a capable replacement. The Lightning II joint strike fighters will inherit those key responsibilities Thank you. Merci beaucoup. and are the ideal aircraft, in my view, to allow our men and women in uniform to accomplish their work. The Vice-Chair (Hon. Bryon Wilfert): Thank you very much, This is the right plane. This is the right number. This is the right Minister. aircraft for our Canadian Forces and for Canada. In fact, it's the best plane for the best air force. We believe they deserve this equipment. We will now turn to the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of If we don't make this purchase, there is a real danger we'll be Industry. unable to defend our airspace, unable to exercise our sovereignty, or unable to share our responsibilities through both NORAD and NATO. I think we can all agree that such a position would be Minister, you have seven minutes. untenable for Canada—a country that spans six time zones, a country whose total area is almost ten million square kilometres, a Hon. Tony Clement (Minister of Industry): Thank you, Chair. country with more than 243,000 kilometres of coastline, the world's largest, and a country with numerous international obligations and varied and challenging weather systems. So the government has Thanks for the opportunity to speak today to the committee about announced its commitment to acquire the F-35. the opportunities being made available to Canadian companies. Ï (0910) [Translation] The JSF is the single largest fighter aircraft program in history. It is a multinational effort to build an affordable, multi-role, and As a fifth-generation aircraft, it is the only plane that can fill the stealthy fighter aircraft. The total value of the program is expected to requirement laid out in Canada First Defence Strategy. For a next- exceed $383 billion U.S. Total production is expected to reach up to generation fighter, the F-35 Lightning II is a technological leap. It 5,000 aircraft. JSF partner countries are anticipated to acquire more combines leading-edge attributes, including stealth and advanced than 3,000 aircraft, and it is forecast that export sales could exceed sensors, to make this aircraft more reliable, more survivable and 2,000 additional aircraft.