44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 5, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/5/22 10:33:45 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course that is kind of the name of the game: the government dragging its feet when it comes to procurement and paying attention to what we need in search and rescue equipment for our military. Right now we have a retention and recruitment problem, and yet we are offering new recruits old equipment, which is equipment that literally may not work and might put their lives in danger. One of the best tools for recruitment and retention is to get the tools we need. Our SAR personnel are the best in the world, and they deserve the best equipment.
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- Apr/5/22 11:33:50 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned recruitment in her speech and the struggles we have. Does she think this is due to the fact that when our veterans complete their duty of service, the government does not provide them with the health services they need to transition back to regular life?
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- Apr/5/22 11:34:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, that is not the only issue with recruitment and retention. There are many others.
One of the problems that comes up the most often but that could be resolved quickly and practically is the issue of housing. Forces members struggle to find housing or run into high housing prices in the places they are relocated to. Some make a bit of money, but others lose a lot. There are fewer and fewer military housing units where families can stay. Forces members are increasingly being asked to transfer when it is not necessarily justified.
That is one of the issues we can address. That being said, the entire veterans file is obviously important. My colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles does a lot of work with francophone veterans on the processing times for their claims, which are much longer than average.
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- Apr/5/22 12:03:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned a reasonable spending plan. I think that it is reasonable to devote 2% of the GDP to the army so that it can fill in the gaps in the procurement system, which is slow, and with respect to recruitment, where it is not meeting any of its targets, and personnel retention, which is a major problem.
Can she explain to me why she opposes the 2% of GDP target?
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- Apr/5/22 12:03:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, this is a political and arbitrary figure that has been pulled out of the air. In order to meet what we need to fulfill those international obligations, ensure we are keeping people safe around the world and fill those gaps, we have to spend it in a smart, reasonable and responsible way. We need to absolutely invest in terms of recruitment and retention. We need to ensure that the Armed Forces are moving ahead to provide the educational support, training and equipment. Again, 2% is arbitrary, and that would be up to $56 billion. That is a huge amount of money, and that needs to be done in a very smart, responsible way.
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- Apr/5/22 12:35:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question. She is right. The Canadian Armed Forces has problem with recruitment and needs to recruit more people.
That said, according to the NATO report, we also need to increase our military equipment budgets to make sure our military has the tools it needs to do its work here and in Europe.
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- Apr/5/22 1:05:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with regard to the F-35 fighter jets and recruiting, we are told that there is no recruitment problem, but there is a retention problem.
When I look at the entirely deficient military procurement program, I cannot help but wonder if we will ever get any pilots in planes.
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- Apr/5/22 1:50:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his intervention.
He spoke a lot about the importance of being properly equipped to protect the Arctic. However, having equipment without personnel is of no use. The retention and recruitment of personnel for the Canadian Armed Forces is a challenge, and it is important to change the image of the armed forces.
In the last Parliament, I studied the issue of sexual assault at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. My colleague said that he is new to politics, but I would like him to state his position because we will have to intervene. His party did appoint General Vance. This file on the allegations has existed for a long time. Now it is important to take action. There are solutions in Justice Deschamps' report.
What are my colleague's views on the importance of taking action and no longer appointing people who believe they are above everyone else and who continued to perpetuate a culture of toxic masculinity in the Canadian Armed Forces, which hindered the recruitment of women?
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- Apr/5/22 4:35:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by complimenting my colleague from Kings—Hants on his French. It was very nice to hear him.
He said that the government already started making investments in 2017, but there are three major problems in the armed forces: procurement, recruitment, and retention.
For example, with respect to procurement, forces members have been asked to buy their own boots lately because the government has been unable to provide them.
As for recruitment, the target is to have 25% women, but with all the sexual misconduct cases, which the government tried to cover up, it will not be easy to recruit women.
Finally, with respect to staff retention, the family structure has changed, and the constant moving around does not entice people to join the armed forces.
Has my hon. colleague considered these three major problems, which require investments?
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