The House is on summer break, scheduled to return Sept. 15

Evidence of meeting #1 for National Defence in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Members speaking

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

We shall circulate that motion.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Yes, Ms. Gallant, go ahead.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON

Thank you.

I'd like to put a motion on notice:

That, given that committee members, staff, the clerk, analysts and witnesses worked hard to produce the report entitled “Gaps to Fill Housing and Other Needed Supports for Canadian Armed Forces Members and their Families” during the first session of the 44th Parliament and, given that the government did not table a response because of the prorogation of Parliament, the committee deem that it has undertaken and completed a study on “Gaps to Fill Housing and Other Needed Supports for Canadian Armed Forces Members and their Families” pursuant to Standing Order 108, and that it adopt that report as a report from this committee; pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report; supplementary or dissenting reports that accompanied the report in the previous session of Parliament be tabled with the main report; and the Chair present the report to the House.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Mr. Bezan is next.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

Mr. Chair, I want to give notice of motion regarding the transparency study that we worked on in the previous Parliament. We tabled that report in the House and a government response wasn't given. I table this:

That, given that committee members, staff, the clerk, analysts and witnesses worked hard to produce the report entitled “Rebuilding Trust: Transparency and Accountability in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces” during the first session of the 44th Parliament and, given that the government did not table a response because of the prorogation of Parliament, the committee deem that it has undertaken and completed the study on “Rebuilding Trust: Transparency and Accountability in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces” pursuant to Standing Order 108, and that it adopt that report as a report from this committee; pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report; supplementary or dissenting reports that accompanied the report in the previous session of Parliament be tabled with the main report; and the Chair present the report to the House.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Next is Ms. Gallant.

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Chair, I think you're going to like this notice of motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee conduct ongoing briefings from the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Global Affairs Canada and other expert witnesses to receive information regarding the threat analysis affecting Canada and our allies, and the Canadian Armed Forces' operational readiness to meet those threats, including support for international security operations and emergent threats, as well as domestic capacity to respond in support of civil emergencies; and that matters related to logistics, procurement and personnel be included in these briefings.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Mr. Anderson, go ahead.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Scott Anderson Conservative Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC

I would like to give a notice of motion:

That the committee invite the Minister of National Defence and the Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) to appear before the committee for no less than 1 hour each, within 14 days of the adoption of this motion, in relation to their mandates and NATO defence spending.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Mr. Bezan, please go ahead.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

I have two more notices of motion. The next is:

That the committee invite the Auditor General to appear for no less than two hours to discuss the 2nd Report of the Auditor General, “Delivering Canada's Future Fighter Jet Capability”.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Go ahead, Mr. Kibble.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Jeff Kibble Conservative Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Congratulations on your new position and thanks for the kind welcome.

I would like to put this motion on notice:

That the committee invite the Ombud for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces to appear in September for no less than two hours.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

Are there any further notices of motions before I adjourn?

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

I have just one clarification. We will have a Thursday committee meeting—

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

That is not for certain; we have yet to find agreement with the whips. We may not have a Thursday meeting, but we appreciate the notice of motion, and we'll determine when the next meeting will be held.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

Mr. Chair, I would just say that the House is sitting on Thursday; we are sitting right until Friday. I would hope that, as chair, you would want to make sure that we are working and being productive, knowing that this committee has not met since December.

It would be a great opportunity for all of us to get to know each other a little better by having a meeting and further discussing committee business, so that when we come back in the fall, we have an agenda and a plan moving forward to address the challenges we're facing and the threat environment we're currently experiencing.

The Chair Liberal Charles Sousa

I would say that the members at this committee, the chair included, are very concerned about the threats and assessments as we go forward. There's a lot of work to be done, by all of us, to ensure that we encourage government to proceed in its mandate.

I am also sensitive about the resources, the availability of individuals, and some of those reports and motions that you've put forward. We'll do our utmost to try to achieve that. This committee needs to work for the benefit of Canadians, for the purposes of the Canadian Armed Forces, and that is my priority.

The meeting is adjourned.