Harjit S. Sajjan

[National Defence, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Chief of the Defence Staff General Vance and I are in lockstep on this. We have zero tolerance for any type of sexual misconduct or any type of harassment, and we will stomp this out.

[National Defence, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the plan will be coming out soon. I can assure the member of that.

When it comes to stopping the air strikes, yes, our government is committed to that. However, we are committed to the fight. I have done a thorough assessment by going into the region twice, meeting with commanders on the ground and speaking with my coalition partners, to my partners in Iraq, and to the northern Kurds as well.

When the plan comes out, it will be a plan Canadians can be proud of.

[National Defence, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are not withdrawing from the fight against terrorism. Also, we are not withdrawing from the fight against ISIL. We will be enhancing our fight against ISIL.

When the plan comes out, it will be a plan Canadians can be proud of.

[National Defence, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the attacks that are happening around the world are not just focused on one plan. The hon. member knows that on a daily basis, our security agencies are working in co-operation with our allies on many different attacks. Unfortunately, I cannot divulge this information due to security issues.

However, in terms of the actual plan for Operation Impact, it will be coming soon, and it will be a plan Canadians can be proud of.

[National Defence, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I think we need to remind the member across the floor that the election is over, that we do not have to take things out of context.

When we look at creating our plan we also look at learning from lessons from the past. As we move forward we will be making a comprehensive plan with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Development. When we come up with the plan it will be a plan that Canadians can be proud of.

[National Defence, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member across the floor knows very well, I served from the start of the combat mission right to the end. I was there to witness the issues that happened. I was there also for the successes. This is the conversation that we had on the ground. This is where we talked about how our political leadership failed us. This is why I will take the time to make sure, as we create future plans, that those lessons are not lost.

[National Defence, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ending the air strikes, but we do work in a coalition and we have to do it in a responsible manner. There are a lot of things to factor in. When we do end it, it will be done in a responsible manner.

[National Defence, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have to make sure that we take our time with this, make sure that we consult our allies, and make sure that we assess what the enemy situation is. I want to make sure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, because every single time we make those mistakes as political leaders, we send our men and women into harm's way for no reason. I will not repeat those mistakes.

[National Defence, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as the member stated, we are committed to ending the air strikes. However, we have taken the time to make sure that we check out the entire situation. I have visited the region twice. I have spoken with our allies and I have spoken with my counterparts.

When we come out with our plan, it is going to be to ensure that we not only have a positive impact but that it will impact our allies and make a contribution for years to come.

[National Defence, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is about consulting our allies and having a dialogue. These lessons, as I stated, were learned while working with our coalition partners and that is the plan that we will be putting forward, making sure that we get this right so we do not make the mistakes of the previous 10 years.