NDDN Committee Report

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE REPORT OF THE

STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL DEFENCE

THE STATE OF READINESS OF THE CANADIAN FORCES

Introduction

The Government remains firmly committed to ensuring that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)[1] have the people, training, equipment, and infrastructure required to maintain the necessary readiness to provide for Canada’s security needs when called upon, both at home and abroad. Recent investments, as outlined in the Canada First Defence Strategy (CFDS), have allowed the CAF to conduct their core missions with excellence – whether playing a central role in international missions in Afghanistan and Libya, providing assistance to civilian authorities, upon request, in responding to natural disasters such as forest fires and flooding, or providing security to major international events on Canadian soil such as the 2010 Winter Olympics and the G8 and G20 Summits.  Since 2006, the defence budget has grown significantly. This has allowed the Government to acquire key equipment, invest in infrastructure, and meet the needs of our men and women in uniform as they work and train, all of which are central components to ensure that the CAF maintain the state of readiness required to react to unforeseen events on short notice in the defence of Canada and Canadian interests.

The latest report of the Standing Committee on National Defence on the State of Readiness of the CAF acknowledges the widespread improvements that have been made over the last decade within National Defence, in marked contrast to the findings of the 2002 Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans’ Affairs report on this issue.  The security environment has evolved over the past decade and the CAF have been able to adapt accordingly to respond to new and often unanticipated challenges. With the end of the combat mission in Afghanistan, the Government has an opportunity to re-evaluate National Defence’s requirements and rebalance resources accordingly. This has already begun with the streamlining of the command and control structure of the CAF, and will continue as National Defence helps fulfill the Government’s commitment to generate savings and long-term sustainability in government spending in light of the current fiscal reality, without compromising the CAF’s operational effectiveness. As the Government takes steps to realign resources at National Defence the focus will remain on ensuring that the CAF have the people, training, equipment, and infrastructure required to respond to pressing security challenges quickly and effectively.

Recommendations

1. That the Government of Canada continue to provide financial support to employers of Reservists to offset costs such as hiring and training replacement workers or increasing overtime hours for existing employees in order to compensate for the Reservists’ absence.

The Government values the unique sacrifices of employers who allow Reservists to deploy on operations and will continue to work to enhance the availability of Reservists for their military duties by obtaining the support and co-operation of business leaders in Canada. For instance, the Canadian Forces Liaison Council, comprised of more than two hundred senior business executives and education leaders, a full-time Secretariat and a national network of Reserve officers, runs several educational outreach programs as well as an awards and recognition program that celebrates supportive employers from across Canada at an annual National Awards Ceremony. Along with this and other non-financial support incentives for employers already in place, National Defence is actively working to develop a financial support mechanism for employers who employ Reservists who volunteer for full-time duty on operations.  This initiative will deliver on the Government's Economic Action Plan 2012 commitment to provide financial support to employers of reservists to offset costs such as the hiring and training of replacement workers or increasing overtime hours for existing employees. 

2. That the Government of Canada engage the provinces and territories to strengthen job protection legislation for Reservists.

Every provincial and territorial jurisdiction across Canada has enacted job protection legislation for Reservists. The Government remains committed to working with all levels of government to strengthen job protection legislation through the harmonization of terminology and by fostering a greater understanding of Reserve requirements for training and operations.  In this regard, National Defence will work with these jurisdictions to assist in aligning the terminology used and encourage the strengthening of legislation by obtaining a common understanding of terms such as "required training," "Operation," "deployment," and "Reservist".  National Defence is also committed to assist any jurisdiction wishing to conduct a review of legislation, and will promote the strengthening of all legislation to support training and operational objectives for Reservists.

3. That the Government of Canada give the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) the resources it requires to conduct training and exercises with allies to ensure Canada is ready to defend its critical infrastructure against cyber attacks.

As stated in Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy, effective cyber security requires a whole-of government effort.  The scale and complexity of the cyber security challenge facing Canada means that the distinct roles of government departments such as the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), the DND/CAF, and Public Safety Canada as well as the private sector, all must be leveraged in an effective and coordinated fashion.

CSEC, with its specialized mandate and skills, will continue to work closely with Government of Canada partners, private industry, and international allies to fulfill its mandate to provide advice, guidance, and services to help ensure the protection of electronic information and of information infrastructure of importance to the Government of Canada.  For example, Public Safety Canada has led Canadian participation, which includes CSEC, in regular Allied cyber security exercises.

Along with other partners in the Government of Canada, CSEC’s cyber security capabilities were augmented through the investments in cyber security announced by the Government in October 2010 and October 2012.  CSEC also continually looks for ways to make the most of existing resources, and for ways to improve its capabilities against cyber threats, including via improvements in technology, partnerships, authorities, and training.

4. That the Government of Canada continue to develop and invest in the protection and security of the Canadian Forces’ cyber infrastructure.

National Defence recognizes that fulfilling the responsibilities articulated in the CFDS requires a robust ability to operate in the cyber environment, and that this capability is just as important to a modern military as the ability to operate in the land, sea and air environments. That is why the Government has made key investments in projects to improve cyber security measures for National Defence’s computer networks.  For example, in 2012 National Defence allocated approximately $14M to projects designed to enhance the departmental Public Key Infrastructure capabilities, improve workstation security, upgrade firewalls, and enhance network Intrusion Detection Systems. 

The Government of Canada will continue to develop and invest in the protection and security of the CAF’s cyber infrastructure in line with Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy. This whole-of-government strategy commits National Defence to strengthen its capacity to defend its networks, work with other Government departments, such as CSEC, to identify threats and possible responses, and continue to exchange information about cyber best practices with allied militaries. National Defence will also continue to work with allies to develop the policy and legal framework for military aspects of cyber security. 

5. That the Government of Canada continue to develop the Canadian Forces’ cyber capacity with respect to personnel. Important to this development is to invest in analysts who can incorporate both the social sciences and data analysis.

Ensuring that National Defence has sustainable human resources and training processes in place to provide personnel with the right mix of technical and analytical skills and knowledge is a top priority. To deliver on the commitments contained in Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy, National Defence is currently examining personnel and human resources requirements which are integral to the ongoing Force Development programme for the cyber environment. This includes identifying the skill sets and training required to ensure that National Defence has the appropriate personnel to successfully operate in the cyber environment. Work is also underway to identify the best mechanisms for recruiting, retaining and managing the careers of personnel working in the cyber field as National Defence continues to strengthen the CAF’s cyber capacity.

6. That the Government of Canada continue to maintain a readily deployable, balanced, multi-purpose combat-ready force.

Defending Canadians from threats to their safety and security is a critical and enduring role for the Government of Canada. To deliver on this core responsibility, the Government will continue to maintain a readily deployable, multi-role, and combat-ready military capable of protecting Canada, defending North America in cooperation with the United States, and contributing to international peace and security. This calls for balanced investments across the four pillar of military capability – personnel, equipment, readiness, and infrastructure. Government investments across all four of these pillars have produced notable results: the CAF have grown to 68,000 Regular Force and 27,000 Reservists and the Government is providing personnel with the highest level of health care possible; the CAF have undergone the largest recapitalization of  equipment since the Korean War, with the Government acquiring tanks and vehicles, tactical and strategic airlift, and modernized ships; key infrastructure has been built to support new capabilities; and the CAF have been trained and equipped to maintain to the highest operational tempo in 60 years.  Going forward, the Government will continue to build on this record of success, ensuring the CAF are positioned to achieve excellence in all the tasks we call on them to undertake. 

7. That the Government of Canada maintain sufficient air mobile forces at high readiness to respond, on short notice, to natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, NATO responsibilities or other overseas missions.

The CAF manage the Force Posture of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Canadian Army (CA) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) to ensure that sufficient units, personnel, equipment and resources are maintained and ready to perform domestic crisis response tasks and to respond to international crises. As a part of its Force Posture, the CAF maintain immediate response capabilities such as the Major Air Disaster Response Plan, the Disaster Assistance Response Team, and the Non-combatant Evacuation Task Force comprised of joint, immediately deployable sea, land and air units capable of responding to unfolding events on specified notice.

The CAF also maintain high readiness units that can support standing NATO Response Force tasks as part of our Alliance commitments, or can be redirected to support other tasks in an emergency. The RCN, CA and RCAF manage the placement of their respective CAF units through internal readiness programs that cycle units through various training programs to ensure that they are able to support the broadest range of potential tasks. This ensures that CAF units are capable of being reassigned to new missions and tasks. Through these readiness programs, the Government is able to maintain the necessary forces to perform the full range of domestic and international security tasks.

8. That the Government of Canada enhance the readiness and reach of Canadian Forces ISR capabilities and continue to promote NATO’s role as a hub for allied ISR assets in the widest possible range of potential missions.

The Government continues to enhance the readiness and reach of the CAF’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability through a series of ongoing projects including Polar Epsilon 2, and the Canadian Army’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) program, CAF Joint exercises, and exercises with our closest international allies and NATO.  In support of the key missions of National Defence, as outlined in the CFDS, the CAF also position ISR capabilities to support surveillance and monitoring of air, land and sea approaches to Canada, and international crisis response and sustained expeditionary operations.

Canada continues to pursue ISR interoperability with our allies in order to mutually leverage capabilities and expand its reach, thus enhancing the collective response to a wide variety of potential contingencies. This includes active participation with NATO Response Forces and NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative to ensure that CAF assets remain interoperable with our allies and are effectively postured to deliver an appropriate response and level of commitment to NATO or coalition-led missions. Canada has been actively engaged in the development of Joint ISR within NATO and is at the forefront of the development and implementation of the latest NATO JISR interoperability standards.

As a cornerstone of Canadian defence and security policy, Canada is committed to ensuring that NATO continues to effectively fulfill its essential core tasks, all of which contribute to safeguarding Alliance members. NATO is the singular collective defence Alliance and, as such, provides an important platform for Canada to address a range of current and future international peace and security challenges.   Leveraging interoperability gains from recent multinational operations, Canada continues to consolidate and build upon operational experiences to maintain its combat effectiveness within NATO while seeking to ensure that the Alliance remains modern, flexible, and agile.  The Government continues to promote NATO as a collective defence Alliance and its unique role as a multilateral political-military hub that allows Canada to 'plug and play' capabilities into an established command and control structure on exercises and operations. 

9. That the Government of Canada ensure that the Royal Canadian Navy’s submarine capability be maintained.

The Government of Canada remains committed to maintaining the RCN’s submarine capability. In late 2013, three of four submarines will be available for operations. This will include a high-readiness submarine on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and one submarine in the rotation for an Extended Docking Work Period.  With the achievement of this steady state in 2013, the CAF will be well-positioned to enhance readiness of the submarine fleet by providing at-sea experience for submarine crews and increase their numbers.  This will be achieved by conducting domestic and limited deployed operations through to 2015, after which the Victoria-class will be available for full operational deployments. 

The Victoria-class submarines provide the RCN and the CAF with a unique strategic capability that helps protect and defend Canadian sovereignty and contribute to national law enforcement and international operations. To be successful in maritime operations, it is necessary to have the ability to maintain control above, on and below the surface of the sea and Canada’s territorial waters. Without the capability provided by Canada’s fleet of Victoria-class submarines, the effectiveness of Canada’s other maritime assets are diminished. As a result of their persistence and lethality, the mere possibility that a submarine may be operating under the surface of the water can provide a powerful deterrent to potential adversaries and alter the entire nature of a theatre of operations.

10. That the Government of Canada ensure that the Royal Canadian Air Forces’ fighter jet capability be maintained and that this capability be fully interoperable with our allies.

The Government has invested in a comprehensive structural and technical modernization program to ensure the RCAF CF-18 fleet will remain fully capable of maintaining Canadian sovereignty, contributing to the defence of North America and participating in coalition operations abroad with our allies. The RCAF also continues to enhance key enabling capabilities, such as ISR, communications and sustainment, to ensure that the RCAF remains capable of deploying fighter jets as part of a NATO or Coalition Air Task Force, as was the case recently in Libya. In addition to these investments, the RCAF trains and participates in international exercises with allies to maintain and enhance interoperability.

The National Fighter Procurement Secretariat is also implementing the Government’s Seven-Point Action Plan to ensure that the RCAF acquires the fighter aircraft it needs to complete the missions asked of it by the Government, and that Parliament and Canadians have confidence in the open and transparent acquisition process that will be used to replace the RCAF CF-18 fleet. As a part of the Seven-Point Plan, the Government is undertaking a full evaluation of options which will involve a thorough assessment of all available fighter aircraft and necessary fighter capabilities. Until the Seven-Point Action Plan is complete, the Government will not make a decision on the replacement for the CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet.

11. That the Government of Canada issue an update of the Canada First Defence Strategy, with a particular focus on emerging capabilities, more rapid and efficient force projections and operational readiness.

When the CFDS was released in 2008, the Government recognized that global security challenges and the capabilities required to meet them will continue to evolve, and as such, committed to reviewing the Strategy on a regular basis to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the military in service of Canadians.  With the end of the combat mission in Afghanistan, National Defence has the opportunity to re-evaluate its requirements and rebalance defence resources, through renewal and transformation, to adapt to an evolving fiscal and strategic environment. 

12. That the Government of Canada ensure that the Canadian Forces continue to participate, on a regular basis, in NATO and other international training exercises with allies and partners.

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the CAF continue to participate, on a regular basis, in NATO and other international training exercises with allies and partners. These events provide an unparalleled opportunity for the CAF to enhance interoperability with key allies, gain experience operating in a multinational setting and build, maintain and strengthen relationships with allies and partners around the globe.  As such, all branches of the CAF participate in bilateral, multinational and NATO exercises on an annual basis. Through venues such as NATO’s Training and Exercise Group, the US World-wide Training and Exercise Conference and coordinating bodies in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the CAF identify opportunities that support defence diplomacy and whole-of-government engagement priorities while offering venues for CAF units to exercise and enhance their skills and operational potential.

These events range from small unit exchanges and small headquarters staff exchanges to enhance command and control interoperability, to major combined and joint training events such as the US Exercise RIMPAC, that includes the participation of tens of thousands of personnel, hundreds of aircraft and dozens of major warships from Pacific Rim nations. In 2012, the CAF had roughly 10,000 personnel participate in more than 100 international training events in over 40 countries. The CAF Collective Training and Exercise Schedule for fiscal years 2013/14 and 2014/15 aims to engage the CAF in a similar level of activity as that of 2012. CAF participation in exercises is primarily aligned regionally to NATO, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, with training priorities focused on enhancing command and control interoperability, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, crisis intervention and capacity building.

13. That the Government of Canada continue to promote basic and advanced individual and collective training, higher education and specialized skills developments as fundamental prerequisites for the overall readiness of Canada’s armed forces.

The Government of Canada recognizes training as an essential aspect of the readiness of the CAF. That is why the Government continues to make significant investments to ensure the continued delivery of the complete spectrum of individual, collective, academic and specialized skills training and development activities. To ensure that training is delivered in the most efficient and effective manner, the CAF have demonstrated innovative approaches that leverage information technology, public-private partnerships for the delivery of education and specialist skills training, and contracted solutions for special knowledge and technology services.

CAF training and education is world-class, with various CAF training modules gaining international recognition and adoption by NATO, the United Nations and several other key allies and partners. RCAF basic pilot training methods have also been adopted and used as a model for the development of similar programs for other nations. CAF training is guided by over a century of experience and a commitment to deliver innovative, approaches to ensure that the CAF will continue to be a relevant, capable and professional force that is able to respond to the challenges of a 21^st century security environment and protect the interests of Canada and Canadians.

14. That the Canadian Forces ensure that annual exercises be conducted at the brigade level or higher.

The Government is committed to ensuring the CAF participate in major exercises and the enabling training events which lead up to them. These events, combined with other major Canadian training events like Exercise JOINTEX, aimed at enhancing CAF joint readiness and interoperability amongst services and the annual Arctic sovereignty operation, NANOOK, facilitate practicing higher levels of command and control within a multinational, joint and whole-of-government context. Exercising the command and control of the CAF at this level is essential to ensuring that the CAF are capable and ready to perform all domestic tasks and take a leading role in international missions.

All services of the CAF are required to conduct major formation exercises on an annual basis. The CA conducts annual brigade-level training as a part of its Training for High Readiness cycle for forces assigned to potential expeditionary operations. This training consists of a two week computer assisted exercise entitled Exercise UNIFIED RESOLVE, followed by a 16-day field training exercise, Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE. Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE is conducted jointly between the CA and RCAF to allow personnel to gain experience in a complex warfighting scenario involving joint action between land and air forces. This training also involves brigade-level “enablers” such as the All Source Intelligence Centre and Coordination Centres.

The RCN participates in the biennial Exercise RIMPAC, hosted by the U.S. and involving tens of thousands of personnel, hundreds of aircraft and dozens of major warships from Pacific Rim nations, as its major formation exercise. During alternate years, the RCN seeks to participate in a major U.S. Navy formation exercise or NATO maritime exercise to ensure the fleet command structure is exercised within a Naval Task Group setting.

15. That the Canadian Forces ensure that army units, preferably a battle group, participate in an international joint exercise in an environment outside Canada on an annual basis.

The CA regularly participates in several international joint exercises on an annual basis, although primarily at the sub-unit level due to the prohibitive cost of participating in large exercises. These exercises include RIMPAC (biennially, hosted by the U.S.), the Joint Operational Access Exercise (annually, hosted by the U.S.), and Exercise BOLD ALLIGATOR (annually, hosted by the U.S.). In addition, smaller CA elements participate in numerous international exercises, including bi-lateral exercises with key Allies such as the U.S., the United Kingdom and France, and multilaterally in NATO training exercises.

In 2012, a CA infantry battle group participated in Exercise COLD RESPONSE in Norway, focused on Arctic training. In addition, two smaller units contributed to the CAF presence at RIMPAC, and Exercise Croix du-sud in the South-West Pacific Ocean, a joint exercise including France and New Zealand. The CA has confirmed the participation of up to 900 personnel in Exercise QUOROM VIGILANT in November 2013, and CA personnel will also participate in company-sized or smaller units in a number of Exercises in South America and Europe for 2013-2014.

16. That the Canadian Forces continue to have regular and reserve units training and operate jointly as frequently as possible to ensure readiness and interoperability, as well as to enhance their ability to adapt to new environments.

The CAF conduct several annual exercises which require Regular and Reserve Force units to participate jointly. Most notably, the annual Arctic sovereignty operation, NANOOK, involves participation by maritime, land and air reserve units alongside Regular Force units. In addition, each of the six Joint Regional Task Force Commanders, and the four Land Force Area commanders conduct collective training events to enhance interoperability between Regular and Reserve units. Through established affiliations between Regular and Reserve Force units, Regular Force units regularly support Reserve Force training by providing observer, controller and mentoring support. Opportunities are also provided for Reserve Force units to participate in Regular Force training events, including for training to operate in specific environments such as Arctic or littoral (i.e. the zone of a coast between high and low tide levels) environments.

With respect to operational integration, Regular and Reserve Force elements are prepared to be deployed side-by-side in response to domestic contingencies. Reserve Forces are also trained and provided with skill-sets to provide critical enabling capabilities to Regular Force units during deployed international operations. The Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force have reserve units fully integrated into their force posture and Reserve Force elements are integrated into the Canadian Army’s Managed Readiness Plan and can be deployed in support of sustained major international deployments.

17. That the Government of Canada ensure that the Canadian Forces continue to restructure, to increase the tooth-to-tail ratio, and to place the highest priority on combat training and joint and combined exercise for deployable units to ensure that the readiness of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy and Special Forces remains second to none.

The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting and enhancing the readiness of the CAF and ensuring that our investments support the readiness of the forces. National Defence has embarked on a significant period of transformation and renewal, improving the way they do business by aggressively targeting corporate and institutional overhead and reinvesting in operational capability. The Government of Canada is focused on a comprehensive strategy that will reduce the administrative “tail” across the Defence organization while strengthening the operational “teeth” of the Canadian Armed Forces.

18. That the Government of Canada ensure that the Department of National Defence evaluates the shortage of CF members in distressed trades and that the Department puts forward an action plan to overcome personnel shortages within the Canadian Forces

The Government agrees that maintaining the trained effective strength of all military occupations is important and that overcoming personnel shortages in distressed trades is a priority.  The CAF already have a process in place to review each military occupation annually. If any issues, including personnel shortages, are identified for an occupation, a plan to overcome these challenges is developed. As a part of this process, each occupation’s trained effective strength is compared against the required number of personnel for each occupation across the CAF.

The results of this annual review inform the Strategic Intake Planning process to determine how many new personnel will be recruited and how many Reservists will be transferred to the Regular Force each year to meet personnel requirements. The resulting Strategic Intake Plan is used by the CAF Recruiting Group and career managers to guide recruitment and career planning to appropriately staff positions across all of the occupations across the CAF, including distressed trades.

This approach has reduced the number of distressed military occupations significantly, from 35 distressed trades in 2007 to 10 in 2012. Of the ten occupations identified as “distressed occupations” for the current fiscal year, five are occupations composed of less than 50 CAF personnel. As such, small year-to-year changes in the number of personnel in these trades can result in a situation where they would be declared as a “distressed occupation.”

[1] Two sets of terminology are used interchangeably in this response – “Canadian Forces” (CF), which is the term used by the Standing Committee on National Defence in their report, and “Canadian Armed Forces” (CAF), which is consistent with the decision taken by the Government of Canada in 2011 to recognize the traditional identities of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force.