Dominque Arel, Marta Kepe, and Stephen Saideman made statements and answered questions.

At 9:03 a.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 9:12 a.m., the meeting resumed.

Dominque Arel, Marta Kepe, and Stephen Saideman answered questions.

James Bezan moved, — That the committee invite the Minister of National Defence to appear before the committee for no less than two hours, within 14 days of the adoption of this motion, in relation to his priorities for the return of Parliament and his mandate.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 11; NAYS: 0.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That the committee invite the Minister of National Defence to appear before the committee for no less than one hour and one hour with officials, within 14 days of the adoption of this motion, in relation to his priorities for the return of Parliament and his mandate.

Christine Normandin moved, — Given that the members of this committee learned at the end of June 2024 from an article in the Globe and Mail that the former Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, had allegedly ordered members of the Special Forces deployed by Canada in Afghanistan to carry out an evacuation operation in August 2021 involving 225 Afghans of the Sikh faith, thereby favouring the evacuation of individuals on the basis of their religious or ethnic affiliation, to the detriment of the evacuation of Canadians and allied Afghans,

That, within 15 days of the adoption of this motion, the committee invite the following persons to testify in order to answer the committee's questions:

1. the Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, as well as government officials, for a minimum of two hours;
2. the former Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, for a minimum of two hours;
3. the Chief of the Defence Staff at the time of the events;
4. and any other witnesses the committee deems necessary; and

that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Debate arose thereon.

The debate continued.

The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 11; NAYS: 0.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

Given that the members of this Committee learned at the end of June 2024 from an article in the Globe and Mail that the former Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, had allegedly ordered members of the Special Forces deployed by Canada in Afghanistan to carry out an evacuation operation in August 2021 involving 225 Afghans of the Sikh faith, thereby favouring the evacuation of individuals on the basis of their religious or ethnic affiliation, to the detriment of the evacuation of Canadians and allied Afghans,

That, within 15 days of the adoption of this motion, the committee invite the following persons to testify in order to answer the committee's questions:

1. the former Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, for a minimum of two hours;
2. the Chief of the Defence Staff at the time of the events;
3. and any other witnesses the committee deems necessary; and

that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Alexandre Boulerice moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces approach to current and legacy contamination sites, including:

(i) The capability to assess long-term human health risks of contamination on DND sites (including but not limited to TCE, PFAS, and other chemical exposures monitored by the Federal Contamination Site Inventory);

(ii) The decision-making framework to identify, assess, and classify a human health risk to CAF members, DND employees, military families and nearby civilian communities to ongoing contamination sites;

(iii) The Department of National Defence and Veteran Affairs Canada’s framework for attributing occupational disease caused by exposure to contaminated sites;

(iv) The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces on-going efforts to cleanup contamination sites on existing bases;

(v) The Department of National Defence’s responsibilities under the Federal Contamination Site Action Plan for legacy sites within Canada, including monitoring, reporting, classifying, and assessing health and environmental risks;

(vi) And how Canada’s approach to military contamination sites differ from our allies.

That the committee hold no less than six meetings, and invite relevant governmental officials from the Department of National Defence, the Department of Veteran Affairs, Health Canada, and the Treasury Board; that the committee invite individuals and their advocates impacted by Agent Orange in New Brunswick, TCE and other contaminants in Valcartier, burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, Veterans With Cancer, and other individuals impacted by contaminated DND sites; and that the committee invite Occupational Health experts, academics and researchers on contaminated sites, and environmental contamination advocacy organizations, and that pursuant to standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response..

Debate arose thereon.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 11; NAYS: 0.