Gender-based defence procurement? What is that? DND Officials can't answer simple questions

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Thank you, chair. My first round of questions are going to be for uh the officials at the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces.

[00:00:09]Uh so in your opening remarks, you mentioned um uh the war in Ukraine. And so I I want to I want to follow up on that point just for for a little bit. So in 2024, Canada uh donated an advanced long range air defense system to Ukraine called the NA SAMS or NASAMS. Yet, we do not operate any medium or long range surfaceto-air missile systems ourselves here in Canada. So, we're here today gathered to talk about military spending and and it's important to examine our capabilities gap and the liberal incompetence that's uh expanding that gap. So, I guess this question is for the colonel, but anyone from the Department of National Defense can answer. Could you please explain Canada's current surfaceto-air missile capabilities?

[00:00:56]>> Um, yeah. So I I'm not familiar uh particularly familiar with uh with air defense. It's not my specialty, but uh we can certainly uh look into that.

[00:01:06]>> Okay. So >> I guess in your view, how can on that point, how can we discuss um further military spending when we can't defend our troops um from modern threats? I mean, it seems like we're procuring advanced weaponry uh that we ourselves don't have for other countries. Is that is that a problem or is that do we think that we need to also uh procure uh uh weapons for our for our own troops too?

[00:01:36]>> Yeah. Um uh so I mean we do we have procured groundbased air defense for for our troops. Um and um though I'm trying to find the nexus to to dual use here.

[00:01:51]I mean I well what I'm asking here is what um so the ground so the the the the weapons that you're talking about for our own troops is that more advanced than what we procured in in respect of the NASAMS for in 2024 for Ukraine or is that comparable worse better?

[00:02:09]>> Uh yes I'm I'm not an expert on uh on air defense but I can certainly take your question to our uhmemes.

[00:02:17]Okay. So, I guess we'll turn the page.

[00:02:21]Um, so I'm looking at the Department of National Defense website and there's a whole document, whole policy on uh gender-based analysis plus at the National Defense. So, I'm I'm wondering if anyone of you could could elaborate on when it comes to uh contracts, procurement, um what this policy what role this policy plays in in all the work that you do.

[00:02:50]Uh thank you Mr. Chair for the question.

[00:02:52]The gender-based analysis is one of uh several policy requirements on uh accessing funds um brought to us by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

[00:03:08]So we need to uh answer some key points about the impact of some of our investments but we didn't uh we didn't uh come prepared to talk about all of defense investments uh in this committee we brought research and development.

[00:03:29]>> Okay. So in the research and development sort of space in and there's contracts, there's grants that are overseen. So does race does gender ever play a role in the selection of these of these contracts or or grants? Maybe maybe Dr. Kaminsky can speak to that because she does a little bit of on the grants.

[00:03:48]>> Yes, I can speak to this certainly from the perspective of the Bureau of Research Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science. Uh so as you might be aware um or not uh we have uh one of the key initiatives is are the defense innovation secure hubs and in February of this year we have launched a call for proposals for the next round of defense innovation secure hubs targeting two technology areas one of them being quantum science and the other being uh uncrrewed systems both of which have a nexus to sovereign capabilities. As part of the evaluation process for that call for proposals, we certainly take um uh GBA plus and other inclusive access considerations as part of the evaluation process. This ensures that we um we access uh the best and the brightest um talent across. What you're saying is gender and race are fact or other identity uh markers are factors that you will consider in that consideration process.

[00:04:53]>> It is a factor in the evaluation criteria of the proposals that we receive. Uh they do under undergo a gender uh GBA plus analysis. Yes. Could you could you elaborate on how that would um sort of bolster our defense capabilities or >> Well, certainly in the research space uh we consider the variety of views and perspectives to be a strength of uh of any kind of research proposal. uh this has uh been borne out through previous um previous initiatives that we have uh we have undertaken under the program that we're using which is called ideas.

[00:05:34]So we continue that best practice to ensure that again we attract a broad range of stakeholders and innovators to bring the best and the brightest to be able to work on hard defense and security R&D problems.

[00:05:48]How would the GBA analysis, the gender-based analysis promote that? I mean, wouldn't you, so you're saying you you wouldn't consider the best applicants if it wasn't for the GBA policy?

[00:06:00]>> All applications are evaluated on merit first and then there are a number of factors that we consider as addition.

[00:06:07]>> So merit, but then you say also GBA. We are going to have to move on to a next set of questions.