The committee studied Canada's industrial defence strategy. Appearing were Kendal Hembroff, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Industry; Wendy Hadwen, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy-Industry, Department of National Defence; Major-General Jeff Smyth, Chief, Air and Space Force Development, Royal Canadian Air Force; Ashwin K. Iyer, Professor and Director, Centre for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-use Technologies, University of Alberta; Heather Exner-Pirot, Director, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, Macdonald-Laurier Institute; and Madeleine Redfern, Chief Operating Officer, Northern Director, CanArctic Inuit Networks Inc.
Kendal Hembroff said the defence industrial strategy, still under development, aims to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers by leveraging Canada's strengths in areas like AI, quantum, and shipbuilding, using a "buy, build and partner" framework. She noted that Canadian firms want early engagement in procurement and that the government recently announced a new buy Canadian policy, though details are pending; she also highlighted the industrial and technological benefits policy as a key tool.
Wendy Hadwen described the strategy as a whole-of-defence effort to bring coherence to increased defence spending, with priorities including strengthening the industrial base, enhancing economic resilience, and safeguarding sovereignty. She said the government has committed to creating a defence procurement agency and emphasized the need for better collaboration with industry, noting that small businesses struggle with access to capital and navigating the defence system.
Major-General Jeff Smyth said interoperability with allies is critical and that Canada must sometimes buy off-the-shelf equipment to fill immediate capability gaps while investing in domestic industry for future needs. He stressed the importance of stable funding and early, collaborative engagement with industry on operational problems, and noted that security clearances and infrastructure for industry need improvement to enable agile responses to threats.
Ashwin K. Iyer argued that universities should be treated as strategic assets for defence innovation, providing secure research environments and connecting researchers with industry and the military. He recommended sustained federal funding for secure research infrastructure at proven university partners, such as the University of Alberta's centre for defence and dual-use technologies, to accelerate technology readiness and commercialization.
Heather Exner-Pirot said Canada can help allies by supplying critical minerals like gallium, germanium, and tungsten, where China dominates the market, and that the government should use defence spending to fund production, potentially counting it as NATO spending. She noted that Canada already produces some of these as by-products and could expand output in a few years, and that the U.S. has already made awards in Canada under its Defense Production Act.
Madeleine Redfern said Arctic infrastructure investments, such as fibre optic cables and energy solutions like micro modular reactors, are dual-use and support both communities and national security, but government departments often fail to implement dual-purpose projects in practice. She recommended creating an inventory of existing Arctic assets, ensuring indigenous procurement benefits are genuine through audits, and climate change-proofing all new infrastructure.
The committee heard from members in rounds of questioning, with no procedural debate, motions, or votes recorded during this meeting.
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