Defence minister tours 22 Wing health services centre, talks NORAD funding

National defence minister tours 22 Wing Canada's defence minister Bill Blair was in North Bay to mark the completion of a new health services centre at 22 Wing.

During a tour of 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base on Friday, Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair rolled up his sleeve to get a flu shot.

“Please don’t say I jumped in front of anyone in line here,” Blair joked while getting the shot.

He was in North Bay to mark the completion of a $22 million health care facility at the base. The state-of-the-art 2,100-square-metre health hub consolidates all health services at the base in one facility.

Blair said that when he visited military bases across the country, he was approached by Canadian Armed Forces personnel who had concerns about the lack of health care services on base.

“I made a promise to myself and to the members of the Canadian Armed Forces that I would do everything in my power to support them,” he said.

“We will do everything necessary to ensure you have what you need to serve."

The modern medical facility will offer care by civilian and military doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical technicians, mental health professionals, dentists, physiotherapists, pharmacists and administrative staff.

Care will also be provided to U.S. Air Force personnel and to family members of the military.

“This project compliments 22 Wing's family medical clinic,” said base commander Col. Richard Jolette.

“That clinic is one of the first of its kind in Canada."

The federal government is building 13 new health centres, nine of which are already complete.

While on base, Blair said he had a moment to chat with Jolette about plans to upgrade systems within the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) over the next few years.

Last summer, the Liberals announced a six-year, $4.9 billion plan to upgrade and modernize continental defences. The new system will replace the North Warning System, a string of radar stations built in the 1980s to identify approaching Russian aircraft.

The funding also includes new command and control systems, advanced air-to-air missiles and other capabilities.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the base in June 2022 and said some of the money will be used to upgrade systems at the North Bay NORAD complex.

“I’m struck by the sense of urgency,” Blair said, acknowledging the ongoing war in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine and other areas of “potential conflict.”

“22 Wing here in North Bay is the heartbeat of Canada’s commitment to North America defence. We are working very closely with our American allies.”

Blair said the Department of National Defence has made it quite clear to the Treasury Board there is to be no impact on Canadian forces capability or on the services provided to the men and women who serve when it comes to spending cuts.

“That is our commitment. So, what I’ve asked of the Department of National Defence to look at expenditures like executive travel which doesn’t impact those men and women,” he said.

Blair said reductions in consulting services will also be looked at as another area to reduce spending.

He also addressed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. He did not specify how many extra Canadian Armed Forces members have been sent to Israel due to security issues.

“There were a number of Canadian citizens that were in Israel. The Canadian Armed Forces, as they always do, went right to work and they deployed people,” he said.

“We had people already in the region and we deployed additional resources.”

Those additional resources, Blair said, include another evacuation plane landing at the Ben Gurion International Airport to transport Canadians to safety out of the conflict zone.