Ken Hansen has posed an interesting question. It is not a question that is independent of other maritime concerns, namely ‘maritime blindness of the Canadian society’, the future of the Canadian navy, and the national interests of Canada. Irrespective of the scientific reasons for the climatic changes unfolding in the arctic, no […]
Canada First Defence Strategy
44 posts
The fall out of the recent federal election, amidst the worldwide economic swirl, opens an opportunity for the Canadian government to invest in Canadian jobs and Canadian technology through Canada’s navy building sustainable long-term employment and, at the same time, increase Canada’s overall security and ability to execute a robust […]
The election of a reinforced minority Conservative government might seem to indicate few changes in broad defence policy. I expect, however, some minor alterations and some major new pressures. The greatest pressure may involve a need to divert tax dollars towards remedies for the current financial crisis although initial indications […]
The announcement on the evening of Friday, August 22, 2008 of the cancellation of the JSS procurement should have been no surprise to any observer of naval and military affairs. The proposed ships were too innovative and too complex to succeed in the Canadian political and military environment. In a […]
Dear Senator Kenny, Bravo Zulu on a plainspoken wake up call to Canadians. Jack Granatstein’s classics – “Who Killed Canadian History?” and “Who Killed the Canadian Military?” have fallen on essentially deaf ears, particularly where it counts in government. Let us hope yours and the work of the Senate on […]
A ‘blue ribbon’ panel in the United States has just released a major report on national security reform. The report can be viewed at this link. Entitled “Ensuring Security in an Unpredictable World: The Urgent Need for National Security Reform,” the report will inform American security and defence policy for […]
Recently, the Globe and Mail reported that the Conservative government has revised its expectations of success in Kandahar. Knowing that the situation on the ground in Regional Command South is ever changing and our military commitment there is evidently slated to end in 2011, such a policy shift may indeed […]
Amid all of the discussions and commentaries about the defence policy announcement, something has been overlooked. Neither in the speeches nor in the Backgrounders was there any mention of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopters (known in the U.S. as the H-92 Superhawk). While all other equipment programmes, both actual and intended, […]
Dave Perry has supplied a superb analysis of the Canada First Defence Strategy or CFDS. I particularly support his conclusion “The defence strategy is therefore competent, long term planning, devoid of any exciting new promises that might attract criticism for outlandish spending plans and un-needed equipment.” The strategy itself correctly […]