By David Dunlop, 9 January 2023
A few months ago, the new French Ambassador to Canada, Michel Miraillet, made some comments that are interesting -- and frank (and which he said represented his own opinion). He suggested that "Caught up in navel-gazing and living under the protective shield of the United States, Canada has allowed its military presence worldwide to wither over the last decade or so." According to him, Canada has become complacent and relies too heavily on the United States for defence. It's an interesting comment to consider. Has Canada allowed its military presence worldwide to wither? An article by Tom Blackwell for the National Post summarizes the Ambassador's comments.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/french-ambassador-on-canadas-military
13 thoughts on “Is Canada Navel-Gazing and Neglecting the Military?”
Why this attention to a 14 Oct 22 National Post article on the same day that we announce the CF-35 purchase?
Are we navel gazing or thinking before we spend huge sums?
Hello Les. It was just an article that I had not seen before and thought forum members might want to comment, that’s all. It had nothing to do with timing of the F 35 announcement. Although I will say that the RCAF is much happier today than they were yesterday. It took far too long to get to this point and should have happened 10 years ago. Canada would have had its F 35 fleet in total by now. The Conservatives had already started this process 16 years ago. What a waste of time and money!!
Unfortunately I do have to agree with the statement we have seen governments kick the can down the road over naval / army / air force procurement not to mention the reduction in the main fleet with the Iroquois being scrapped.
There is some light hearted attempt at looking good with the new AOPVs however these are not vessels you would want to be in if things got serious.
The continual delays and debates regarding the CSC and future submarine programs have meant both services have suffered substantially and now were looking at boats that will be close to 50 years old when they retire and frigates that are over 40 years old.
We rely too much on our allies to protect us only recently the Canadian gov asked the UK Gov to assist in Arctic operations with a SSN https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/britain-uk-canada-arctic-defence-submarines-russia-china-1.6187347
While it is nice to have allies it really doesn’t help when they are constantly looking and laughing at you. Then when time comes for a real interaction you get put on the bench so to speak because your equipment is dated or obsolete.
This also means that forces morale suffers greatly and affects recruitment and retention in the longer term, most Canadians & Canadian veterans I have spoken to find our armed forces a joke.
Could not agree with you more Blair! When the newly minted French Ambassador to Canada starts telling us that Canada is basically a joke, it really makes one want to crawl into a hole somewhere. I have been saying for years what our European and NATO partners have been whispering for decades. It is past time for Canada to “put up or shut up” or get out of the way!
Hello Blair. You said in your statement that “recently the Canadian government had asked the UK Gov to assist in Arctic operations with an SSN”. Nowhere in that article does it say that the Canadian government had asked the UK Gov to assist Canada in Arctic Operations with an SSN for patrols. This is an article from Murray Brewster from CBC who said others, including Britains’ General Sir Nick Carter have offered to assist Canada with our Sovereignty efforts. Although the U.K. has been included in Arctic Exercises over the years including British SSNs, Canada will never cede our own sovereignty to another nation including our allies like the U.K. If it did, Canada would then be looked at from other state actors as a “protectorate” state rather than a “sovereign” country. Other than that, I agree on much of what you have said. Cheers!
Hello,
Respectfully, and as much as it hurts to recognize it, we are already a “protectorate” or “vassal” state, particularly in terms of security and foreign policy. Whatever our senior southern partner says, goes.
That senior partner now shows signs of advanced social, cultural, political and economic degradation and possible collapse in the near term. We should consider implications of those things to our future sovereignty and well-being.
Regards.
Hello Curious Civilian. If we already are a “Protectorate” as you believe, then Canada might just as well turn in the keys to the house and hand them over to the US. I for one (and others) would not like to see that. Canada has at least to be seen as paying lip-service to our own sovereign territories. It is now past time for Canada to stand up for itself and start looking after its own backyard and not have our next door neighbour mow our lawn for us. The implications of that kind of help are enormous whether that help come from our southern friends or our NATO allies, no matter what the cost may be!
Hi David,
I completely agree about looking after our own backyard. My contension is that we build the capability to do that on our own. For now the discussion has focused on the amount we pay to purchase equipment, primarily from the US. That does not make us sovereign. This is illustrated by the recent announcement of Canada purchasing air defense systems for Ukraine when leaving our own forces’ requirement for the same system unmet. Same equipment, same vendor, different requirements from our senior partner.
Almost all other NATO partners/allies have their own defense industries, built as an extension of their core industrial base. We are an exception in that our defense is decoupled from our limited industrial base.
Until we build up our industrial base and manufacturing capability, we will never have an independent defense industry and therefore won’t have true sovereignty. We can’t even manufacture the necesaary ammunition – a failing of most other NATO partners as well.
One of the main lessons of our conflict over the Ukraine is that we forgot that modern war is an industrial war. The expenditure of artillery munitions and missiles is measured in the millions of tons of steel, advanced materials and chemicals. Without mass advanced industry, there’s no defense and no sovereignty.
Best regards!
Hello again Curious Civilian. No, you are right. Buying an AAW Ground-Based missile system from the US to give to Ukraine to aid in their fight against Russia is both good and bad for Canada. Since we don’t even have a Ground-Based AAW defence system capability for our own military yet…., it doesn’t make any sense at all. However maybe, just maybe, we are doing this to see how effective this system will perform in the field before we buy it for our own Army in the future. We do need however, to build up our own civilian AAW defensive capabilities soon to rely less on our partners to the south. Cheers!
Yes I may have worded that incorrectly or in hindsight put it a bit better.
Overall though we are heavily reliant on the US & foreign arms in many areas as recent events have noted.
I would love to see Canada stand on its own feet however we are so closely tied with the USA now that bond is one that is hard to break.
On top of that the political side of things it’s more attractive to import American and Foreign arms due to cost considerations rather than investing in our own industries to create jobs etc.
This is the short sightedness I see (as a foreigner) in Canada and it’s not limited to just the military but the civilian sector too, make hay while the sun shines is not a long term strategy.
While investing heavily in defense is unpopular overall and yes would likely lose votes, in the longer term 10+ years, that investment pays off. Simply put, you have a viable industry that creates jobs and potentially viable export products to sell which repays that initial investment multiple times down the line.
Unfortunately I run up against the same arguments time and again, which tend to be we have better things to spend the money on, and there’s other ways to invest the money in our citizens, this wouldn’t be a popular move with the public etc etc.
Sadly we have too many politicians who want to kick the can down the road constantly for fear of losing votes that unfortunately we have become a bit of a joke to many.
Our procurement system is clearly deficient, the political system is clearly faulty when it comes to defense, the industry needs investment for sure otherwise our enemies and to a lesser degree allies will treat us like a joke.
Hello Blair. I don’t believe Canada should break any “bond” with our Southern friends any time soon. Our close relationship with the US is both comforting and at times can be a curse to our own sovereignty. We have relied too much on US military products and too quick to buy American at times when we should be looking inwards more for our own defence. There are also Foreign military products that are “just as good” as our US counterparts and we should also look abroad more. It is not a bad thing however to buy American as you can depend on the military products you buy from them to be excellent value for the Canadian Loonie. You are correct though that we have to cut the apron strings from the US and start to develop our own military industries right here. Investing in Canada’s defence is never popular with both our politicians and the Canadian public, but at times it must be done for the greater good. I have some flash news for you Blair. Our Allies already treat us like a joke! Until we as a country finally decide to “grow a couple” and make some real committments to our military and spend some real money on equipment the Canadian military desperately need, Canada will always be a second string cousin, a NATO moocher and a protectorate country. We will never become a true nation, strong and free! IMO anyway. Cheers!
In all honesty I cannot say that the people inside the Canadian military are a joke, They are very highly skilled people that unfortunately get sold short by their governments’ short sightedness. Procurement in my opinion could absolutely be a lot better than it is. We tend to waste a lot of money on projects and even more debating them, wasting more time. Thus the bill keeps going up.
It’s not the fine people of the Canadian armed forces that are at fault here. Let’s be truthful, we are asking these men and women to defend Canada ultimately with sub par equipment and then when they do in some cases pay the ultimate price or are injured in the line of duty there’s little to no support network for them. (This angers me the most.) I also believe this in part is not limited to Canada as we have the same issue in the UK and the USA also has the same issue. This affects recruitment and retention.
As for our own industries we don’t have to go head to head with the USA (a battle we cannot win) with regards to certain things, but what we can do is be a bigger supplier than we already are, and not just for the USA but also for the Europeans too. There is some great talent in Canada but ultimately they leave to the highest bidder usually the USA or UK.
In my world of Logistics I can honestly say I certainly do see the merits of buying American, the supply chain is shorter, parts more readily available, the supply network is more secure than trans ocean routes, and product can be moved in days not weeks. Thus we shouldn’t break the southern bond. But I agree it is time for Canada to grow a pair but not to cut off our allies but to step up and become a full member of NATO and show that we are not a joke and that we take our role and place seriously and that we can be a good ally and fend for our own country’s sake.
Canada is still quite a way from the NATO 2% pledge, we can start here to show willing. Critically I also think it is time to put the military into the public spotlight and yes it will cost some money to do this but the public need to understand what they do and what the public can do to help them.
Totally agree Blair. Your comments are “spot on”!!!!!