31 May 2018. Dr. Dan Middlemiss. Why do successive federal governments treat Canadians as pliant ignoramuses on matters of defence? Take for example, the budget estimates for the Canadian Surface Combatants. Ottawa will soon, we are told, be awarding a contract for up to 15 new warships, yet the entire […]
Naval Policy
16 posts
We're very pleased to announce that one of the members of the CNR Editorial Board has just had a book published. China’s Arctic Ambitions and What They Mean for Canada is one of the first in-depth studies of China’s increasing interest in the circumpolar North. It offers a holistic approach […]
We’ve published a series of commentaries in CNR by Vice-Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham about challenges and changes with the Royal Navy. (See his most recent commentary in the upcoming fall issue of CNR.) In his commentaries Blackham argues that it is dangerous to lose sight of the conventional elements of […]
Military forces increasingly rely on networked information to function effectively. Now we talk about information warfare. This means taking both defensive actions to protect your information and the systems that collect and disseminate it, and offensive actions to disrupt and deny the information of your enemies. What are navies doing […]
As Canada readies for a new defence review, Australia has just released its long-awaited Defence White Paper, along with an Integrated Investment Program as well as a Defence Industry Policy Statement (available here along with associated documents). Unsurprisingly for an island continent, the White Paper is centred around a maritime-based […]
Readers of this forum will know my critical position on the report “That Sinking Feeling” by Prof. Michael Byers and Mr. Stewart Webb. After serving as the lead writer for the MSPP Research Team report, published in this forum on 15 June, I wrote a fuller analysis of the Byers-Webb […]
Mr. Milewski’s underlying assumption in the article is stated in his byline: “Cost of Arctic patrol ships' design sparks warning of another procurement ‘fiasco.’ ” The facts offered in support of the article by the CBC include: Ottawa will pay Irving Shipbuilding $288 million just to design — not build […]
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 […]
For what it is worth, it seems that we are destined to have a number of years of minority government. Sometimes that could be good; however, when the U.S. (and indeed world) economy is central and driving the political scene, one can expect government spending that is focussed on minimizing […]
Amphion is not the only naval personage musing about the future of the Canadian naval fleet. His comments are serious food for thought as innovative choices and decisions are required to meet the challenges created by the sovereign players and less than sovereign forces in the ever more competitive world. […]