October 22, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Canada has taken a big leap closer to meeting its promise to the NATO military alliance to spend a larger share of its economy on defence thanks to an unexpected assist from COVID-19.
New NATO figures released Wednesday show that largely thanks to the pandemic, Canada is poised to spend the equivalent of more of its gross domestic product on defence this year than at any point in the past decade.
That is because the alliance expects the Liberal government to hold Canadian defence spending steady even as COVID-19 batters the country's economic output.
Yet defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute says the results are unlikely to appease the United States, as Canada continues to fall far short of its promise to NATO to spend two per cent of GDP on defence.
"I think they'll be pleased to see positive momentum," Perry said of the U.S., "but it doesn't resolve their concern about where we are."
All NATO members, including Canada, agreed in 2014 to work toward spending the equivalent of two per cent of their GDP — a standard measurement of a country's economic output — on defence within the next decade.
The promise followed complaints from the U.S. about burden-sharing among allies and broader concerns about new threats from Russia and China as the two countries increased their own military spending.
NATO and the U.S. have repeatedly criticized Canada for not meeting the target, with President Donald Trump in December calling Canada "slightly delinquent" during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
His predecessor, Barack Obama, also called out Canada over its defence spending during an address to Parliament in 2016. The U.S. spends more than any other NATO member on defence, both in terms of raw cash and as a share of GDP.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said the continued importance of increasing military spending would be discussed when defence ministers from across the alliance meet this week.
The NATO figures show that Canada is poised to spend 1.45 per cent of its GDP on the military this year. That is not only a big jump from the 1.29 per cent last year, but the largest share of the economy in a decade.
It also exceeds the government's original plan, laid out in the Liberals' defence policy in 2017, to spend 1.4 per cent of GDP on the military by 2024-25. That is when NATO members were supposed to hit the two-per-cent target.
Yet the figures show the expected increase isn't the result of a new infusion of cash for the Canadian Armed Forces this year as spending is expected to hit $30 billion, up just over $1 billion from 2019.
Rather, NATO predicts Canadian GDP will shrink by about eight per cent this year as COVID-19 continues to ravage the economy.
The fact Canadian defence spending is expected to remain largely steady despite the pandemic is noteworthy, particularly as there have been fears in some corners about cuts to help keep the federal deficit under control.
The NATO report instead appears to lend further credence to recent assertions from Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Defence Department deputy minister Jody Thomas and others that the Liberals are not readying the axe.
Canada also remained 21st out of 29 NATO members in terms of the share of GDP spent on the military as other allies also got a surprise boost from the economic damage wrought by COVID-19.
At the same time, Perry said the government has yet to lay out a timetable for when it plans to meet the two per cent target. Military spending is instead expected to start falling after 2024-25, according to the Liberal defence plan.
Despite having agreed to the target during the NATO leaders' summit in Wales in 2014, successive Canadian governments have repeatedly described the NATO target as "aspirational."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2020.
August 30, 2023 | Local, Security
A top priority for the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is fostering an environment where people affected by misconduct feel safe, supported, and able to report misconduct on their own terms.
October 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN As the Trudeau government focuses on its survival and seeking political support from potential allies like the NDP or the Greens, key defence issues could be put on the back burner or become part of any backroom quid pro quo. Dealing with health care, affordable housing, pipelines, the environment and healing rifts with Alberta and Saskatchewan are expected to be just some of the top issues facing the minority Liberal government. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance has been telling headquarters staff in Ottawa that with the world becoming more dangerous he expects a steady flow of funding for the Canadian Forces to continue. That, however, isn't a given. Some of the Liberal's election promises come with a steep cost, including the $6 billion needed to be set aside for the first four years of a pharmacare program and a plan to improve access to medical services. Defence and security issues were barely mentioned during the federal election campaign, even though billions of dollars in equipment purchases will need to be approved by the government in the coming years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau backed away Wednesday from forming a coalition with one of the opposition parties, but he did emphasis collaborating with the other party leaders on various issues. That could open the potential to work together on certain defence files. The Liberals have talked about using more Canadian military resources to deal with climate-related disasters and to provide help to poorer nations dealing with the effects of climate change. Those are initiatives both the Greens and the NDP could get behind as they mirror proposals from those parties. The NDP has also stated it wants a fair competition for new fighter jets and to keep the multi-billion dollar shipbuilding procurement on schedule. The Green Party more generally has supported a well-equipped Canadian military but hasn't gone into details. Bloc leader Yves François Blanchet has said his priority is not sovereignty but to promote Quebec interests. That includes a push to see Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Que., named as the third yard under the federal shipbuilding strategy. The Bloc's wishes coincide with the Liberal's efforts to steer more shipbuilding work toward Davie. The politics of a minority government could also come into play on the project to acquire a future fighter jet. Although the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter is now seen as the leading candidate, an aerospace union is raising warnings that the selection of that plane could mean large-scale job losses in Quebec. In early September the Machinists Union complained that the Liberal government bowed to pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to change rules to keep the F-35 in the procurement race but at the expense of other firms offering guaranteed work for Canada's aerospace sector. The union is worried that if Canada were to purchase the F-35 then most of the long-term maintenance would be done in the U.S. That, noted the labour organization, would put in jeopardy the 600 jobs at L-3 Harris in Montreal that are linked to maintaining the Royal Canadian Air Force's current CF-18 fleet. “We will follow the situation closely and demand that manufacturing and maintenance activities of the next fighter aircraft take place in Quebec,” said David Chartrand, the Quebec co-ordinator of the Machinists Union. Any loss of 600 jobs in Quebec is bound to get the attention of the Bloc Québécois and cause problems for the Liberals. Trudeau also said Wednesday he would swear in a new gender-balanced cabinet on Nov. 20. Trudeau will be in need of experienced ministers in various high-profile cabinet positions, so there is a strong possibility Harjit Sajjan, who served as defence minister, and Carla Qualtrough, the procurement minister, might end up in new portfolios. There have been suggestions at National Defence headquarters that Liberal MP Karen McCrimmon, a retired air force officer who won re-election in Kanata-Carleton, could be a potential candidate for the defence portfolio. McCrimmon, a former lieutenant colonel, was the first woman in Canada to qualify as an air navigator and the first to command an air force squadron. Such a choice would meet Trudeau's needs for a female cabinet member with experience in the portfolio. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/analysis-defence-issues-could-be-on-the-back-burner-as-minority-liberal-government-focuses-on-survival
April 6, 2022 | Local, Aerospace
CALGARY, Alberta, April 6, 2022— Arcfield Canada Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Arcfield, has been awarded a two-year contract extension by the Department of National Defence to provide support services for the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) CF-18 Avionics (AVS) Optimized Weapon System Support (OWSS) program. The award, which represents follow-on work for the company, has a total value of $50 million. Under the contract extension, Arcfield Canada will continue to provide support for the entire CF-18 avionics suite and associated support equipment through the end of March 2024. As a leader in avionics sustainment, Arcfield Canada administers the complete lifecycle management, engineering support services, supply chain management, and maintenance, repair and overhaul of avionics systems for the RCAF. To date, the company has completed more than 70,000 repairs on the CF-18 avionics. “We are pleased that the Department of National Defence and the RCAF has trusted Arcfield to continue its service for the CF-18 aircraft,” said Jacques Comtois, director of Canadian operations, Arcfield Canada. “For 35 years, our organization has been a dedicated and valued partner to the Canadian Armed Forces supporting Canada's fighter fleet, and we look forward to continuing that partnership through this contract.” As the prime contractor on the CF-18 AVS OWSS program, Arcfield Canada Corp. has been providing comprehensive in-service and integrated logistics support for the RCAF's CF-18 fighter aircraft for more than three decades. “This extension is a testament to the expertise and value we have provided on the OWSS program over the last several decades,” said Kevin Kelly, chief executive officer and chairman of Arcfield. “As a company that is built on a foundation of always putting our customers' missions first, we are honoured to continue this mission-critical work for the Department of National Defence.” This extension also comes after the company received an additional two-year task order to upgrade the CF-18 fleet with a new two-way data link capability, valued at $28 million. About Arcfield Canada Corp. Arcfield Canada has been a trusted partner to the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 35 years; supplying world-class in-service and integrated logistics support through its expertise in supply chain management, maintenance and repair, and engineering solutions. Arcfield Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arcfield, a global defense and security solutions provider to the U.S. government and its allies. The company has more than 60 years of proven experience providing advanced engineering and analysis, and IT capabilities to support our nation's most critical national security missions. With 16 offices around the world, Arcfield employs approximately 1,200 engineers, analysts, IT specialists, and other professionals who put our customers' missions first, helping them solve their most complex challenges through innovations in modeling, simulation and analysis, and digital transformation. Visit arcfield.ca for more details. Press Contact: Deborah Lovegrove Arcfield Canada Sr. Manager, Marketing and Communications 613-818-5411 Deborah.lovegrove@arcfield.com