June 28, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
December 31, 2018 | Local, Security
Chief of the Defence Staff says natural disasters pose ‘significant threat’ to Canadians
By Amanda Connolly National Online Journalist Global News
There are not many military threats that directly loom over Canadians as the country heads into the new year.
But of those that do, one of the most significant is the increased frequency of major natural disasters.
In a year-end interview with the West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance said while there are a number of threats that are evolving and taking shape, one of the most concrete ones the military is facing right now comes from Mother Nature herself.
“There are very few large military threats to Canada,” he said.
“There are certainly threats that are evolving right now that can reach Canada, be they missiles or threats against our cybersecurity, threats to our oceans and to our shores. We face a significant threat almost every year now with natural disasters, forest fires and floods and so on that affect Canadians. So in our role to defend Canada and protect Canadians, that's been significant.”
The military gets called in to help with the response to natural disasters when those disasters overwhelm provincial authorities, which have the first responsibility to respond when things like floods, forest fires or ice storms hit.
Military responses to natural disasters happen under what's known as Operation Lentus.
In 2018, the military deployed to six natural disasters after provincial authorities in all cases determined the scale of the damage was too much for them to handle alone.
Those disasters included the winter storms in Eastern Quebec and the Iles-de-la-Madeleine in November, sending hundreds of soldiers and transport aircraft to assist with evacuations from the B.C. and Manitoba forest fires and deploying to take on the heavy spring flooding in B.C., New Brunswick and on the Kashechewan First Nation.
Forest fires and severe flooding saw the military also respond to six disasters last year.
Both represent sharp increases compared to years past as climate change continues to cause more extremes that result in the droughts, storms and thaws behind things like dangerous forest fires and floods.
In 2016, for example, the military only deployed once: to the devastating Fort McMurray wildfires.
They deployed twice in 2015, four times in 2014, once in 2013, three times in 2011 and once in 2010.
In addition to continuing to deploy to missions overseas, the added demands on responding to disasters at home mean the military will need to increase recruitment or start to feel the strain, Vance said.
And in an uncertain world, the circumstances around those missions continues to evolve.
Most recently, Russia attacked three Ukrainian naval vessels passing through the shared territorial waters of the Kerch Strait.
Dozens of Ukrainian sailors on those ships were detained by the Russians as prisoners of war.
Vance said while that kind of aggression from Russia doesn't directly impact Canadians deployed in the ongoing training mission in Ukraine, it does factor into considerations of what they are ultimately going to be able to achieve.
“It raised the stakes somewhat,” he said. “It hasn't affected this mission Operation UNIFIER at this juncture, but it doesn't point to a peaceful and ultimate resolution of Ukraine that we'd like to see.”
The 24 detained Ukrainian sailors have yet to be released.
© 2018 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4785907/jonathan-vance-canadian-forces-natural-disasters/
On the same subject
-
-
March 10, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Government doesn’t know when a defence procurement agency might be created
In the last election campaign the Liberals promised to create a defence procurement agency as part of its efforts to improve purchasing of equipment for the Canadian Forces. No details were released at the time. In December, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his mandate letter to Procurement Minister Anita Anand, outlined how she would lead an effort to bring “forward analyses and options for the creation of Defence Procurement Canada, to ensure that Canada's biggest and most complex National Defence and Canadian Coast Guard procurement projects are delivered on time and with greater transparency to Parliament.” Anand would do this with the support of the Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, according to her mandate letter. At the time Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan claimed much of the work was already underway. “A lot of work has already started on (Defence Procurement Canada) and the goal of this is to make sure that we get the procurement projects done as quickly as possible to make sure the Canadian Armed Forces has what they need,” Sajjan told iPolitics the day before his mandate letter was released. Strangely, when asked about that work, Sajjan's department pointed out that he wasn't specifically referring to the DND and that Anand's Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) had the lead on the file. So, Defense Watch requested the timetable for this effort. Among the questions asked of Anand's department was when the new agency could potentially be expected to be stood up, will there be consultations done and whether there were any concepts already put forward for the agency that could be shared with the public? If this were such an important effort then of course the department would have an idea of at least a timeline on how things might unfold. Here is the answer provided by PSPC: “The Minister of Public Services and Procurement has been tasked to work with partner departments to bring forward analyses and options for the creation of Defence Procurement Canada. Public Services and Procurement Canada is leading this work with support from National Defence, Canadian Coast Guard, and Innovation Sciences and Economic Development Canada. This initiative is aimed at ensuring that Canada's biggest, most complex procurement projects are delivered on time and with greater transparency to Parliament. Work on this important initiative has just begun.” This answer provides little more than what was in the mandate letter. No details on what actual work was being contemplated or taking place was provided. There is no schedule or target date for even producing options and reporting back to government on those. In fact, this PSPC answer seems to undercut Sajjan's earlier claims that “a lot” of work had already started even before the mandate letters were released. Some in the defence industry don't expect much to come from the Liberal election promise of a single defence procurement agency. They point out their case is bolstered when the department leading the initiative doesn't know, or can't provide, even a timetable for such an initiative. The public, as well as industry, will have to wait and see whether Defence Procurement Canada ever becomes a reality. (Analysis) https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/government-doesnt-know-when-a-defence-procurement-agency-will-be-created
-
April 6, 2021 | Local, Aerospace
Airbus, and not Boeing, qualifies for RCAF future tanker - Skies Mag
Public Services and Procurement Canada on April 1 released a list of qualified suppliers to participate in the next phases of the RCAF’s Strategic Tanker Transport Capability project, and only Airbus Defence and Space's A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport made the cut.