December 24, 2018 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' decision to resign creates a void for Canada, says former Defence Minister Peter MacKay, because of Mattis's deep understanding of Canada's role in joint NATO and UN missions and good ties with Canadian security officials.
His years of experience in the U.S. military and on-the-ground understanding of the parts of the world where he served as a Marine general, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, are “virtually irreplaceable,” MacKay said.
After serving for two years at the top of the U.S. military machine, Mattis announced Thursday that he'd resign as of the end of February, in a move widely seen as a rebuke of Trump's decision to abrupt withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
The retired general has been considered a moderating influence on Trump over his last two years as Pentagon chief, which is why concerns have been raised by ally nations about how his departure could affect U.S. security and foreign policy.
These concerns are particularly focused on America's role in the NATO transatlantic alliance after Trump said this week that not only will the U.S. military pull out of Syria, but the number of U.S. troops will also be cut in half in Afghanistan, where the U.S. is part of the NATO-led joint mission Operation Resolute Support.
“In spite of the moniker ‘Mad Dog Mattis' he was anything but. He was a highly intelligent, highly rational guy and he saw first-hand the integration of defence, diplomacy, development that Canada was doing and was very full of praise and admiration for that,” MacKay said.
Mattis's departure is even more keenly felt in light of the departures of H.R. McMaster and John Kelly, who U.S. President Donald Trump also appointed to serve in his administration, MacKay added. McMaster was an army general who was Trump's national-security adviser for a year; Kelly is a retired Marine general who served as secretary of homeland security and then Trump's chief of staff.
McMaster resigned last April; Kelly is to leave the White House at the end of this year.
“Jim Mattis and the others have and feel an abiding respect for Canada and our role in NATO and in NORAD, for our niche capabilities, what we were able to do along with others in the coalition, both the UN and NATO coalition in Afghanistan, our support role in other missions,” MacKay said. “That, too, is in some jeopardy depending on who replaces Gen. Mattis.”
But in spite of ongoing political tensions at the top, Canada's defence and security relationship with the U.S. is hardwired at the bureaucratic and institutional levels and has not materially changed with the election of Donald Trump, said Fen Hampson, director of the global security and politics program at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Mattis' resignation will not alter those ties, he said.
“There's a constant flow of exchanges and communication on, I would say, almost an hourly basis. That's not really going to change in substantive terms,” Hampson said.
“I think where it's going to be probably felt most keenly is at the cabinet-to-cabinet level where our officials have met with Mattis and (Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo on a pretty regular basis and that's where the hole is going to be felt.”
Dave Perry, a senior defence analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, echoed this, saying he has heard of little change on the ground when it comes to the day-to-day bilateral work and partnerships between Canadian and American officials.
“It's a relationship that's pretty embedded at the working level in institutional agreements, exchanges, all the Canadians that work directly within the U.S. defence structure in the United States — so I think the degree of change has probably been overstated with this administration,” he said. “A lot of things on the defence front have continued to work quite well quietly and will likely do so in the future.”
While many analysts agree that Canada should be concerned about losing an ally in the Trump administration like Mattis, who acted as a stabilizer at the highest levels, this concern could be eased depending on whom Trump nominates as his replacement.
“The void now, within the defence and security world, will hopefully be filled with someone of his ilk and his acumen,” MacKay said of Mattis. “Hope burns eternal. I remain very optimistic about the resilience of the Canada-U.S. relationship. It'll survive this administration, but boy, there's a lot of damage being done.”
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David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen Dec 03, 2020 Companies must be based in Canada and the work has to be completed relatively quickly, creating or maintaining domestic jobs. After committing to spend more than $2 billion with American companies, the Liberal government wants to give a major boost to homegrown defence firms by moving ahead on projects that can purchase equipment for the Canadian military quickly from domestic companies to either create or shore up jobs. Department of National Defence officials began looking in late April at options to provide support to the defence industry as the new coronavirus pandemic rocked the economy. DND and the government hoped the fast-tracked purchases would help Canada's economic recovery. But so far, the four major purchases over the last several months for the Canadian military saw the Liberal government make major commitments with U.S.-based companies for work that will be done almost entirely in America and create or support hundreds of U.S. jobs. That includes the acquisition of new surveillance aircraft for Canadian special forces, the purchase of new systems and missiles for the air force's CF-18s, missiles for the navy and parts and equipment for C-17 transport planes. The particular equipment ordered isn't built in Canada. In some cases, the U.S. firms receiving the work are exempt from the government's requirement to match the value of the contracts with the reciprocal purchasing of services or supplies from Canadian companies. Now, the government has ordered DND officials to draw up lists of equipment that can be bought from Canadian firms. Companies must be based in Canada and the work has to be completed relatively quickly, creating or maintaining domestic jobs. DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier confirmed options are being examined to help minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the defence industry. “We are looking at ongoing procurement projects to determine what we may be able to prioritize in order to ensure our defence industry partners are supported,” he said. “This is ongoing at this time, though no decisions have been made at this point.” But Tamara Lorincz, a peace activist and PhD candidate in Global Governance at the Balsillie School for International Affairs, says many more jobs could be created in Canada if the money was directed into non-defence sectors of the economy. She pointed to the 2009 U.S. study by University of Massachusetts, which examined the impact of spending $1 billion on both military and non-military areas. The non-military areas included clean energy, health care, and education, as well as for tax cuts which produce increased levels of personal consumption. The study concluded substantially more jobs were created by non-military sectors. Lorincz noted that there were no comparable independent studies which have looked at the Canadian situation. Lorincz and various peace groups are also questioning the Liberal government's plans to spend $19 billion on new fighter jets in the coming years. The money should instead go towards programs like national pharmacare or child care, she added. Lorincz noted it costs $40,000 an hour to operate a F-35, one of the fighter jets being considered by the Liberals. That amount is close to the yearly salary of a long-term care facility employee, she added. Christyn Cianfarani, president of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, said the country's defence industry can play an important role in the federal government's COVID-19 economic recovery plan. The association has recommended to government that it accelerate military equipment project approvals, favour domestic firms as much as possible for future work, as well as focus on Canadian-based cyber firms for associated purchases as the government moves its employees to more remote work. Construction projects on bases could also provide local contractors with work, she added. Canada's defence industry actually fared better than other economic sectors during the pandemic, Cianfarani noted. There were no significant layoffs and most firms have been able to continue operations and production. In addition, some companies switched to producing medical equipment or protective gear for use by hospital staff during the pandemic. The Liberal government announced Monday it wants to spend up to $100 billion between 2021 and 2024 to help the economy recover from COVID-19. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/after-agreeing-to-2b-in-deals-with-u-s-based-defence-companies-liberals-ask-dnd-for-list-of-canadian-firms-to-quickly-buy-from