Next defence policy must be achievable and fully funded

On the same subject

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  September 26, 2022 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  Canadian military faces shortage of recruits: `We are in an applicant crisis’ - National | Globalnews.ca

  Recruitment cratered during the first year of COVID-19 as the military shuttered recruiting and training centres, in which only 2,000 people were enrolled in 2020-21.

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  May 7, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Swedish companies like Saab, a best-fit for Canada’s innovation agenda

  By Simon Carroll Like Canadians, Swedes are natural innovators. When faced with challenges like a shifting global economy, the threat of climate change or the rapidly evolving landscape of modern national defence – both countries adapt and innovate based on evidence, reason and shared progressive values. This is so much the case that Swedish and Canadian governments are both actively implementing innovation agendas intended not only to grow their respective high-tech and aerospace industries (among others) from the inside-out, but to help them access and leverage the very best global talent and expertise in these fields. Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan, for instance, seeks to encourage greater business investments in research and to capitalize on Canadian inventions through “shared risk taking and partnerships”. The more Canada and Sweden build and use these partnerships to innovate together, the stronger both countries will be, now and in the future. At Saab, we believe opportunities to develop and grow partnerships with Canadian government and industry are not only a ‘good fit' – we believe these opportunities will help actualize Canada's ambitious innovation vision for decades to come. In large part, Swedish companies are well-positioned to help Canada reach its innovation goals because innovation is inherent in their DNA. Sweden is consistently judged one of the world's most innovative countries by the annual Bloomberg Innovation Index, which placed Sweden second in 2018 (behind South Korea and ahead of Singapore, Germany and Switzerland), and by the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index, which ranks Sweden among the top three countries. This level of recognition is well-earned. Swedes are early adopters of new technologies, are highly trend-sensitive and, collectively, produce one per cent of the world's knowledge while constituting less than one-thousandth of the world's population. The Swedish government formalized this innovative spirit in 2001 when it created the national Innovation Agency, Vinnova – one of the first of its kind in the world. Of course, Sweden has long been home to a suite of classically innovative and instantly-recognizable brands like Volvo, Ikea, and Ericsson, but its government's exceptional focus on innovation in recent decades has grown this small but mighty nation's startup hub into a full-blown entrepreneurial powerhouse. By no coincidence, Sweden has produced more “$100 million-plus IPO exits” than any other country in the world, with examples including popular music streaming platform Spotify and the financial technology company iZettle. Having research-intensive companies, such as Saab, is yet another reason Sweden does so well in global innovation rankings. The majority of Saab's people are trained engineers and around 23 per cent of its total revenues are spent on research and development (R&D) every year. That's a lot compared with other companies, but it's what it takes to think ahead and develop products and solutions with future capabilities in mind. The Swedish approach to future technology generation is one that actively combines government- and university-based research and development capabilities with those of industry to solve common problems and to develop new, unique solutions. Harnessing the unique talents and energy contributed by each of these spheres builds a strong engine for innovative thinking and new technology development – all of which is central to Saab's corporate ethos. Saab Canada is already an extensive supplier of military equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces – from radars and sensors for the Royal Canadian Navy to ground combat weapons and signature management systems for the Canadian Army – as well as supplying transponders to the Canadian Coast Guard and maritime traffic management systems to the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority. Saab is also partnered with many small, medium and large-sized Canadian companies up and down its supply chain, across all of its product areas from Nova Scotia-based MilAero for electrical cable assemblies, to Bombardier with its Global 6000 business jet used for GlobalEye, an airborne early warning and control solution. As a contender for Canada's future fighter jet program, Saab's ‘future-proof' Gripen E aircraft presents even greater opportunities for collaboration and development activities between the military and aerospace sectors of both countries. These kinds of partnerships mean that Canadian companies not only benefit from Saab's innovative thinking, but are also empowered to further develop their own, Canadian-made innovations that can then be exported worldwide – generating economic benefits right here in Canada. Looking to the future, Saab will continue working closely with our Canadian partners to pursue opportunities here and abroad, where we can build on existing collaboration and continue to strengthen the innovation that runs deep in our respective countries. https://ipolitics.ca/2019/05/06/swedish-companies-like-saab-a-best-fit-for-canadas-innovation-agenda/

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  September 24, 2018 | Local, C4ISR, Security

  RCMP's ability to police digital realm 'rapidly declining,' commissioner warned

  Catharine Tunney · CBC News Organized crime is moving online and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is struggling to keep up, according to a briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki when she took over the top job earlier this year. The memo, obtained by CBC News under access to information law,​ may launch a renewed battle between the national police service and privacy advocates. "Increasingly, criminality is conducted on the internet and investigations are international in nature, yet investigative tools and RCMP capacity have not kept pace," says the memo tucked into Lucki's briefing book. "Growing expectations of policing responsibilities and accountability, as well as complexities of the criminal justice system, continue to overwhelm the administrative demands within policing." In 2016 nearly 24,000 cybercrime-related cases were reported to Canadian police, up 58 per cent over 2014. The report's authors note that cybercrime tends to be under-reported. Encryption of online data has a been a persistent thorn in the RCMP's side. Lucki's predecessor lobbied the government for new powers to bypass digital roadblocks, including tools to get around encryption and warrantless access to internet subscriber information. "Approximately 70 per cent of all communications intercepted by CSIS and the RCMP are now encrypted ... 80 organized crime groups were identified as using encryption in 2016 alone," says the 274-page document. Some critics have noted that non-criminals — journalists, protesters and academics, among others — also use encryption tools online and have warned any new encryption legislation could undermine the security of financial transactions and daily online communication. Ann Cavoukian was Ontario's privacy commissioner for three terms; she now runs Ryerson University's Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence. She called the RCMP's push for more online policing power "appalling." "I guess we should remind them that we still live in a free and democratic society where people have privacy rights, which means that they should be in control of their personal information," she said. "If you're a law abiding citizen, you get to decide how your information is used and to whom it's disclosed. The police have no right to access your personal information online, unless of course they have a warrant." Lucki was specifically warned about criminal suspects "going dark," a term used to describe the gap between the lawful ability of police forces to obtain online evidence and changing technology. She also was advised the RCMP's court-authorized arsenal (things like court orders and "computer network exploitation techniques," which cover hacking) are "rapidly declining." "Get more efficient," said Cavoukian. Parliamentary committee promises to study issue A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that "encryption is critical to safeguarding our cybersecurity, privacy and the digital economy." "However, it has also created gaps for law enforcement and national security agencies," wrote Scott Bardsley in an email. Earlier this year, the House of Commons' public safety and national security committee released a 76-page report that recommended "no changes to the lawful access regime for subscriber information and encrypted information be made." But the committee didn't shelve the issue, promising instead to study the evolving challenges. "The government will support the standing committee on national security and public safety in its continued work to study these and other emerging technological issues related to cybersecurity," wrote Bardsley. "It will also continue to examine options to ensure agencies have the resources necessary to gain access to decrypted data required to address criminal activity." Cavoukian predicts "a real fight" over the issue. Bardsley says the government has pledged $116 million over five years, and $23.2 million per year after that, to help create the national cybercrime coordination unit, which would help "provide digital investigative advice and guidance to Canadian law enforcement." The RCMP didn't meet CBC's deadline for a comment. Attrition issues The briefing binder also flags the RCMP's persistent problem with replenishing its ranks when officers retire or otherwise leave the force. "The RCMP has a growing vacancy rate that exceeds its present ability to produce regular members at a rate that keeps pace with projected future demands," it warns. As of April 2018, there were 1,122 funded vacant regular member positions —a vacancy rate of 5.6 per cent. That's down slightly from the previous year, when the vacancy rate was 6.6 per cent. The briefing note says that in the last five years, there has been a "dramatic" increase in the number of new recruits needed to fill operational vacancies and evolving program requirements. About 1,280 cadets were expected to be enrolled in 2018-2019, up from 1,152 the previous year. In 2016, CBC News reported that the RCMP was dropping its requirement that applicants be Canadian citizens, and that it would accept applications from permanent residents. The RCMP also loosened entrance requirements to deal with a wave of retirements, low pay and the need to expand its pool of potential new officers. Starting this month, the RCMP is dropping its requirement that applicants must be Canadian citizens. It will now accept permanent residents. Post-secondary graduates no longer will have to write an entrance exam that measures aptitude for police work and the force will no longer require a physical abilities evaluation before people submit an application. With files from the CBC's Kathleen Harris. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lucki-briefing-binde-cybercrime-1.4831340