Title Publication Date Department News type Teaser Joint statement - Air Force Day on Parliament Hill

On the same subject

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  June 29, 2023 | Local, Other Defence

  Defence Minister Anita Anand meets with British counterpart and announces NATO naval deployment

  June 29, 2023 – London, United Kingdom – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, met with the Right Honourable Ben Wallace, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Defence, in London. Minister Anand thanked Secretary Wallace for the United Kingdom’s hosting of Canadian Armed Forces members deployed on Operation UNIFIER to train Ukrainian troops, and for its hosting of the Royal Canadian Air Force detachment in Prestwick, Scotland, which has delivered over ten million pounds of Ukraine-bound military aid. During their meeting, the Ministers discussed priorities for the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Vilnius, including reinforcing NATO’s Eastern Flank, military assistance for Ukraine, and NATO’s deterrence and defence posture. Minister Anand also announced that on July 3, Canada will deploy His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Shawinigan and Summerside from their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia to join Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) on Operation REASSURANCE. Both ships have embarked Royal Canadian Navy clearance diving teams from Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic & Pacific, and mine countermeasure search capabilities using autonomous underwater vehicles. The contribution of two Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) to SNMCMG1 demonstrates Canada’s ongoing commitment to NATO’s high readiness continuous at-sea presence, and the Royal Canadian Navy’s leadership in strengthening security throughout European waters. During her visit to the United Kingdom, Minister Anand also delivered remarks to members of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), where she highlighted Canada’s military support to Ukraine, Canadian defence modernization, and challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Minister Anand met with Mr. Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems; spoke with the Right Honourable David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs; and visited Liphook School where she met with students aged 8-9, who are researching a Canadian training camp that existed in Bramshott during the First World War. Canada and the United Kingdom enjoy a longstanding, close-knit, and collaborative defence relationship forged through our shared values and beliefs. Quotes “The United Kingdom is one of Canada’s closest and most important Allies. I thank Secretary Wallace for his warm welcome during my first official visit to the United Kingdom as Canada’s Minister of National Defence, and for the productive discussions on a range of mutual priorities. Our two countries are leaders in supporting Ukraine, and as dedicated members of the NATO Alliance, we will continue to stand united in the face of new security challenges.” - The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence Quick facts The defence and security relationship between Canada and the UK is rooted in history and fostered by the fact that Canada and the UK are Allies in NATO and engage in close cooperation in international organizations, including the United Nations and the Commonwealth, among others. The deep bond between Canada and the UK has been forged in peace and war, notably through the two World Wars, Korea, and in almost every major conflict for more than a century, including Afghanistan and Libya. Since August 2022, Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed in the UK have trained approximately 2000 Armed Forces of Ukraine recruits, in collaboration with the UK’s Operation INTERFLEX. The Canadian-led courses last several weeks and focus on topics such as weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics, and the Law of Armed Conflict.  Since the beginning of 2022, Canada has committed over $8 billion in aid to Ukraine, including over $1.5 billion in military assistance. This includes 288 AIM-7 missiles, 10,000 rounds of 105mm artillery ammunition, eight Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and one armoured recovery vehicle, a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) with associated munitions, 39 armoured combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, M777 howitzers and associated ammunition, high-resolution drone cameras, winter clothing, and more. Canada also will join the Leopard 2 Maintenance and Service Centre in Poland and will contribute to multinational efforts to train pilots, and maintain and support Ukraine’s F-16s, leveraging Canadian expertise in these areas. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/06/defence-minister-anita-anand-meets-with-british-counterpart-and-announces-nato-naval-deployment.html

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  April 30, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  BAE Systems withdraws from Canadian military aircrew training competition

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN BAE Systems is no longer in the running to bid on a new program to provide Canada with military aircrew training services. BAE Systems was on the list of qualified suppliers for the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program when it was established in December 2018. But on April 2, BAE Systems informed Canada of its decision to officially withdraw from the solicitation process, Public Services and Procurement Canada announced Monday. “BAE Systems is therefore no longer a qualified supplier in the competitive process and will not be invited to submit a proposal to Canada for the FAcT program,” Procurement Canada noted in a statement. The Royal Canadian Air Force has a need for ongoing pilot training, as well as training for air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators and the FAcT program will provide that training, according to the Department of National Defence. BAE Systems has not yet provided comment on its reasons for withdrawing from the competition. Here is the list of qualified suppliers (in alphabetical order) that the federal government originally published: Airbus Defence and Space Babcock Canada Inc. Leonardo Canada Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. SkyAlyne Canada Limited Partnership https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/bae-systems-withdraws-from-canadian-pilot-training-competition

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  July 14, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  COMMENTARY: Canada should follow Australia’s example in defence, foreign policy

  By Matthew Fisher Special to Global News Posted July 13, 2020 7:00 am Updated July 13, 2020 11:32 am Those who follow developments in the Indo-Pacific often claim that Australia has a far more robust security posture there than Canada because of geographic necessity. The argument is that Australia must be especially vigilant because China is closer to it than Canada is to China. That perception may partially explain why Australia spends nearly twice as much per capita on defence as Canada does with little public discussion Down Under, let alone complaint. But here's the thing. It depends where you start measuring from, of course, but the idea that Australia is physically closer to China is hokum. By the most obvious measure, Vancouver is 435 kilometres closer to Beijing (actual distance 8,508 km) than Beijing is to Sydney (8,943 km). By another measure, Sydney is only 1,000 km closer to Shanghai than Vancouver is. Mind you, it must also be said that Australia is far more reliant than Canada on trade moving through the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. Canada has many more shipping lanes to choose from. Despite their similarly resource-oriented export economies, extreme climates and thin populations, there are startling differences in how Canada and Australia have tackled the security challenges of this century. The standard line from Ottawa these days is that the Canadian government cannot possibly consider any other issue at the moment because the government's entire focus is on coronavirus. Yet faced with the same lethal disease and the horrendous economic fallout and deficits that it's triggered, Australia has found time to address alarming security concerns in the western Pacific. Pushing the COVID-19 calamity aside for a moment, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared last week that because it was “a more dangerous world,” his country intended to increase defence spending by as much as 40 per cent, or a whopping $255 billion over the next decade. The money will pay for submarines, greatly improved cyber capabilities, and the establishment of military partnerships with smaller nations in the western Pacific, which are constantly bullied by China. The Canadian government has often seemed paralyzed by the COVID-19 crisis and China's kidnappings of the Two Michaels and has been slow to react to the rapidly changing security environment. This includes not yet banning Huawei's G5 cellular network, as Australia has done. Nor has Ottawa indicated anything about the future of defence spending in an era when Canada's national debt has now ballooned to more than $1 trillion. Faced with similar public health and economic challenges as Canada, Australian diplomats, generals and admirals have recently increased military and trade ties with India and are completing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Japan that affords troops from the two countries legal protections and presupposes that they will collaborate more closely with each other in the future. Canberra also inked a deal with Tokyo last week to collaborate on war-fighting in the space domain and closer military ties. Despite complaints of “gross interference” in China's internal affairs by Beijing's foreign ministry, Australia has also agreed to let about 14,000 visitors from Hong Kong extend their visas by five years and will offer an accelerated path for Chinese students to obtain Australian citizenship. Perhaps most alarming from Beijing's point-of-view, the Quad intelligence group, which includes Australia, Japan, India and the U.S., could be about to add a military dimension. Navies from all four countries are expected to take part in joint naval exercises soon in the Indian Ocean. Even before announcing a huge increase, defence spending was already at 1.9 per cent of Australia's GDP. The defence budget in Canada has remained static near 1 per cent for years, despite a pledge to NATO six years ago by former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, and repeated several times since by current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that defence spending would soar to 2 per cent. As it is, the Australian Defence Force spends about $15 billion a year more on defence than Canada does. That money buys a lot of kit and capability. The ADF has two new fleets of frontline fighter jets, the Super Hornet and the F-35, has attack helicopters and new maritime surveillance aircraft, is building a dozen French-designed attack submarines, and already has two huge, new assault ships and other new warships. The Canadian Armed Forces are a very poor second to Australia with 40-year old CF-18 fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, 30-year old submarines that seldom put to sea and no assault ships or attack helicopters. Aside from the red herring of geographic proximity, there are other factors that account for the stark differences in how Australia and Canada regard defence spending and the threat posed by an ascendant China. Many Canadians believe that the U.S. will protect them so do not see why should they pay more for their own defence. Australia also has a longstanding all-party consensus that national security is a top priority. The two main political parties in Canada regard procurement as football to be kicked around. Neither of them has a declared foreign policy. A cultural contrast is that Canadians have bought into a peacekeeping myth that has never really been true and is certainly not true today, while largely ignoring the wars its troops fought with great distinction in. Australians remain far more focused on recalling what their troops did in the Boer War, the two World Wars and Korea. As well as finally working on some joint defence procurement projects, Canada and Australia should collaborate with each other and other western nations to prevent China from playing them off against each other in trade. For example, Canadian farmers recently grabbed Australia's share of the barley market after China banned Australian barley in response to Canberra's demand for an independent investigation into what Beijing knew and when about COVID-19. The Australians did the same in reverse when Canadian canola was banned by China. Australia has moved to protect what it regards as its national interests by calling out China on human rights and spending much more on defence with little apparent fear as to how China might retaliate. Ottawa has not yet articulated what its interests are and acts as if it is scared at how China might respond if it takes a tougher stance. What must be acknowledged in Ottawa is that the coronavirus has not caused China to abandon or even pause for a moment in pursuit of its goal of shaping a new world order not only in the western Pacific but wherever it can. Australia is seriously upping its game in response. Canada remains silent. Matthew Fisher is an international affairs columnist and foreign correspondent who has worked abroad for 35 years. You can follow him on Twitter at @mfisheroverseas https://globalnews.ca/news/7161890/commentary-canada-should-follow-australias-example-in-defence-foreign-policy/