Vol 27-Iss 5

On the same subject

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  February 4, 2019 | Local, Land

  Too soon to think about INF withdrawal ripple effects on Canada: Defence Minister

  By Charlie Pinkerton The United States will no longer abide by its nuclear arms agreement with Russia and will be removing itself from the treaty in six months if Russia doesn't come back into its compliance, but Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said it's too early to think about what the ripple effects could be for Canada. In a written statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said his country will be removing itself from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Russia and the United States agreed to the treaty in 1987. It eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles and launchers that had ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres. Trump said the U.S. will no longer abide by the treaty as of Saturday and will formally withdrawal in six months. “The United States has complied with the INF Treaty for more than 30 years, but we will not be held back while Russia cheats,” says the White House statement, which repeatedly blames Russia for not conforming to the requirements of the arms treaty. “We agree with our allies' assessment that Russia has been in a breach of the INF Treaty,” Sajjan said. Sajjan said that he and new acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan didn't discuss the INF “directly” today in Washington, where Sajjan had his first meeting with Shanahan since he's been acting as the U.S. defence chief. Shanahan was previously the deputy secretary of defence but was appointed to the more senior role in an acting capacity after Jim Mattis resigned following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to remove American troops from Syria. “For non-proliferation and (nuclear) disarmament to occur, everyone needs to make sure they're in compliance with the treaty,” Sajjan said. According to the statement from the White House, only Russia's destruction of its INF-violating missiles and launches will keep the U.S. in compliance and stop them from withdrawing completely in August. The defence minister acknowledged that a treaty-free Russia could cause uneasiness for Canadian and U.S. allies in Europe, but that it's too early to say what the impacts could be domestically. “It's important for us to send a unified message to Russia to come back to the rules based order so that we can maintain the stability that we have known for some time,” Sajjan said. “This decision solely rests on the actions of Russia. There is opportunity still for Russia to come and be verifiably compliant and ... we can always hope that they can come into compliance,” said the defence minister. https://ipolitics.ca/2019/02/01/too-soon-to-think-about-inf-withdrawal-ripple-effects-on-canada-defence-minister/

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  October 24, 2022 | Local, Land

  Canadian military to replace weapons sent to Ukraine, but could face problems buying new howitzers

  The assembly line for howitzers was shut down years ago by the manufacturer because of a lack of orders, and it would have to be restarted.

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  May 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  Boeing surprised Canada changed rules of jet competition to allow Lockheed Martin bid

  David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Boeing Co is surprised Canada softened the rules of a competition for new fighters to allow Lockheed Martin Corp to submit a bid, but is still confident it has a chance, a top executive said on Wednesday. Following a U.S. complaint, Ottawa this month said it planned to drop a clause stipulating that bidders in the multibillion dollar race to supply 88 jets must offer a legally binding guarantee to give Canadian businesses 100% of the value of the deal in economic benefits. The original clause would have excluded Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter, the plane the Canadian air force wants. The contract is worth between C$15 billion and C$19 billion ($11.1 billion to $14.1 billion). “I was surprised by the recommended change ... why would you deviate from a policy that's been so successful to accommodate a competitor?” said Jim Barnes, the Boeing official in charge of trying to sell the company's F-18 Super Hornet jet to Canada. The change in the rules around economic benefits was the latest wrinkle in a decade-long troubled-plagued effort to replace Canada's CF-18 jets, some of which are 40 years old. The final list of requirements for the new fleet of jets is due to be issued in July. “Right now we feel like we can put a very compelling offer on the table even with this change,” Barnes told reporters on the margins of a defense and security conference in Ottawa. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains - in overall charge of the benefits aspect of procurement - said in response to Barnes's comment that Ottawa would ensure the competition was fair. Compelling bidders to offer watertight guarantees of economic benefits contradicts rules of the consortium that developed the F-35, a group to which Canada belongs. Boeing is offering a binding commitment and Barnes said the firm would stress to Canadian officials the potential economic disadvantages of entertaining a non-binding bid. An official from Sweden's Saab AB, another contender, told reporters that Canadians could lose out by ignoring contenders that had made firm investment commitments. “I am concerned that the ability to respond to a non-binding environment may not necessarily give Canadians the best value at the end of the day,” said Patrick Palmer, head of sales and marketing for Saab Canada. Airbus SE, the fourth firm in the race, declined to comment. Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Susan Thomas https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-fighterjets/boeing-surprised-canada-changed-rules-of-jet-competition-to-allow-lockheed-martin-bid-idUSKCN1SZ2AA