25 octobre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
As the Trudeau government focuses on its survival and seeking political support from potential allies like the NDP or the Greens, key defence issues could be put on the back burner or become part of any backroom quid pro quo.
Dealing with health care, affordable housing, pipelines, the environment and healing rifts with Alberta and Saskatchewan are expected to be just some of the top issues facing the minority Liberal government.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance has been telling headquarters staff in Ottawa that with the world becoming more dangerous he expects a steady flow of funding for the Canadian Forces to continue.
That, however, isn't a given. Some of the Liberal's election promises come with a steep cost, including the $6 billion needed to be set aside for the first four years of a pharmacare program and a plan to improve access to medical services.
Defence and security issues were barely mentioned during the federal election campaign, even though billions of dollars in equipment purchases will need to be approved by the government in the coming years.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau backed away Wednesday from forming a coalition with one of the opposition parties, but he did emphasis collaborating with the other party leaders on various issues. That could open the potential to work together on certain defence files.
The Liberals have talked about using more Canadian military resources to deal with climate-related disasters and to provide help to poorer nations dealing with the effects of climate change. Those are initiatives both the Greens and the NDP could get behind as they mirror proposals from those parties.
The NDP has also stated it wants a fair competition for new fighter jets and to keep the multi-billion dollar shipbuilding procurement on schedule. The Green Party more generally has supported a well-equipped Canadian military but hasn't gone into details.
Bloc leader Yves François Blanchet has said his priority is not sovereignty but to promote Quebec interests. That includes a push to see Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Que., named as the third yard under the federal shipbuilding strategy. The Bloc's wishes coincide with the Liberal's efforts to steer more shipbuilding work toward Davie.
The politics of a minority government could also come into play on the project to acquire a future fighter jet. Although the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter is now seen as the leading candidate, an aerospace union is raising warnings that the selection of that plane could mean large-scale job losses in Quebec.
In early September the Machinists Union complained that the Liberal government bowed to pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to change rules to keep the F-35 in the procurement race but at the expense of other firms offering guaranteed work for Canada's aerospace sector.
The union is worried that if Canada were to purchase the F-35 then most of the long-term maintenance would be done in the U.S. That, noted the labour organization, would put in jeopardy the 600 jobs at L-3 Harris in Montreal that are linked to maintaining the Royal Canadian Air Force's current CF-18 fleet. “We will follow the situation closely and demand that manufacturing and maintenance activities of the next fighter aircraft take place in Quebec,” said David Chartrand, the Quebec co-ordinator of the Machinists Union.
Any loss of 600 jobs in Quebec is bound to get the attention of the Bloc Québécois and cause problems for the Liberals.
Trudeau also said Wednesday he would swear in a new gender-balanced cabinet on Nov. 20. Trudeau will be in need of experienced ministers in various high-profile cabinet positions, so there is a strong possibility Harjit Sajjan, who served as defence minister, and Carla Qualtrough, the procurement minister, might end up in new portfolios.
There have been suggestions at National Defence headquarters that Liberal MP Karen McCrimmon, a retired air force officer who won re-election in Kanata-Carleton, could be a potential candidate for the defence portfolio. McCrimmon, a former lieutenant colonel, was the first woman in Canada to qualify as an air navigator and the first to command an air force squadron.
Such a choice would meet Trudeau's needs for a female cabinet member with experience in the portfolio.
20 mars 2023 | Local, Autre défense
Kirsten Hillman, who is in Ottawa from her usual posting at Canada's U.S. embassy to prepare for the talks, said air defence will be a key agenda item in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's meetings next week with President Joe Biden
15 février 2023 | Local, Autre défense
Le 15 février 2022 – Bruxelles (Belgique) – Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes Nous, les ministres de la Défense des pays hôtes d’une présence avancée rehaussée (eFP), soit l’Estonie, la Lettonie et la Lituanie, ainsi que des pays-cadres respectifs, soit le Royaume‑Uni, le Canada et l’Allemagne, réaffirmons notre engagement à protéger nos populations et celles de nos Alliés. Nous continuerons de renforcer considérablement la posture de dissuasion et de défense dans la région de la Baltique dans le cadre des obligations de l’OTAN en matière de défense collective. La guerre d’agression non provoquée et injustifiable de la Russie contre l’Ukraine définira le contexte de sécurité de l’avenir en Europe et au-delà. La Russie est – et restera – la menace la plus importante et la plus directe pour la sécurité des Alliés. Nous, l’Estonie, la Lettonie, la Lituanie, le Royaume-Uni, le Canada et l’Allemagne, en respectant pleinement les différentes approches adoptées pour la présence adaptée dans les pays baltes, coordonnerons nos efforts entre nous et avec l’OTAN afin de parvenir à une posture de dissuasion et de défense optimale sur le plan de l’efficacité et de la crédibilité dans la région. Afin d’atteindre cet objectif, nous voulons resserrer et renforcer notre collaboration comme suit : Intégration de l’eFP dans la poursuite de la mise en œuvre du concept de dissuasion et de défense de la zone euro-atlantique, y compris dans de nouveaux plans de défense, une structure de forces modernisée et des modalités de commandement et de contrôle, en coordination étroite avec l’OTAN. Collaboration étroite pour le prépositionnement d’équipement et de munitions dans les pays baltes. Nous mettrons nos approches en commun pour trouver la façon la plus convenable de préparer nos forces, y compris par le stockage et le prépositionnement d’armes, de munitions, de matériel et d’équipement. Amélioration de notre défense collective, y compris par une présence accrue des Alliés dans les États baltes, ainsi que par des exercices qui nous permettront d’être prêts pour mener des opérations de haute intensité et multidomaines ou pour assurer le renforcement d’un Allié à court préavis. Recherche active de moyens d’échanger l’information au sujet de l’instruction, des exercices, du déploiement des forces et d’autres initiatives majeures similaires. Coordination de nos communications stratégiques pour maximiser les effets de dissuasion et de défense de nos engagements ainsi que diffusion et promotion cohérentes des messages et des priorités de l’OTAN. Les pays baltes continueront d’investir dans l’infrastructure et les occasions d’entraînement pour assurer tout le soutien nécessaire de la part du pays hôte. Notre engagement à l’égard de l’article 5 est résolu et ferme. Nous, les ministres de la Défense de l’Allemagne, du Canada, de l’Estonie, de la Lettonie, de la Lituanie et du Royaume-Uni, nous engageons à mettre en œuvre les décisions du sommet de Madrid de 2022 et nous continuerons de travailler ensemble pour renforcer la posture de l’OTAN dans la région. https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2023/02/declaration-conjointe-des-ministres-de-la-defense-de-lallemagne-du-canada-de-lestonie-de-la-lettonie-de-la-lituanie-et-du-royaume-uni.html
1 décembre 2022 | Local, Aérospatial
/PRNewswire/ - M1 Composites Technology is proud to announce that it is celebrating its 10th year Anniversary. To inaugurate this special anniversary, M1 has...