7 janvier 2022 | Local, Naval
Lockheed Martin Canada names new general manager for RMS
Glenn Copeland has been appointed general manager for the Lockheed Martin Canada Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) business area.
31 décembre 2018 | Local, Sécurité
Chief of the Defence Staff says natural disasters pose ‘significant threat’ to Canadians
By Amanda Connolly National Online Journalist Global News
There are not many military threats that directly loom over Canadians as the country heads into the new year.
But of those that do, one of the most significant is the increased frequency of major natural disasters.
In a year-end interview with the West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance said while there are a number of threats that are evolving and taking shape, one of the most concrete ones the military is facing right now comes from Mother Nature herself.
“There are very few large military threats to Canada,” he said.
“There are certainly threats that are evolving right now that can reach Canada, be they missiles or threats against our cybersecurity, threats to our oceans and to our shores. We face a significant threat almost every year now with natural disasters, forest fires and floods and so on that affect Canadians. So in our role to defend Canada and protect Canadians, that's been significant.”
The military gets called in to help with the response to natural disasters when those disasters overwhelm provincial authorities, which have the first responsibility to respond when things like floods, forest fires or ice storms hit.
Military responses to natural disasters happen under what's known as Operation Lentus.
In 2018, the military deployed to six natural disasters after provincial authorities in all cases determined the scale of the damage was too much for them to handle alone.
Those disasters included the winter storms in Eastern Quebec and the Iles-de-la-Madeleine in November, sending hundreds of soldiers and transport aircraft to assist with evacuations from the B.C. and Manitoba forest fires and deploying to take on the heavy spring flooding in B.C., New Brunswick and on the Kashechewan First Nation.
Forest fires and severe flooding saw the military also respond to six disasters last year.
Both represent sharp increases compared to years past as climate change continues to cause more extremes that result in the droughts, storms and thaws behind things like dangerous forest fires and floods.
In 2016, for example, the military only deployed once: to the devastating Fort McMurray wildfires.
They deployed twice in 2015, four times in 2014, once in 2013, three times in 2011 and once in 2010.
In addition to continuing to deploy to missions overseas, the added demands on responding to disasters at home mean the military will need to increase recruitment or start to feel the strain, Vance said.
And in an uncertain world, the circumstances around those missions continues to evolve.
Most recently, Russia attacked three Ukrainian naval vessels passing through the shared territorial waters of the Kerch Strait.
Dozens of Ukrainian sailors on those ships were detained by the Russians as prisoners of war.
Vance said while that kind of aggression from Russia doesn't directly impact Canadians deployed in the ongoing training mission in Ukraine, it does factor into considerations of what they are ultimately going to be able to achieve.
“It raised the stakes somewhat,” he said. “It hasn't affected this mission Operation UNIFIER at this juncture, but it doesn't point to a peaceful and ultimate resolution of Ukraine that we'd like to see.”
The 24 detained Ukrainian sailors have yet to be released.
© 2018 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4785907/jonathan-vance-canadian-forces-natural-disasters/
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Canada orders more Airbus A330 tankers, hires firm to convert planes
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14 septembre 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Analysis: New defence chief's main job could be to preside over budget cuts
Premium content David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, Postmedia News (dpugliese@ottawacitizen.com) Published: Sep 11 at 7 a.m. Updated: Sep 11 at 2:01 p.m. Candidates have been interviewed for the country's top military position but whoever is selected will likely have the tough job of presiding over significant cuts to the Canadian Forces as the federal government tries to get its fiscal house in order. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced July 23 that Gen. Jonathan Vance would leave the position as chief of the defence staff, the job he has held since July 2015. Trudeau said he expected a new CDS to be named in the coming months. Defence and government sources say interviews for the position were held this week with a number of candidates. Lt.-Gen. Christine Whitecross, who is heading into retirement, is considered the front-runner for the job if she wants it. Whitecross still has an office at defence headquarters at Carling Avenue and there is an interest in the Liberal government to have a woman in the job of defence chief for the first time. The view that Whitecross has strong support within the Liberal government was further solidified when Trudeau took the unusual step on July 18 of singling out the lieutenant general on Twitter. He thanked the officer for her three decades of service in the Canadian Forces and for “being a strong voice for gender equality in the military.” Among the other individuals considered to be candidates for the chief of defence staff job are Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, who recently took over as second-in-command of the Canadian Forces, navy commander Vice Adm. Art McDonald, air force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger and army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre. Vice-Admiral Darren Hawco's name has also been mentioned. At least eight individuals were to be interviewed, according to various government sources. But the new CDS is expected to face the challenge of dealing with significant budget cuts because of the financial strain on federal coffers created by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Spending on various emergency relief programs has resulted in Canada's deficit increasing to $343 billion this year, according to the federal government's economic snapshot released in early July. Trudeau has acknowledged that the full economic impact of the pandemic is unknown. A second COVID-19 wave could further worsen the economic situation. Department of National Defence deputy minister Jody Thomas said in a June 5 interview with The Canadian Press that she hasn't seen any indication defence spending, and the government's defence policy called Strong, Secure, Engaged, or SSE, will even be affected at all by COVID-19. There have been no slowdowns and the DND and Canadian Forces has been aggressively pushing forward on implementing SSE, according to Thomas. Behind the scenes, however, there is significant concern within some quarters in the military about the cuts expected in the coming years. Some organizations within National Defence headquarters have already told staff to prepare for a rocky road in the future. The Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence, with the largest source of discretionary funds in the federal government, is a ripe target for cost-cutting. DND's current budget is listed as $21.9 billion. SSE has been billed by the Liberal government and its supporters as “a historical investment in Canada's military” since it promises $497 billion for the Canadian Armed Forces over 20 years. But the policy was always built on shaky foundations, as was the previous Canada First Defence Strategy brought in by the Conservative government and largely undercut by funding reductions at that time. Despite defence analysts' cheerleading on both policies, the fact is that such strategies only promise future spending. There is no guarantee and plans can be jettisoned as fiscal circumstances change. In 1994 the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien embarked on significant cost-cutting measures throughout the federal government as it struggled to deal with the deficit. The Canadian Forces and the DND were a prime target during that period. Equipment was mothballed. Military and civilian staff were cut. The coming years could see a replay of similar cost-reduction measures. Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020 https://www.saltwire.com/news/canada/analysis-new-defence-chiefs-main-job-could-be-to-preside-over-budget-cuts-495666/