12 juin 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By Rachel Emmanuel. Published on Jun 12, 2020 12:00am
Experts say COVID-19 hasn't negatively impacted Canada's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), though the final result is still anyone's guess.
The UN General Assembly will vote on June 17 on what countries will join the powerful body as non-permanent members for two-year terms. Canada is facing stiff competition from Norway and Ireland, who both entered the race earlier, to fill the two Western European and other states seats.
Adam Chapnick, deputy director of education at the Canadian Forces College and a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, said the coronavirus pandemic has changed Canada's narrative in the race — it can now portray itself as a large, wealthy country capable of helping smaller, less affluent nations emerge from the COVID-19-induced economic downturn.
“We have more money to give and as a result we can demonstrate, in a time like this, the value of having us at the centre of global power,” he told iPolitics on Thursday.
“[The COVID-19 pandemic] has allowed Canada to highlight some of the factors that differentiate it from its competitors, in a way that it would otherwise not have been able to do.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first announced Canada would pursue a seat on the UNSC back in 2016, just months after the Liberals bounced the Harper government from power. An outline of Canada's campaign is displayed on the Global Affairs website and points to commitments like addressing climate change, promoting economic security and advancing gender equality.
While Canada announced its campaign long before the global COVID-19 pandemic, Andrea Charron, an associate professor and director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba, said the crisis could end up benefitting Canada's bid. Coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, she said Canada can signal that they'll be there to help struggling countries as they recover from their own economic crises.
“It does no good if some states recover beautifully and others fall hopelessly behind,” Charron said.
Like most other public gatherings, the vote will also be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. In other years, all delegates would show up to UN headquarters in New York City and vote in person, with each round of voting taking a couple minutes.
But this year, because of the pandemic, Chapnick said delegates now have a designated time to arrive and voting in the first round will take around 10 hours. Because a country requires two thirds of the vote to be elected, Chapnick said delegates will likely be asked to return to the building to vote again the following day or days, in the case that two countries aren't elected in the first round, which he said is probable.
At a certain point, Chapnick said delegates might stop showing up to cast their ballots, with the bid becoming a “get out and vote campaign” that would never happen in a normal election year.
“We've never had anything like this before,” he explained.
Charron, who's also a Canadian Global Affairs Institute fellow, said it will be interesting to see how countries revamp their second ballot strategy, which refers to a country's plan to win the second seat if they didn't win in the first voting round. She said in a typical election, all the delegates are milling around and candidates can easily speak with particular countries in a last minute push to win their vote. However, because of COVID-19 restrictions, countries won't have quick access to make their case to the 192 UN delegates in one room.
Chapnick said this new process has major implications for the second ballot strategy. Traditionally, he said Canada has had trouble creating a second ballot strategy because, as a G7 country, it assumes it will win in the first round. He said Canada is committed to the UN and views itself as a country that belongs on the security council, whereas smaller countries may ask to be considered in the second round if they lost to a more powerful country in the first run.
“For a G7 country normally to have a second ballot strategy would suggest weakness,” he explained.
But, by entering the race late, he said Canada now has wiggle room to develop a second ballot strategy — it can ask countries who pledged support to Norway or Ireland before Canada entered, to vote for the country in the second round, if there is one. Chapnick also said the Canadian team can spend the longer gap in between rounds calling delegates and asking for their support.
Still, he warned that there's a “discount rate” of 15 to 35 per cent of countries who promised the Canadian government they'd vote for them, but won't. He said even the Canadian government cannot be sure who's voting for them.
“Countries lie all the time,” he said.
In fact, Chapnick said part of the reason the countries are voting in-person is because a number of countries refused to participate in electronic voting at the risk that someone could hack the system and realize a country broke their voting promises. He said countries break promises in one of two ways; countries make individuals deals to support all three countries but can only vote for two, or the head of government makes a promise and the ambassador then goes “freelance” when it comes time to vote.
“You can never actually tell how a campaign is doing,” he warned. “Really strange things happen in these elections.”
Charron said the good news is that all the UNSC candidates are excellent. She said there's concern that Canada will let this election define itself, with lots of national “gnashing of teeth” and deciding on the fate of the government in general, which she said is overblown.
“It's just one of the organizations to which we belong,” she said. “We've won six times, we've lost times, we've survived, carried on in all cases.”
27 mars 2023 | Local, Terrestre
Germany aims to purchase up to 28 self-propelled howitzers to replace weapons rushed to Ukraine out of army stocks last year, according to a budget draft seen by Reuters on Monday.
13 septembre 2021 | Local, C4ISR
NATO Innovation Challenge – The invisible threat: Countering cognitive warfare The Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), on behalf of Canada, will be hosting the Fall 2021 NATO Innovation Challenge – The invisible threat: Countering cognitive warfare. The theme of this pitch-style event is understanding and protecting the cognitive domain. NATO is looking for tools and measures to identify, assess and protect against attacks on NATO forces and NATO Allies in the cognitive domain. Successful innovators will pitch their best solutions and tools to a panel of experts from NATO countries. On top of international exposure and cash prizes for the best solutions, there will be special recognition for the top “Made in Canada” solution. In order to be considered for the additional Canadian prize, a subsequent eligibility criteria will be applied. For more information on eligibility, visit the IDEaS Web site. Tap into an engaged audience that could lead to meaningful contacts with the international community! To apply, visit the NATO Innovation Challenge Page. Submit your entry by Thursday, October 21, 2021. The IDEaS Team Défi de l'innovation de l'OTAN – La menace invisible : Contrer la guerre cognitive Le programme Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS) et le Commandement des Forces d'opérations spéciales du Canada (COMFOSCAN), au nom du Canada, seront les hôtes du Défi de l'innovation de l'OTAN Automne 2021 – La menace invisible : Contrer la guerre cognitive (disponible en anglais seulement). Le thème de cet événement de style présentation est la compréhension et la protection du domaine cognitif. L'OTAN recherche des outils et des mesures pour identifier, évaluer et protéger contre les attaques sur les forces de l'OTAN et les Alliés de l'OTAN dans le domaine cognitif. Les innovateurs retenus présenteront leurs meilleures solutions et outils à un panel d'experts des pays de l'OTAN. En plus de l'exposition internationale et des prix en espèce pour les meilleures solutions, il y aura une reconnaissance spéciale pour la meilleure solution « Fabriquée au Canada ». Afin d'être considéré pour le prix canadien supplémentaire, un critère d'admissibilité subséquent sera appliqué. Pour plus d'informations sur l'éligibilité, visitez le site Web IDEeS. Connectez avec un public engagé qui pourrait conduire à des contacts significatifs avec la communauté internationale ! Pour postuler, visitez la page Défi de l'innovation de l'OTAN (disponible en anglais seulement). Soumettez votre candidature avant le jeudi 21 octobre 2021. L'équipe IDEeS
1 mars 2019 | Local, Naval
Murray Brewster · CBC News Liberals plan to modernize and sail the navy's 4 aging submarines until 2040 The Canadian navy's stock of survival suits, which allow submariners to escape in an emergency from a sunken boat, has been thrown a lifeline after much of the equipment had reached its expiry date, federal documents reveal. The critical safety suits give stranded crew members the ability to ascend from a depth of 183 metres and protect against hypothermia. They even inflate into a single-seat life raft once on the surface. The orange whole-body suits were part of the original equipment aboard the Victoria-class submarines, diesel-electric boats originally built for the Royal Navy and purchased from Britain in the late 1990s. Documents obtained by CBC News show there was concern among naval engineers, in late 2016, that many of the suits had passed or were about to pass their best-before, safety dates. A spokeswoman for the Defence Department said a decision was made to extend the life of suits while the federal government procures new ones — a process that is ongoing. There is no threat to safety, said Jessica Lamirande. "The service life extension was approved based on successful, rigorous testing at the Naval Engineering Test Establishment on a representative sample of suits that had passed their intended service lives," said Lamirande, in a recent email. "Testing consisted of detailed visual inspection, leakage tests, and functional testing." Fleet sailing until 2040 But defence experts say it is a small project that speaks volumes about the Liberal government's plan to modernize and keep operating the four submarines until 2040, a proposal that was articulated in the latest defence policy. Retired commander Peter Haydon, who also taught defence policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax for years, said keeping submarine replacement parts and equipment in the system has been an ongoing headache for the navy, dating back to the 1980s. However, the bigger concern is: As the boats age, the strength of their pressure hulls declines. The government plans to modernize the boats, but Haydon said that's fine for the electronic and other components. "You can modernize most things, but you can't modernize the hull, unless you build a new hull," he said. Pressure to buy new The Senate and House of Commons defence committees have recommended the government begin exploring options now for the replacement of the submarines, which took years to formally bring into service after they were purchased. The government, in its response to a committee report last fall, argued it is already fully engaged building Arctic patrol ships and replacements for frigates and supply ships. Buying new submarines is a topic that has been debated behind the scenes for a long time at National Defence with one former top commander, retired general Walt Natynczyk ordering — in 2012 — a study that looked at the possible replacements. They're running a risk with the lives of sailors, the older these vessels get in an extremely dangerous environment, especially when they're submerged.— Michael Byers, University of British Columbia University of British Columbia defence expert Michael Byers has been quoted as saying he's worried Canada "will lose its submarine capability through negligence rather than design," noting that it is politically more palatable to refurbish the underwater fleet rather than endure a painful procurement process. "They're running a risk with the lives of sailors, the older these vessels get in an extremely dangerous environment, especially when they're submerged," said Byers, who pointed to the loss of the Argentine submarine San Juan and its crew of 44 in 2017. "I would be more comfortable with a decision to buy a new fleet submarines than the current path that we're on. I have been skeptical as to whether we need submarines, but better a new fleet than send our sailors to sea in these old vessels." Since Canada does not have the technology, nor has it ever constructed its own submarines, the federal government would be required to go overseas to countries such as Germany or Sweden to get them built. Restricted diving In the meantime, Haydon said he's confident ongoing maintenance and the stringent safety standards among Western allies will keep the Victoria-class submarines in the water and operating safely. He cautions, however, like Canada's previous submarines retired in the 1990s, the Oberon class, the older the current fleet gets, the more their diving depth will eventually have to be restricted. As the hull and its valves weaken, the less pressure they can sustain. Lamirande said the navy has enough escape submarine suits whenever it deploys, and she emphasized it never goes to sea with "expired" equipment. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dnd-extends-life-of-submarine-escape-suits-beyond-expiry-date-as-fleet-shows-its-age-1.5036007