10 juillet 2023 | Local, Aérospatial
The federal government still hopes Canadian firms will be able to receive contacts maintaining the F-35 for other nations.
17 octobre 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Terrestre
National Defence and top firms that produce arms, such as Lockheed Martin, are financing a conference in Ottawa on Oct. 25.
25 janvier 2021 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Government can put focus on opportunities in new presidential agenda rather than on old irritants Colin Robertson · for CBC News Opinion · Posted: Jan 19, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 19 This column is an opinion by Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat and now vice-president and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ. Joe Biden's return to the White House, this time as president, gives Canada a chance to reset what has been a tempestuous ride with Donald Trump. Biden has set himself a formidable to-do list: the pandemic; economic recovery; climate; racial justice; restoring democracy. For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first meeting with Biden after his inauguration, the government needs to look closely at that agenda. Rather than focusing on the perennial irritants, it should identify where Canada can offer help and solutions, because we share many of these challenges. Biden's immediate priority is vaccinating Americans so the country can recover socially and economically from COVID-19, and Trudeau has the same focus. The multilateral response to the pandemic could have been much more effective and would have benefited all if our two nations had collaborated from the outset. But it's not too late to start. Some of our best practices will also have application in hard-pressed developing nations, and what better demonstration that "America is back" and "ready to lead the world," as Biden put it, than to work closer with Canada and share what we have jointly learned about dealing with this virus. On climate, if Biden rejoins the Paris Agreement as promised, Canada and the U.S. will be back in sync in terms of emission-reduction targets. Together, we need to look to November's Glasgow conference and what we want to accomplish there, as it will be both a stock-taking of Paris commitments and a setting of new goals. With this in mind, Trudeau should offer to lead a North American approach to carbon pricing, including instituting a border tax on imports from those nations that don't meet their climate commitments. Closer collaboration would also involve identifying best practices and areas for shared research, including initiatives at the state and provincial level. If Mexico were asked to join in, it would go a long way to reviving North American collaboration in other areas as well, like immigration and addressing some of the troubles involving Mexico's Central American neighbours. On the issue of mutual defence, unlike Trump, Biden has indicated he believes in collective security and that he embraces NATO. Meanwhile, our binational NORAD agreement needs renewal, and an Arctic strategy is the missing piece in Canada's defence policy. American presidents from Ronald Reagan on have told us that if Canada claims sovereignty over the North, then we must exercise it. If we dither, the U.S. will set the parameters for us. To avoid this, we need to quickly take the lead in proposing a joint strategy. Reinvesting in our Arctic would also spark a northern economic renaissance, as well as secure the critical minerals vital to advanced manufacturing. Joining Biden's proposed club of democracies also makes sense, especially if it focuses on human rights, development goals, setting digital standards, and strengthening nascent democracies. Likewise, standing up to the authoritarians, especially China, is overdue. China's a la carte approach to multilateralism means scooping up the benefits of globalization while ignoring the rules and conventions of global institutions. As a result, China will likely dominate the Biden administration's foreign and security policy deliberations. As part of those deliberations, Canada needs President Biden to promise that any deal lifting the U.S. extradition request for Meng Wanzhou will include freeing the two Michaels – Canadians Kovrig and Spavor, detained in China since December 2018. With Canada having about 300,000 expatriates at risk in Hong Kong, we should also offer to co-lead, with Britain, a G7 approach to sustaining the liberties that China guaranteed to Hong Kong. And we must carefully strategize confrontations involving the U.S. itself. In his first conversation with the president-elect on Nov. 9 after the U.S. election, Prime Minister Trudeau pressed him on the Keystone XL pipeline that Biden has repeatedly pledged to rescind. The arguments supporting Keystone XL are unchanged: as one of 70 pipelines that crisscross our border, it safely supplements American energy independence with a secure and reliable supply of oil. And innovations by oilsands producers have significantly reduced the industry's environmental footprint. Biden already knows all this. But could he really be expected to go back on his promise to environmentalists, a key constituency in his fragile Democratic government? Leading with your chin is a bad idea, and Canada needs to be pragmatic. Indeed, reports Sunday indicated that Biden plans to rescind permission for the pipeline in his first day in office. If that turns out to be the case, Keystone XL is an important issue that requires ongoing attention through different levels of government, but we also need to be realistic in our expectations. The Harper government made Keystone XL the litmus test of its relationship with the Obama administration and it was a mistake, frustrating progress on other issues. Meanwhile, a pipeline we should be vigorously defending is the 65-year-old Line 5 that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants closed. This pipeline supplies about 45 per cent of the crude oil used by Ontario and Quebec. Let's also be realistic about Buy American, which is integral to Biden's trillion-dollar Made in America and Build Back Better initiatives. It's equally unlikely that he'll back away from these plans, but we should remember how Canada finessed former president Barack Obama's big build economic recovery initiative. With state-level procurement outside of the NAFTA deal, then-prime minister Stephen Harper turned to the Council of the Federation. Led by premiers Brad Wall and Jean Charest, they negotiated a reciprocity agreement with their governor counterparts that gave Canadians a piece of the pie. Keystone XL and Buy America remind us that our close, deep and profitable U.S. trade relationship requires a calibrated approach involving different levels of government. Several of the provinces have representation in Washington. Quebec has long had offices throughout the U.S., for example, and provincial efforts complement those of our Embassy and consulates; indeed on issues like Keystone they effectively lead. The Canadian tendency to push it all to the top-level leaders is self-defeating. When presidents meet with prime ministers, they expect top-table discussions befitting G7 and G20 leaders. Effective relations with the new Biden administration will mean dealing with problems at the appropriate level – including cabinet officers, premiers and governors, and our ambassadors. This obliges us to invest in our diplomatic service so that we can bring their intelligence-gathering to the negotiating table. The new U.S. administration wants to reset relationships with its friends and allies. By seizing this opportunity and being creative in identifying solutions to our shared interests, as well as leveraging opportunities through multiple levels of government, we ultimately advance Canadian interests. A welcome mat at the White House magnifies Canada's influence with the rest of the world. https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-biden-trudeau-relations-1.5873231
23 septembre 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre
David Pugliese National Defence has installed the first pieces of equipment as monuments at the new headquarters on Carling Avenue in Ottawa. A Leopard C2 tank and the bow of the former destroyer HMCS Iroquois (see below) were installed in late March as part of the monuments project costing more than $1 million. The Royal Canadian Air Force will provide a CF-18 fighter jet for display at the headquarters. “The installation date of the CF-18 is still being determined,” Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Scott Spurr noted in an email. Each service was allowed to select its monument as representative of its branch. The original cost of the monuments project was $400,000 but that increased as more equipment displays were added. In addition, a second monument grouping consisting of a Light Armoured Vehicle-3, a Sea King helicopter and a historical naval piece, which has yet to be determined, will be installed. Construction is expected to start on the initiative by the spring of 2021. A third monument, a First World War Nieuport aircraft, will be displayed from the ceiling over the lobby of one of the main buildings at the defence headquarters. An artillery gun, selected by the Canadian Army, will also be on display along with a Standard Missile 2 from the Royal Canadian Navy. The gun will symbolize involvement in the first Boer war 120 years ago while the missile will demonstrate technology advancements since then, according to the DND and Canadian Forces. The installation of the monuments is part of the Department of National Defence's “branding strategy” for the Carling Avenue headquarters. “The National Defence Headquarters will be a physical expression of the Defence Team; a representation of Canada's military history and the future strength of Canada's Defence Team establishment,” noted a branding document obtained by this newspaper through the Access to Information law. In 2015, the plan was to have the monuments only consist of a Leopard tank, a CF-5 fighter jet and a then unknown navy monument. The criteria was that “the monuments characterize offensive and defensive weapons capability,” according to the documents. The original budget was $400,000 but that amount has been increased as additional equipment was selected for display. The CF-5 jet was dumped in exchange for a more modern CF-18, which will be installed on a concrete pedestal. Previously the location was referred to as the “Carling Campus” but now that has been officially changed to NDHQ Carling. The branding strategy noted that the selected name is “a brand that is generic in nature but inclusive of our heritage and traditions, representing and respecting the great diversity of our work forces and its branches of service.” The federal government spent $800 million on acquiring and outfitting the former Nortel complex for the DND's needs. It has argued that it will see substantial savings from consolidating many of the department's employees into one site. The defence campus consists of about 28 hectares once owned by Nortel and 120 hectares leased from the National Capital Commission. The DND will also continue to operate its downtown Ottawa headquarters at 101 Colonel By as well as some other office locations in Ottawa and Gatineau https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/naval-and-army-monuments-installed-at-dnd-hq-but-date-for-cf-18-installation-unknown-500245/