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  16 décembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Defence minister says Canada 'very fortunate' to have Vance as defence chief

  OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has come out in support of Canada's top military general, saying the country is "very fortunate" to have someone like Gen. Jonathan Vance leading the Canadian Armed Forces. The comments come amid questions over whether the newly re-elected Liberal government plans to replace Vance, who was first appointed chief of the defence staff by Stephen Harper and is now in his fifth year in the position. "When it comes to the chief of defence staff, this is a decision for the prime minister and so we'll reflect on that and make a decision accordingly," Sajjan told The Canadian Press during a wide-ranging interview last week. However, he added, "Canada has been very fortunate to have somebody like Gen. Vance in this role at a very important time." Vance is already one of the longest-serving defence chiefs in Canadian history, and his lengthy tenure has coincided with a number of significant decisions and developments for the Armed Forces - both positive and negative. Those include significant new investments in the military through a new defence policy, the deployment of troops to Iraq, Mali and Latvia as well as efforts to crackdown on sexual misconduct and recruit more women. Yet he has also faced his share of criticism over the years, including over his decision to suspend Mark Norman in 2017, more than a year before the now-retired vice-admiral was charged with breach of trust. The case was eventually dropped. Vance also found himself under fire for the way he handled replacing Norman as the military's second-in-command last year, which saw significant upheaval and instability in the Armed Forces' senior ranks. The defence chief has also been accused of being too supportive of controversial decisions by the Liberal government such as its plan to buy interim fighter jets while some in the Forces have grumbled about a domineering style. While he wouldn't say whether the government planned to replace Vance any time soon, Sajjan said the general has brought important qualities and attributes to the high-profile and difficult position over the past four-plus years. Those include Vance's experience having served in Afghanistan and elsewhere and the work that he put into helping the government develop its defence policy, which was released in June 2017. "I'm very happy with the service that Gen. Vance has given," Sajjan said. "There's only one four-star general in our Canadian Armed Forces. You don't get there easily and every single one brings a unique experience. And Gen. Vance has brought very important experience during a very important time." Speculation about Vance's future has been mounting if for no other reason than the amount of time he has spent as Canada's top military general, said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Exactly who would replace him is an open question, however. Norman's suspension and subsequent retirement contributed to a wider series of changes within the top ranks that have left many senior commanders relatively new in their positions. The reality is that Vance and Sajjan, who has served as defence minister since the Liberals were first elected to power in fall 2015, have emerged as the "constants" at the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces, said Perry. Given that and indications the Liberals do not have big plans to dramatically switch directions or roll out new initiatives for the military, "I think there's going to be a lot of continuity," he added. Which on the surface would suggest no immediate changes at the top. "Certainly the signals the government has sent to this point of time look a lot more like continuity and continuing to implement the policy and the framework that they set in place during the last Parliament." This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Dec. 15, 2019. https://www.nsnews.com/defence-minister-says-canada-very-fortunate-to-have-vance-as-defence-chief-1.24035658

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  25 janvier 2021 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  How Canada can leverage Biden's agenda as part of government relations reset

  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

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  24 décembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canada to deploy cargo plane part time for UN missions in new year

  Murray Brewster · CBC News A Canadian military Hercules transport will soon begin once-a-week support missions for United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, the country's top military commander said. Those flights, by a C-130J, will eventually morph to a full-fledged deployment and deliver on the second in a long list of capabilities promised over a year ago by the Liberal government at a star-studded international conference in Vancouver. Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, refused to be pinned down to a specific date when asked in a year-end interview with CBC News. His remarks were made prior to last weekend's quick, clandestine trip by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Canadian aircrew and personnel taking part in the UN mission in Mali. 'This hasn't been done before' The aircraft being used will split its time between supporting operations in Iraq and flying out Entebbe, Uganda, for the UN. A letter to assist, which sets out the terms of the arrangement with the UN, has yet to be finalized and Vance defended the amount of time it has taken to fulfil what was expected to be an easy promise. "This hasn't been done before," he said. "It's pretty new. This is Canada offering up a capability where there wasn't necessarily a capability before." Usually as peace support operations unfold the UN makes requests for specific military equipment and personnel. But with the medium-lift cargo plane, Vance said, Canadian planners pointed out to the UN the need for an aircraft to support operations in Africa. "There's always need for air power," he said. There has been frustration with Canada at UN headquarters in New York. After many lofty, high-profile words of political support, the Liberal government has over the last three years turned down a number of specific peacekeeping requests, including mission command posts. A copy of the 2017 list of requests for multilateral peace operations — known internally within government as the evergreen list — was obtained by CBC News under access-to-information legislation. It shows that after being spurned throughout 2016 the UN appeared to scale back what it asked of Canada to only a handful of assignments involving single soldiers or pairs of soldiers, for leadership training or advising missions. Trudeau touts Mali mission as success Over the weekend in Mali, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to extend the anticipated mid-summer end of Canada's helicopter support mission in the war-torn country. The UN requested the time to cover an anticipated gap between the current detachment and the arrival of the Romanian relief force. He declared the Mali mission to be a success and even suggested it was contributing to the peace process in that country by giving UN operations more certainty. Canada's approach of sharing its expertise and refined equipment is, Trudeau insisted, the best approach. "Part of the way Canada can best help involves coming, taking on an operation, demonstrating how it can be done in the absolute best possible way and helping others gain in those capacities," he said while answering questions from reporters on Saturday. Even still, there remains a long list of unfulfilled promises to the UN, said Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College. At the Vancouver conference, the Liberal government promised to deliver a quick reaction force of 200 soldiers for a future peacekeeping mission as well as military training for other less experienced countries that contribute to operations. It also pledged to help get more women involved in peacekeeping through a measure known as the Elsie Initiative. That, Dorn said, is "inching along," with two partner countries, Ghana and Zambia, selected earlier this year, "but I haven't heard of actual progress." Vance said he is working with a three-to-five year timeline, and the initiatives promised in Vancouver were not intended to be delivered all at once. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-to-deploy-cargo-plane-part-time-for-un-missions-in-new-year-1.4958079