U.S. isn’t worrying about Canada and missile defence, says Obama adviser

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  12 mai 2020 | Local, Naval

  Canadian military to take part in world's largest maritime exercise as navies struggle to deal with COVID-19

  David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The Canadian military plans to take part in the world's largest maritime exercise this summer even as the U.S. Navy, which is hosting the event, struggles to deal with coronavirus outbreaks that have sent two of its ships back to port. There have also been COVID-19 outbreaks on French, Belgium and Taiwanese navy ships. There are COVID-19 cases among the crews of 26 U.S. Navy ships. But that won't stop the U.S. from holding its Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC exercise in August. The Canadian Forces is planning to attend although military officials haven't outlined yet which Canadian ships and aircraft will take part. “The Canadian Armed Forces remains committed to participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 in a significant way in order to maximize the unique training opportunities this biennial exercise provides as well as strengthen relationships with allies and partners in the Pacific,” Department of National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande said in an email. She said Canadian military officials are in discussions with their U.S. counterparts and are “currently evaluating options to adapt our participation accordingly.” “Participation in RIMPAC will balance the requirement to complete critical tasks and high readiness training in support of planned operations, with the requirement to protect the health and safety of our personnel,” added Lamirande. RIMPAC is usually held in and around Hawaii. In 2018 the Canadian Forces sent more than 1,000 personnel, five ships and a patrol aircraft. They operated alongside approximately 25,000 military personnel from 24 other nations as well as more than 200 aircraft and 50 ships and submarines. The U.S. military says changes will be made to RIMPAC and that on-shore interactions will be limited. Ships can go into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for supplies, but the number of staff ashore for support functions will be limited. The U.S. Navy has the highest rate of COVID-19 in the U.S. military. There are 2,125 cases in the navy, with around 800 linked to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. The Canadian military does not release statistics on how many of its members have been infected with the virus. It cites security reasons for keeping such details secret. The Royal Canadian Navy has implemented a number of measures to deal with COVID-19, including trying to practise physical distancing on ships as much as possible and restricting shore leave. The pandemic has also prompted changes in other Canadian Forces operations. The military has scaled back the number of soldiers it is sending to Ukraine to conduct training there. It had planned to send a new group of soldiers, numbering 200, to relieve the Canadian troops now in Ukraine. That number will now be cut back to 60 personnel. The pandemic caused the cancellation of Exercise Maple Resolve, the army's main training event for the year, as well as a naval exercise off the coast of Africa. HMCS Glace Bay and HMCS Shawinigan, which were to take part in that naval training, were ordered to return to Halifax. HMCS Nanaimo and HMCS Whitehorse also cut short their participation in U.S.-led counter-drug operations. In addition, the Canadian Forces withdrew many of its troops assigned to the Iraq mission, ordering them home because COVID-19 has hindered training of Iraqi military personnel. The Canadian military has also pulled back its commitment of a transport aircraft for the United Nations because of COVID-19. The Department of National Defence, however, says it will not change the Canadian commitment to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia. A new group of Canadian military personnel arrived in Latvia in January and will stay there until July. There are around 540 Canadian soldiers working in Latvia. In addition, the Canadian military hopes to take incremental steps to restart training of recruits as early as June. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-to-take-part-in-worlds-largest-maritime-exercise-as-navies-struggle-to-deal-with-covid-19/

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  1 octobre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Amid global unrest, Canada's political parties say little about security, defence

  By Murray Brewster · In order to know what most of the major parties think about the uncertain state of the world, and Canada's place in it, you have to dig — really dig — to find it. The ideas, solutions and proposals around security and defence from the Liberals, New Democrats and the Green Party are buried, in some cases, at the very back of their platform documents. The Conservatives issued a policy statement last spring but have yet to state their campaign platform. And that — along with the dearth of debate about the turbulence beyond the country's borders — has alarmed defence policy experts who say now is not the time for politics as usual. "This is the time we need the clearest, most strategic thinking since the end of the Second World War, in terms of how we do Canadian security," said Rob Huebert, a defence expert at the University of Calgary. "It is not an exaggeration to say we are on the cusp of the most dangerous geopolitical environment we've seen in our lifetime." The rise of authoritarianism throughout the globe, notably in China and Russia, and the undermining of Western democracies through a variety of circumstances has increased the likelihood of conflict in the eyes of many experts. The retreat of the United States from its traditional role in the globe has enormous consequences for Canadian domestic policy. Yet, Huebert said, there is "a total lack of meaningful discussion about the type of direction we need to be taking" by the Liberals and the other parties in the campaign. The conventional Canadian political calculus is that issues of security and defence policy are not vote-getters and previous elections, with one or two exceptions, have borne out that notion with ballot box issues being defined by either social or pocketbook considerations. Huebert, however, describes it as a "very disturbing calculation" at this moment in time. He is not alone in his concern. "There's a lot going on, but near radio silence," said Dave Perry, a senior analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "I'm surprised every political party in this country has been muted on these topics." The Liberal platform, released Sunday, recycles the title of their marquee defence policy, delivered in 2017 — Strong, Secure and Engaged. The new campaign document's foreign policy and defence section is titled: "Keeping Canada Strong, Secure and Engaged," and offers up as a pledge to "renew Canada's commitment to peacekeeping efforts," which harkens back to the Liberal election platform in 2015. "To ensure that Canada continues to make a positive contribution to international peace and security, we will move forward with new investments to support United Nations peacekeeping efforts — with more help to advance the women, peace, and security agenda; support conflict prevention and peacebuilding; and respond to grave human rights abuses," said the Liberal 2019 platform. The document does not explain what the new investment might look like, but the Liberals say they're committed to spending additional $50 million per year on UN peacekeeping commitments. Liberal commitment in 2019 echoes 2015 However, Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College and one of the country's preeminent experts on peacekeeping, said he finds the overall language of the Liberal promise curious. "Those were the same words used by Liberals in 2015," he said. "So, are they renewing it because they haven't done it in the last four years?" Dorn said the Liberal government, for a variety of reasons, did not get substantially engaged in peacekeeping during its mandate. It made a number of splashy commitments at an international meeting in Vancouver in 2017, but only delivered a year-long deployment of helicopters to Mali and the more recent secondment of a C-130J Hercules transport for United Nations operations in Africa. "I hope they can learn from their first term," said Dorn. "Their performance is going to have to be much better if they're going to renew Canada's commitment to peacekeeping and secure a seat on the [UN] Security Council." He also noted the "average number" of uniform personnel deployed in UN peacekeeping missions under the Liberals was lower than during the former Conservative government era. There's a promise in the Liberal platform to focus international military training activities to include instruction for other countries on how to respond to "disasters due to climate change." NDP, Greens light on detail The NDP's platform, released weeks ago, also leans heavily on peacekeeping, but also promises to work toward nuclear disarmament. The Green Party makes a similar pledge, but also nods tentatively toward the instability beyond our borders. "Canada now needs a general purpose, combat-capable force that can provide realistic options to the government in domestic security emergencies, continental defence and international operations," said the Green's recently released platform. Last spring, the Conservatives released a detailed foreign and defence policy statement that promised to buy new submarines, join the U.S. ballistic missile defence program and expand the current military mission in Ukraine. But how much of that will make it into the party's campaign platform is unclear. It is expected to be unveiled soon. The Liberal platform pays specific attention to the Arctic, but within a foreign policy context promising to "strengthen continental defence" and in the North, moving "forward with better developed surveillance and rapid response capabilities." Huebert was left scratching his head. "That blurs together so many talking points, it creates a sense of nothingness," he said. There is no mention of NORAD modernization, including the planned replacement of the North Warning System chain of radar stations, a cost-shared endeavour with the United States that some experts have estimated could cost up to $11 billion (with Canadian taxpayers on the hook for 40 per cent or roughly $5 billion of that bill.) Huebert said, when the Liberals talk about "rapid response capabilities," they're referring to better search and rescue coverage in the North, something he said will become a necessity as more and more regions become ice-free in the summer. "Problem is: We just don't know what they're talking about," he said. A Liberal campaign spokeswoman said the party understands how crucial it is to support the Canadian military and pointed to the government's defence policy as well as all of the social improvements that have been made for serving members. "Our platform lays out our vision for moving our country forward and how we plan to build on the progress we have made over the past four years," said Eleanore Catenaro. Canada supported the UN with "real capabilities," she said, adding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the uncertainty in the world in a foreign policy speech at the end of August. New framework for intelligence Interestingly, the platform specifically promises to create "a new framework governing how Canada gathers, manages and uses defence intelligence." That caught the attention of Perry who said the promise was likely red-circled by officials at the Department of National Defence. Few Canadians realize that the military is home to the largest intelligence organization in the federal government, in terms of sheer numbers. Precise figures are hard to establish, but the defence intelligence establishment is believed to be the country's second-best-funded intelligence organization The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, earlier this year, signalled it wanted to see the military's intelligence branch put on a tighter legislative leash, similar to legal constraints on civilian spy agencies. The committee recommended the Liberal government think seriously about drafting specific laws to govern how and under what circumstances military intelligence missions can take place. The Liberal platform promises to create a specific defence procurement agency, which is curious in the sense that a series of government ministers and senior officials have lauded how well military procurement has been going since the Liberals came to power. "There is a bit of a disconnect here," said Perry. "The message [with the platform promise] is that you're not happy with the way procurement has gone and you want it to go differently, better or make some substantive change." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fed-elxn-world-1.5303672

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  4 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Le gouvernement met au défi les petites entreprises d’innover

  Les petites entreprises canadiennes sont invitées à mettre au point des solutions innovatrices pour relever neuf nouveaux défis Le 3 octobre 2018 — Ottawa (Ontario) Les petites entreprises et leur capacité d'innover sont le moteur de l'économie du Canada. Parallèlement, le gouvernement fédéral est le plus important acheteur de biens canadiens. Comment le gouvernement peut-il faire en sorte que son pouvoir d'achat aide les petites entreprises à innover et à croître? La réponse à cette question est Solutions innovatrices Canada. Par l'entremise de ce programme, les ministères et organismes invitent les petites entreprises à trouver des solutions novatrices en réponse à des défis particuliers. Les petites entreprises gagnantes peuvent recevoir jusqu'à 150 000 $ pour approfondir leurs activités de recherche-développement. Celles qui atteignent la phase 2 obtiennent jusqu'à 1 million de dollars pour concevoir un prototype fonctionnel. Le gouvernement deviendrait le premier client de ces petites entreprises, ce qui les aiderait à commercialiser leur innovation, à se développer et à créer de bons emplois. Le ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et du Développement économique, l'honorable Navdeep Bains, et la ministre de la Petite Entreprise et de la Promotion des exportations, l'honorable Mary Ng, ont annoncé aujourd'hui neuf défis au nom de la ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement et de l'Accessibilité, l'honorable Carla Qualtrough, du ministre de l'Agriculture et de l'Agroalimentaire, l'honorable Lawrence MacAulay, du ministre des Pêches, des Océans et de la Garde côtière canadienne, l'honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, du ministre de la Sécurité publique et de la Protection civile, l'honorable Ralph Goodale, et du ministre des Transports, l'honorable Marc Garneau. Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada lance le défi suivant aux petites entreprises : 1. Améliorer l'échantillonnage des sols pour le rendre plus facile et améliorer l'exactitude des tests 2. Réduire les coûts de la technologie agricole intelligente pour que les exploitations plus petites puissent l'utiliser La Garde côtière canadienne lance le défi suivant aux petites entreprises : 3. Utiliser le mouvement des navires et les vagues pour réduire la consommation de carburant et le recours à des sources externes d'alimentation électrique Le Service correctionnel du Canada lance le défi suivant aux petites entreprises : 4. Mettre au point une technologie qui empêche les détenus de mener des activités illégales à l'aide d'appareils sans fil 5. Surveiller les signes vitaux des détenus et détecter les urgences médicales pour permettre au personnel d'intervenir plus rapidement 6. Créer un moyen innovateur et rentable de lutter contre la contrebande livrée par drone ou tirées par-dessus les clôtures Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada lance le défi suivant aux petites entreprises : 7. Améliorer la qualité sonore des services d'interprétation à distance de façon que le service ne soit pas interrompu par l'incapacité des interprètes d'entendre les interlocuteurs Services partagés Canada lance le défi suivant aux petites entreprises : 8. un accès Internet haute vitesse aux citoyens et aux employés du gouvernement du Canada qui travaillent ou vivent dans des régions éloignées du pays Transports Canada lance le défi suivant aux petites entreprises : 9. Accélérer l'adoption de technologies efficaces et peu coûteuses pour améliorer la sécurité des piétons et des cyclistes à proximité des véhicules commerciaux Solutions innovatrices Canada est une composante clé du Plan pour l'innovation et les compétences du gouvernement, un plan pluriannuel visant à faire du Canada un leader mondial en matière d'innovation et à préparer les Canadiens à réussir dans l'économie de demain. Citations « Dans les rapports des tables de stratégies économiques, les chefs de file canadiens de l'industrie et de l'innovation nous ont clairement dit que le gouvernement doit utiliser son pouvoir d'achat pour aider les petites entreprises à innover et à devenir plus concurrentielles. C'est exactement ce que nous faisons par l'entremise de Solutions innovatrices Canada. Le gouvernement obtient des produits de qualité, alors que les entreprises prennent de l'expansion et créent de bons emplois de la classe moyenne pour les Canadiens. » — Le ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et du Développement économique, l'honorable Navdeep Bains « Les petites entreprises sont le cœur de l'économie canadienne et emploient plus de 8 millions de personnes très travaillantes. Notre gouvernement est déterminé à aider les petites entreprises à s'établir, à se développer et à conquérir de nouveaux marchés. Solutions innovatrices Canada est un programme exceptionnel qui fait appel aux projets d'approvisionnement du gouvernement pour aider les petites et moyennes entreprises à innover, puis à commercialiser leurs innovations. Je suis impatiente de voir les solutions durables qui seront proposées en réponse à ces défis. » — La ministre de la Petite Entreprise et de la Promotion des exportations, l'honorable Mary Ng « Dans le cadre du programme Solutions innovatrices Canada, nous mettons les petites entreprises innovantes au défi de nous aider à fournir à la population canadienne et aux employés du gouvernement du Canada l'accès aux services dont ils ont besoin, qu'il s'agisse de traductions de grande qualité ou d'un accès Internet haute vitesse amélioré dans les régions éloignées. » — La ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement et de l'Accessibilité et ministre de Services partagés Canada, l'honorable Carla Qualtrough « L'innovation est un moteur du secteur agricole au Canada. Afin de relever ces défis, les petites entreprises innovatrices peuvent aider les chercheurs spécialisés en agriculture, les petites exploitations agricoles et les usines de transformation à accéder aux outils et aux technologies dont ils ont besoin pour être durables sur le plan environnemental et prospères. Nous nous réjouissons à la perspective de découvrir leurs trouvailles visant à faire avancer le secteur et à créer de bons emplois pour la classe moyenne au Canada. » — Le ministre de l'Agriculture et de l'Agroalimentaire, l'honorable Lawrence MacAulay « Pêches et Océans Canada et la Garde côtière canadienne sont fiers de participer au défi pour l'innovation liée au plastique lancé par Solutions innovatrices Canada. Nous sommes ravis de collaborer avec les entreprises canadiennes pour stimuler l'innovation technologique afin de retirer le plastique de nos océans et de nos voies navigables, et de combattre la pollution plastique dans l'avenir ». — Le ministre des Pêches, des Océans et de la Garde côtière canadienne, l'honorable Jonathan Wilkinson « L'établissement d'un partenariat avec Solutions innovatrices Canada est une excellente occasion de mettre en commun de nouvelles idées qui aident à assurer la sécurité de l'ensemble de la population canadienne. Je salue les idées novatrices qui appuient le mandat de Service correctionnel Canada de contribuer à la sécurité publique en incitant activement et en aidant les délinquants à devenir des citoyens respectueux des lois. » — Le ministre de la Sécurité publique et de la Protection civile, l'honorable Ralph Goodale « Je suis heureux de voir que cette initiative est utilisée pour explorer de nouvelles façons de protéger les usagers de la route vulnérables. Ce programme constitue une excellente occasion d'encourager les petites entreprises à devenir de nouveaux partenaires en matière de sécurité routière en faisant progresser des technologies qui améliorent la sécurité des piétons et des cyclistes. » — Le ministre des Transports, l'honorable Marc Garneau Faits en bref Le financement du programme sera fourni par les 20 ministères et organismes participant au programme Solutions innovatrices Canada. Chaque ministère et organisme met de côté des fonds équivalant à 1 % de ses dépenses combinées d'approvisionnement et de recherche-développement interne faites au cours de l'exercice 2015-2016. Pris ensemble, les fonds des ministères et organismes représentent un investissement annuel de 100 millions de dollars au cours des cinq prochaines années. Les petites entreprises représentent 98 % des entreprises canadiennes et emploient plus de 8 millions de Canadiens vaillants. Solutions innovatrices Canada incite les entreprises détenues et dirigées par des femmes, des Autochtones, des jeunes et des groupes traditionnellement sous-représentés à présenter des soumissions en s'assurant que ces groupes sont inclus dans la planification et les activités de rayonnement. Il existe des centaines de programmes et services qui permettent aux entreprises d'obtenir notamment du financement et des conseils d'experts pour innover, créer des emplois et favoriser la croissance de l'économie canadienne. Gr'ce à son interface utilisateur simple, la nouvelle plateforme d'Innovation Canada permet aux entreprises de raconter leur histoire et d'accéder, en deux minutes environ, à l'information sur les programmes et les services qui leur conviennent le mieux. Liens connexes Défis de Solutions innovatrices Canada Communiqué : Le gouvernement aide les petites entreprises à innover Communiqué : Le gouvernement aide les petites entreprises à concevoir des solutions durables Personnes-ressources Suivez Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada sur Twitter : @ISDE_CA Nilani Logeswaran Attachée de presse Cabinet du ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et du Développement économique 343-291-2849 613-668-1794 Sandra Aubé Directrice des communications Cabinet de la ministre de la Petite Entreprise et de la Promotion des exportations 343-998-5328 Relations avec les médias Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada 343-291-1777 ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca https://www.canada.ca/fr/innovation-sciences-developpement-economique/nouvelles/2018/10/le-gouvernement-met-au-defi-les-petites-entreprises-dinnover.html