Any Canadian who has been paying attention to Canada’s defence position is not the least surprised by either of the above headlines. Most Canadians live in a mythical world when it comes our military and our national defence. The first myth is that somehow the U.S. will defend Canada for us. This is simply not the case. In 2017 Lt General Pierre St Amand, deputy commander NORAD, told members of the commons national defence committee, that current U.S. policy directs the American military not to defend Canada if it is targeted in a ballistic missile attack, “We’re being told in Colorado Springs that the extant U.S. policy is not to defend Canada,” said Canadian Lt.-Gen. Pierre St-Amand, deputy commander of Colorado-based Norad. The second myth is that Canadians are a peaceful people and no-one would want to attack us. History has many many examples of peaceful peoples being attached by their neighbours. In 1939 Hitler attacked Poland. In 1812, the Americans invaded Canada. Of course that couldn’t happen to Canada again even if an authoritarian leader took over the U.S. government. Say a bombastic, megalomaniac who can’t accept losing an election. Or maybe one of his followers. Consider this, Canada has most of the world’s drinking water. Global warming is real, and the U.S. is already suffering from major droughts. Or consider current events in Ukraine that give one pause to consider just how safe we are and also how prepared we are.
The above myths coupled with a defence averse government have created a Canada ill equipped to defend ourselves or even assist our allies in defending themselves
If Canada is going to have a national defence capability it is up to Canada, Canadians, and our government to provide it. Considering our government’s record on military procurement it is doubtful that our government will take any meaningful action, unlike Australia which has added 38 Billion dollars to their defence budget, is building new submarines and buying new aircraft.
In Canada we have the ‘Slow Boat to China’ National Shipbuilding strategy, and the endless competition for new fighter jets. This of course needn’t be. Canada could have a well equipped military. Canada could effectively deter aggression toward us and we could defend ourselves.
To do this, we need to do three things. Spend money. Sweden, who probably is the best realistic comparison for a self defending Canada is spending just 1.2% of their GDP on defence while Canada is currently spending 1.39%. Both countries are supposedly moving to the NATO 2% target. Our bet here at ‘notesfromthenorth’ is that Sweden has a much better chance of actually attaining it. Sweden builds their own military equipment and have some of the best, artillery systems, submarines, and aircraft in the world, Canada on the other hand builds no military equipment. We have sold all of our capability to the huge American military industrial complex. But this can change. We can take control of our own defence. We have a rare opportunity right now.
The second thing we can do is move strategically away from the U.S. First by leaving NORAD. As stated above, NORAD doesn’t protect Canada and we have no control over it. Our role has never been more than assistant to the boss. NORAD is not and never has been a system designed to protect Canada. Canada is the killing zone between Russia and the U.S. Missiles directed from Russia at the U.S. will be intercepted over Canada, raining radioactive material over our land and leaving the U.S. protected.
Not that Canada should not be allied with the U.S., but it should only be where Canada’s interests and those of the U.S. are aligned, and not related to Canada’s defence.
Immediate Actions
Re-Equip Canada’s military for effective Canadian defence. Buy new aircraft today. Buy equipment that Canada can afford. Effectively SAAB Gripen ‘E’ fighters. These planes may not be the newest technology in the world, but they also are not the most expensive. Canada should scrap the National Shipbuilding program, which is far too slow and proving inefficient. Canada should also scrap their Frigate program. First because we won’t have them until mid century, and secondly there are better options. If Canadian defence is the requirement then more smaller and cheaper warships make more sense. ‘Notesfromthenorth’ has previously proposed smaller 110 meter Corvette sized ships instead. Rather than a few 4 Billion dollar ships, Canada could have many more well armed, effective combat ships. Corvette sized ships have smaller crews, which addresses Canada’s shortage of sailors, They are more effective in coastal of (littoral) environments of which Canada has many, and they are far cheaper at 400 Million each compared to 4 Billion each as now planned.
Well armed effective combat ships that can be built more quickly in more Canadian shipyards, or hugely expensive, showcase warships to impress Britain and America. Should Canada not stand on our own two feet and create our own defence, designed for Canada, built in Canada
