Canada’s chief of defense says he still doesn’t know where the $ 4.9 billion money comes from for promised improvements to NORAD’s radar and surveillance systems.
In an interview with Mercedes Stevenson of The West Block, General Wayne Eyre was asked about the growing issues facing the government to clarify its plan for spending on NORAD improvements.
Sources told Global News that the military is unsure where the funds come from and that meetings are being held in the department to try to determine how much of the money is new. These sources say there are significant concerns that the money may not be new and may need to be recapitalized within the existing defense budget.
“I don’t fully understand the source of this,” Eyre said.
“So I can’t say for sure where it comes from. However, I will say that the message was welcome. “
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Air was also asked if the military was planning any layoffs so that it could spend $ 4.9 billion on NORAD improvements.
“We have not seen cutting. But as always, we need to look at rebalancing, “he said.
“The force we have today is not the force we have to support tomorrow. So we need to look at the structure of power. Do we have it in the right place? Should we consider relocating units so that they take on roles that are more appropriate for the future security environment? It’s all important. “
Global News has asked for clarification on the issue to the cabinet of Defense Minister Anita Anand.
No response has been received yet.
Read more: Canada will spend $ 40 billion over 20 years to upgrade NORAD’s defense amid “new threats”
Canadian forces are in the midst of a serious account of sexual misconduct and at the same time face fundamental questions about how the military can and should adapt to protect Canadians from emerging threats in a more dangerous world.
Anand called the world “darker” and more chaotic than at any time in recent memory earlier this year, and last week said the government would spend about $ 40 billion over the next 20 years to modernize the aerospace defense of North America through the NORAD pact.
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As part of that, it announced $ 4.9 billion in what it initially said were new costs to upgrade northern and continental early radar and surveillance systems.
2:06 Canada announces $ 4.9 billion plan to upgrade NORAD Canada announces $ 4.9 billion plan to upgrade NORAD
But she later corrected this by saying that $ 4.9 billion is not new and is instead funding previously granted as part of a $ 8 billion spending increase promised in the latest federal budget.
Eyre said in an interview that the world is indeed at a “turning point” between authoritarianism and democracy, which will manifest itself for the rest of most Canadians’ lives.
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“I think history will see this period as perhaps a turning point in the global order, because the rules-based international order that we have flourished for generations is as fragile as ever,” he said. .
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“And I think for the rest of our lives we will see an order that is characterized by confrontation.”
This confrontation, Eyre said, will be between authoritarian states and democracies around the world.
He added that this is a growing concern among his colleagues in European and Asian countries.
“This threat is real,” he said. “They are all very worried. The threat of a global conflict – a conflict of great powers – is as great as it has been for decades. So we have to worry. “
Read more: Canada must be ready for “all scenarios” as Russia continues to threaten nuclear: Jolie
The announcement of significant costs is coming as the stakes become sharper for countries that fail to prioritize their own defense and security.
Uncertainty has become the word in recent years, marked by the global economic disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing struggles in the supply chain, combined with public unrest.
Then there is the ongoing crisis of climate change and natural disasters, as well as the geostrategic threats they pose to countries like Canada. The melting of Arctic sea ice makes inhospitable regions easier to navigate, including for participants like China and Russia, who seem to have a habit of disregarding international law.
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In addition, Russia’s unprovoked and appalling invasion of Ukraine has intensified much of the current global economic pressure on supply chains, while what Canadian officials have repeatedly described as an existential threat to the rules of international order established after World War II.
For the future of the Royal Military Colleges
Whether Canadian forces will be able to recruit the members needed to bring about a more volatile world is up to the military.
A recent report warned earlier this year that systemic racism, discrimination and sexual misconduct “repel” potential recruits and clearly link the military’s ability to improve its culture and attract a new generation of Canadians directly to the national security challenges it faces. the country.
Read more: Widespread systemic racism in the Canadian military “repels” recruits: report
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Federal Liberals launched an independent review of how best to correct military culture last year after a number of exclusive Global News reports on allegations of sexual misconduct against senior leaders.
Former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbor led the review and issued a massive report in late May that the military leadership was “incapable” of fixing the military’s system and existing cultural problems as a “duty” to the state.
Among her recommendations were the need to reform the Royal Military College of Kingston and the Royal Military College of St. Jean, universities that train future leaders in the Canadian forces.
Arbor called them “institutions of a different age.”
“There are good reasons to question the wisdom of maintaining the existence of these military colleges as they exist today,” Arbor wrote.
“There is a real risk that maintaining a discriminatory culture in colleges will slow down the momentum for cultural change that CAF has undertaken. There is ample evidence that military colleges are not fulfilling their mandate, so I believe that alternatives should be explored with open consciousness.
Eyre said the military should “embrace” Arbor’s recommendations.
“We need to look impartially at whether the institution is suitable for the purpose of the 21st century and whether it produces what is needed?” He said.
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“Many are proud of the post-secondary institution they came from. But we need to have an open mind as we move forward and look without emotion at what is best for Canada, what is best for our strength to produce the leaders we need for the future.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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