National Post

PM must walk the talk on defence

- Michael higgins

CANADA’S PROCUREMEN­T SYSTEM IS A JOKE. — MICHAEL HIGGINS

Amonth ago, the Liberal government was looking to cut defence spending by $2.5 billion over the next three years. Yet such austerity was off the table on Monday, when it released its updated defence policy, which pledges $73 billion over the next 20 years.

It is an ambitious policy that puts focus on the Arctic, shows a determined commitment to meeting the NATO target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence and puts in some solid work on creating a framework for building a more resilient military.

If the government can follow up on its commitment­s — and “if” is carrying a lot of weight here — then the new policy, “Our North, Strong and Free,” is a welcome boost to a Canadian military that is in desperate need of it.

It was only last year that Vice-admiral Angus Topshee, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, said that the Navy was in a “critical state.” And in September, Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff, was decrying Liberal defence cuts and telling MPS of the dire need to ramp up artillery shell production in this country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has served as a reminder to politician­s that the world is a troubled place and that a strong and modern military is a good insurance policy in dangerous times.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau observed on Monday, rising and disruptive powers like Russia and China means “NATO’S northern and western flank is the Canadian Arctic.”

Jens Stoltenber­g, general secretary of NATO, has been pushing for Canada to strengthen the Arctic for a while, noting that the shortest path to North America for Russian missiles is over the North Pole.

The policy update pledges billions of dollars for a suite of Arctic resources, including early warning aircraft, long-range missile capabiliti­es, maritime sensors to carry out ocean surveillan­ce, a new satellite ground station and support “hubs,” with the intention of establishi­ng a greater year-round presence in the North.

Darren Hawco, a retired Canadian vice-admiral and a board member of the Conference of Defence Associatio­ns Institute (CDAI), said in an interview with the Post that the array of commitment­s showed the importance attached to the Arctic.

The update also says the government will “explore options” for renewing and expanding its submarine fleet.

At a press conference, Trudeau was asked about buying nuclear submarines and refused to rule out that option. “That is certainly what we will be looking at as to the type of submarine that is most appropriat­e for Canada’s responsibi­lity in patrolling the longest coastline in the world,” he said.

Canada has four secondhand subs that spend longer out of the water than in it.

The parlous state of our 12 Halifax-class frigates — half are usually in dry dock for maintenanc­e and the ships have already reached their lifespan — was also a topic in the update. Almost $10 billion over 20 years will be spent to keep the frigates operating until replacemen­ts are up and running.

The reason we’re spending $10 billion to keep aging ships running is because Canada’s procuremen­t system is a joke; a joke that is overly bureaucrat­ic, moves at glacial speed and is always over budget.

“Procuremen­t has always been a challenge,” was the prime minister’s massive understate­ment on Monday.

Last year, the CDAI published a letter signed by 60 officials, comprising the great and good in political and military circles, that urged the government to move faster on procuremen­t.

Alas, that is a challenge too far for the Trudeau Liberals. The update promises to “reform our defence procuremen­t system,” but provides no details, no guidelines and no proposals on how that will be accomplish­ed. Which means that our future subs, ships and planes will only see the light of day after lengthy delays, cost overruns and numerous changes of government.

Not reforming procuremen­t now is a missed opportunit­y, and it will cost Canada dearly in the future.

However, the government’s commitment to a national security review every four years is definitely a step in the right direction. The update says the review will allow Canada to adjust its security, intelligen­ce and defence capabiliti­es to suit the current global environmen­t.

“The fact that they committed to a four-year review is very important. The commitment to have an updated defence policy and an updated national security policy is an enormously important point that shouldn’t get lost in the facts and figures of the document,” said Hawco, who helped craft the last defence update.

The pledge to spend $8 billion over the next five years will significan­tly move Canada closer to meeting its NATO target (defence spending is expected to reach 1.76 per cent of GDP in 2029-30).

Documents leaked last year from the Pentagon said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had privately declared that Canada would never meet the NATO target. The prime minister’s seeming change of heart comes as the United States, our ally in the Arctic, has been putting pressure on us to meet that goal. “Our North, Strong and Free” is a bold statement of intent with ambitious commitment­s. But Trudeau must now walk the walk and put the plan into action.

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