Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/476674
www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 7 S Sit REp Poll supports increased defence spending Canada, France strengthen defence cooperation The federal government may be on firmer ground than it realizes when it comes to defence spending. According to a February poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, almost 60 percent of Canadians believe that the government should spend more on defence given the range of "dangers" they now perceive in the world. However, just 35% think taxpayers receive good value for their defence dollar at the moment and only 25% say the Department of National Defence makes good decisions when spending those tax dollars. Darrell Bricker, the CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, delivered the findings to the annual Conference of Defence Associations symposium. He said Canadi- ans are very proud (74%) of the men and women who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces but have low awareness of the CAF's mandate and activities. So while they perceive an important role for the military as they see armed conflict increasing around the globe, less than 40% responded positively to a range of operations – from NATO support, to disaster relief, peace-building that might require armed intervention, and training missions. The Canadian and French governments have signed a technical arrangement establishing a Franco-Canadian Defence Cooperation Council. The agreement, signed in Paris by former Defence Minister Rob Nicholson and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, is intended to "strengthen high-level defence dialogue" between the two countries and fulfills part of a Canada-France Enhanced Cooperation Agenda announced by Prime Minister Harper and French President Hollande in November 2014. The push for closer defence cooperation comes as French companies en- hance their presence in Canadian major capital procurement projects, seek- ing opportunities in next generation fighters, land vehicles, shipbuilding, and radar and satellite systems. Among the listed priorities, the governments will be focusing on shoring up long-standing ties around commitments to NATO; increasing strategic and operational dialogue among all armed services, including the revitalization of the Franco-Canadian Military Cooperation Committee; continuing to cooper- ate on capability development to enhance interoperability for the conduct of combined and, where feasible, joint, operations; establishing concrete and sustainable links for mutual operational support; and further developing de- fence materiel, research and development linkages to leverage governmen- tal, industrial and academic co-operation. National Defence said the partnership would ensure a "flexible structure" for a strategic dialogue between the ministries of defence on policy, material and R&D. Both armed forces also signed a memorandum of understanding to facili- tate a reciprocal exchange of senior military officers at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto and the French École de guerre and Centre des hautes études militaires in Paris to better share experience, professional knowl- edge, operational posture and doctrine. Among those calling for change is a former head of one of those agencies. John Adams led CSE from 2005 to 2012 following an extensive career in both the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard, and often encouraged the government and the organization to be more open about its role and some of its activities. Though the government appears intent on pushing the Bill through the House of Commons and is unlikely to make any amendments, Adams be- lieves that public trust in Canada's intelligence agencies is rapidly waning. And that spells trouble as the demands on agencies increase. "I am convinced that we are too far removed from Canadians," he said dur- ing a panel presentation to the annual symposium of the Canadian Associa- tion for Security and Intelligence Studies in January. Adams repeated a previous call for a parliamentary review committee comprised of members from all parties in the House and Senate who would hold the appropriate security clearances. The forum would allow agencies to brief and answer question from parliamentarians, who could then inform fellow MPs and constituents. "I'm hoping that would close the gap," Adams said. "If we don't have Ca- nadian's trust, we won't have license to do what we may need to do [in the future]." Bricker suggested that Canadians need to understand the domestic value of a mission in order to support it. Arctic operations and prevention of health epidemics received substantial support. Although the survey was conducted shortly after the government con- firmed frontline engagement with ISIL forces in Iraq by Canadian Special Forces, the attacks on two soldiers in Ottawa and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the fall made the fight personal for many. "This changes the tenure of the discussion," he said. As a result, 64% support air strikes against ISIL, a figure that never climbed to more than 55% during the entire Afghanistan campaign, he said.