Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
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This essay is one in a series commissioned by Canadian Global Affairs Institute in the context of defence, security and assistance reviews by the Trudeau Government. The views expressed are those of the author and not CGAI. Defence Policy Review Considerations: Canada's army I t is not uncommon to hear debates on the roles Canada will need its army to perform – that is, what strategic utility it offers to Canada and to the government in the future, and what qualities, ca- pabilities and capacities it must possess to exercise this utility, as safely, effectively and efficiently as pos- sible. This is particularly true in periods between ma- jor wars, and in times of financial and defence resource challenges. Often heard, however, are expressions like 'we won't do this' or 'we don't need that.' These state- ments are largely symptomatic of under-resourcing and funding challenges for some, and the aspiration by oth- ers for the world to be something other than it is. Re- sponsible choices on roles for the Canadian military and the capabilities we should require it to have need to be grounded, instead, on a shared understanding of the current and emerging security environment, Canada's interests at stake in that environment, and the objec- tives Canada as a country should be advancing while protecting against vulnerabilities. Thereafter, a debate on choices can be informed by a strategic understand- ing of the utility of force and forces (not just military) to advance those interests and objectives – to preserve Canada's safety and security, and advance its contribu- tion to the pursuit of peace and security globally, in an increasingly volatile, unstable and unpredictable world. Human conflict plays out in increasingly new ways and in all domains – in the air, at sea, in cyber and in space, and on the land – across all geographies. The most con- sistent and persistent sources of conflict, in particular conflict that affects, attacks and traumatizes citizens/ non-combatants persistently and directly, remains be- tween people where they live. Threats to Canadian citi- zens at home, and the preservation of Canada's interests and values abroad must be met then, from time to time, by military forces contributing to defence and security effects on the land. This has been and will continue to be done through a variety of means: air, maritime, space deFence POLICY 18 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 www.vanguardcanada.com Continued on page 20 d by stuart Beare