Re: Minister of National Defence

by Covert Wed 04 Oct 2023, 11:11 am

Blair steals a page from the Harper playbook to justify cuts to National Defence

The new defence minister is blaming the bureaucrats — his critics say the argument makes no sense

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Oct 04, 2023

Minister of National Defence - Page 9 Blair-defence-20230805

CBC News

by Cooper Thu 09 Nov 2023, 11:39 am

Bill Blair forced to 'recraft and refine' long-delayed defence policy update as industry questions spending plans

Experts have said that delays in the planned defence policy update signalled a brewing fight between defence officials and federal decision-makers about overall government spending

The Canadian Press . Dylan Robertson . Published Nov 08, 2023

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Bill Blair says he recently instructed his team to rejig the Liberal government’s long-promised defence policy update, so as to give industry more clarity on long-term spending plans.

The much-anticipated, much-delayed update, which was announced early last year and first expected to come in the fall of 2022, is meant to lay out Canada’s long-term goals for its military — including what new equipment it might need from the Canadian arms industry.

The Liberal government released its existing defence policy in 2017, promising tens of billions in new funding. But the world has changed significantly since then.

“As the world becomes an increasingly difficult and challenging place, we have to make those investments,” Blair said in a speech Wednesday at an industry conference in Ottawa.

Blair told the summit held by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada that the group helped him realize the current plans would not adequately answer questions raised by defence companies.

“It’s in part as a result of the meeting I had with you and your team the other day — a couple weeks ago — that I went back to my own team, and I said, ’We really got to — as we now recraft and refine the defence policy update, it has to be an industry policy as well,”’ he said.

Blair said that he met with the Prime Minister’s Office “earlier this week” about the new changes to the policy update.

He said he also expects to soon sit down with officials at the Department of Finance who are set to publish the government’s overall spending plan in a mini-budget in the coming weeks.

“I hope to be able to provide that clarity in the next few months, as part of the fall economic statement that Finance will come out with, and so that the resources and the clarity will be there in the budget in the coming year,” Blair said.

David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think tank, said Wednesday that he was confused by that timeline.

“I did have a little difficulty squaring the timeline of a few months to discuss things (in the) fall economic statement, because we’re rapidly running out of fall here,” he said in an interview.

Perry, who is one of Canada’s foremost authorities on military spending, said the Liberals have kept quiet about the policy update.

That had led some to fear that the government had shelved the project entirely, he said.

He added that it makes sense to have collaboration between defence companies, the military bureaucracy and the government, since the sector is heavily regulated and requires governmental approval for any sales.

“I don’t think we’ve been nearly as strategic about what exactly we want (the industry) to provide in the past as we could have been,” said Perry, who offered the disclaimer that his institute occasionally runs events sponsored by defence companies.

“This is not a free-market dynamic … it’s an industry that is entirely intertwined with government activity.”

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, which represents Canada’s multibillion-dollar defence sector, welcomed “a more holistic approach” to updating the policy.

“Given the state of the world today and the time it’s taken to produce the current version of the policy update, we look forward to discussing this further with the minister as soon as possible,” its president and CEO, Christyn Cianfarani, wrote in an email Wednesday.

The Liberals took office well before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, and before an escalation in military activity around China. Blair said that before those events, his government didn’t indicate it would need new technology or artillery.

“Part of the problem is we did not send that clear signal several years ago. And as a consequence, Canadian industry is not always in the best position to be able to respond in a timely way,” he said.

The industry has argued it still lacks a clear signal.

A month ago, Cianfarani testified to the House defence committee that she’s heard of negotiations for the production of shells for Ukraine, but hadn’t heard of any “signed, legally binding contracts.”

Blair, who took on his role in July, said he is working off of the mandate letter Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued in December 2021 to the previous defence minister, Anita Anand.

“I did not get a new mandate letter from the prime minister, but quite frankly, the world has changed quite significantly since Minister Anand got hers,” said Blair.

Allies have been pushing hard for Canada to step up its game when it comes to overall defence spending.

Canada signed on to a NATO communique in the summer that stated parties to the military alliance would work to spend “at least” two per cent of GDP on defence, with one-fifth of that going toward major equipment and research and development.

Canada has agreed to the target but has not set out a plan to reach it, with current spending sitting just shy of 1.3 per cent.

And experts said earlier this year that delays in the planned defence policy update — along with the fact that virtually no new defence money was contained in this year’s federal budget — signalled a brewing fight between defence officials and federal decision-makers about overall government spending.

Anand is now president of the Treasury Board and has ordered various departments to cut back on spending. Blair said that might involve cutting back on executive travel or consultants, based on Anand’s directions to him.

But he insisted that she was “crystal clear” that her request of the Defence Department should not “in any way impact on (Canadian Armed Forces) capability or the support we provide to CAF members.”

Perry said the industry remains unclear on how Ottawa will manage “hypothetical” increases to defence spending amid “a direction to cut your budget by a specified amount of money”

Blair suggested he has been working with government officials to find new funds to back up the policy update.

“This is not being disparaging of anyone, but I think the Finance people kind of look at it as a bit of a shopping list, and that’s really not what the defence policy update is supposed to be,” he said.

“It is not merely a national defence policy. It’s a national industry policy; it’s a policy about innovation; it’s a policy about workers. It’s a policy about economic security and prosperity in this country. It’s a foreign-policy initiative.”

Blair’s comments follow a speech Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly gave Oct. 30, in which she promised that “we will increase our investments in our military, through the defence policy update.”

National Post

by Stealth Mon 04 Dec 2023, 5:06 pm

Defence minister says plan in talks for ‘significant’ military investments

By David Baxter Global News Posted December 3, 2023

Defence Minister Bill Blair says he is committed to pushing for increased investment in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) after two top commanders sounded the alarm recently on operational readiness.

“Colleagues and shipmates, the [Royal Canadian Navy] (RCN) faces some very serious challenges right now that could mean we fail to meet our force posture readiness commitments in 2024 and beyond,” Vice-Adm. Angus Topshee, commander of the navy, said in a YouTube video posted earlier this week.
Last week, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said military resources are strained amid increased calls for assistance in natural disasters and recruiting challenges.

On The West Block, Blair told host Mercedes Stephenson that how the government addresses these challenges is part of an ongoing discussion.

“We have brought forward a plan that’s very much in discussion right now within our government about making significant new investments,” Blair said.

“We’re going to do more. But there’s also some context in the doing that more because there is a fiscal situation in Canada that I have to be realistic about.”

At the House of Commons defence committee last week, Blair said that the long-promised defence policy update is tied in with broader budgetary conversations happening with the Prime Minister’s Office.

Blair said part of his job is focused on helping clear up issues in military procurement — a longstanding challenge when it comes to sourcing much-needed equipment.

Earlier this week, he along with Innovation Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Canada has selected Boeing for a sole-source $8-billion deal on new surveillance aircraft to replace the Auroras.

“I don’t want to sort of relitigate the past, but I think for a very long time, we did not make the necessary investments in the platforms,” Blair said.

“What’s also become apparent is that the world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. Our responsibilities are well known to us and significant.”

Stephenson pressed Blair on Canada’s military readiness, pointing out that sources say Canada now has a three-day ammunition supply and not 30 days as mandated by NATO commitments.

“We’ve been working on what have been challenges in acquiring the ammunition. And some of it is resources, but an awful lot of it is this process. So, making that process work more effectively is a critical part of what we have to do,” Blair said.

As part of broader budgetary deliberations, Blair has been tasked with shaving $1 billion off defence expenditures. Blair previously said they are looking for efficiencies in areas like consulting and administration, but he says issues with procurement are more process than budget-related.

“Last year, the Canadian Armed Forces was unable to spend over $2 billion of their budget. And it’s because the processes of procurement are not as efficient as they need to be,” Blair said.

“It’s a matter of making sure that those processes work for them so that they’re able to do that maintenance, they’re able to acquire that ammunition, they’re able to make the investments that they need to make.”

Global News

by Looper Fri 08 Dec 2023, 11:17 am

Minister Blair announces establishment of Canadian Military Colleges Review Board

December 6, 2023 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

News release

by **Powergunner** Fri 15 Dec 2023, 5:52 am

Defence minister says he wants to change the
drinking culture on military bases

Some Forces members resent being compelled to pay mess dues

Ashley Burke · CBC News · Posted: Dec 15, 2023

Minister of National Defence - Page 9 Beer-mugs

CBC News

by JAFO Fri 15 Dec 2023, 11:04 am

Nice distraction piece on mandatory man-pon day for federal government buildings. Oh and NPF is literally destroying the word 'morale' on bases

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