Archive » Category: Blog
2-year extension of Iraq mission lacks transparency and oversight
June 30, 2017
In a June 29th press release, the Department of National Defence announced a two year, $371 million extension to the Canadian mission in Iraq. The mission will now run until at least March 2019 and gives Defence Chief General Jonathan Vance authority to “deploy capabilities as needs arise,” including the option of sending up to […]
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Cyber defences and global rules should be Canada’s focus
June 26, 2017
While Canada’s new defence policy contains a number of problematic initiatives, one particularly concerning area is the decision to develop offensive cyber warfare capabilities. “A purely defensive cyber posture is no longer sufficient. Accordingly, we will develop the capability to conduct active cyber operations focused on external threats to Canada in the context of government-authorized […]
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Armed drones may be prone to targeting errors
June 19, 2017
We learned on June 7th that Canada intends to acquire armed drones for “precision targeting”. Despite widespread concerns about their misuse both in situations of armed conflict and otherwise, the government has provided no real rationale for why Canada needs them nor any policy framework to guard against their abuse. The use of armed drones […]
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New Canadian defence policy neither credible nor affordable
June 12, 2017
On June 7th, following a year-long policy review, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced a staggering, not to mention completely unrealistic, $62 billion increase to military spending over the next twenty years. Though this is a clear capitulation to President Donald Trump’s demands for increased military spending by NATO members, the federal government has shrewdly framed […]
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