Canadian Defence News

[BeaverFever]

On 7/26/2023 at 11:39 PM, BeaverFever said:

Second: Anand’s replacement is Bill Blair, the former Toronto Chief of Police whose heavy-handed police tactics at the time were cheered by conservatives and criticized by the left. and who later became Minister of Public Safety and  Canada’s counter-terrorism Czar. This could be a sign that Canada will be pursuing a more aggressive Defence policy and possibly will not be subject to any aforementioned controversial budget cuts. 

So the political commentary on this I’ve seen on this so far hasn’t so much criticized Blair but has mostly been head-scratching about “why him?”    One commentator said former chiefs of police, like former generals are had choices for MND because police and military are insular institutions unto themselves with a distinct closed culture that bristles under external civilian control and tends to protect its own from outside scrutiny but as MND you ARE the external civilian control and the outside scrutiny so it might be like the fox guarding the henhouse. Perhaps the selection of Blair as a replacement of a former Security official is a symbolic gesture to our allies rather than serving any practical purpose. 
 

Meanwhile rumours are swirling that Anand is out not only becuas her respected talents were wanted in an economic portfolio but also because she was pushing too card for major defence spending increases  

 

Anita Anand ousted as Defence Minister because proposed policy update too costly, say sources

Published Jul 28, 2023  •  Last updated 17 hours ago  •  4 minute read

 

Then-defence minister Anita Anand, left, meets the Canada-led multinational NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group at the Adazi military base in Riga, Latvia, on July 10. Photo by Gints Ivuskans /AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A reworking of the Liberal government’s defence policy update is underway after the document proposed by National Defence and Anita Anand was deemed to be unrealistic, according to multiple defence sources.

Story continues below 

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 

The Prime Minister’s Office is taking more of a hand in reworking the defence policy update, the sources noted. Defence Minister Anand tried at least twice to get the update approved but the document was rejected as unrealistic and too costly.

Anand had pushed the Canadian military’s position of a significant rearmament and reequipment plan at a time when the Liberal government is trying to get spending under control and finance major initiatives such as affordable housing and a national dental care program.

But PMO spokesperson Ann-Clara Vaillancourt said the information from sources about the Defence Policy Update is false. “Minister Anand was appointed as President of the Treasury Board to serve in an economic portfolio,” she added.

Story continues below 

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 

Vaillancourt did not provide information on why the Defence Policy Update has not been released. The document release was expected shortly before the NATO summit earlier this month. Vaillancourt did not provide information on when the update would be made public.

She referred to the statements from National Defence about ongoing consultations and that the update will be released “in a matter of months.”

In a letter to Canadian Forces personnel issued Thursday, new Defence Minister Bill Blair pointed out that he is focused on modernizing the capabilities of the joint U.S.-Canada North American Aerospace Defence Command as well as acquiring new equipment for the military. He noted the Defence Policy Update will be released “in the coming months.”

Story continues below 

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 

In March, Anand’s office released a statement to this newspaper that the policy update would be released in “the coming months.”

The defence policy update or DPU was announced on April 7, 2022. National Defence has already consulted with allied nations, the defence industry and defence experts who are closely aligned with the Canadian Forces and supportive of the military.

National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Thursday that the department launched an online platform in March to gather feedback about the policy. That has resulted in over 1,500 submissions, he added. “This feedback has been key to ensuring that Defence’s long-term vision meets the expectations of Canadians, and we are taking these submissions into account in the crafting our defence policy update. We look forward to releasing it in due course.”

Story continues below 

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 

It remains to be seen if some of the ambitious Canadian Forces spending proposals will survive the rewrite of the defence policy update. Key among those was a plan by the Royal Canadian Navy to purchase up to 12 new submarines at a cost of $60 billion. In March, at a defence conference in Ottawa, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre acknowledged he was advocating on behalf of the navy for the submarines.

But defence insiders acknowledged the plan faces an uphill battle to get approval from the Liberals in the policy update, considering that Canadians are more concerned about the lack of affordable housing, inflation and increasing costs for basic necessities such as food.

Anand’s timing on pushing the navy submarine program in the defence policy update couldn’t be worse. National Defence confirmed to this newspaper that it plans to release this fall new cost figures for the project to build 15 new warships for the navy. The original approved budget was $26 billion but the project, plagued by concerns about a lack of oversight and cost overruns, is expected to be saddled with a new price tag of more than $80 billion.

Story continues below 

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 

Another area of tension between Anand and the Prime Minister’s Office, say defence sources, was her decision to back Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Eyre’s position that Canada could not provide troops for a security mission to Haiti.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden was pushing Canada to take the lead in a mission to support Haiti police in their struggle against gangs in the country. Biden had planned to continue discussions with Trudeau during his visit to Ottawa in late March.

But just weeks before Biden’s visit, Eyre gave an interview with Reuters stating the military didn’t have the capacity for a Haiti mission.

During his visit to Ottawa on March 24, Biden told journalists he wasn’t disappointed with the Canadian decision not to become involved in a military mission in Haiti. But defence insiders privately say the Americans were furious their request had been turned down.

Story continues below 

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 

Anand has dismissed claims that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to shuffle her from the defence portfolio to Treasury Board was a demotion. In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, she portrayed her new job as key to reining in federal government spending.

“I am going to have to speak with my colleagues about the need for prudent spending and I’m looking forward to those conversations as well,” she explained. “We need to continue to have our eye on how we can help Canadians during this economic time.”

Anand’s focus is no longer trying to convince the Liberal government to spend tens of billions of dollars for new submarines and tanks. She told CBC her new role is one of ensuring the government is spending public funds wisely while delivering on key platform promises like dental and child care. “I’ve just come out of my first briefing and I can tell you that that’s exactly what I’m focused on,” she said.

 

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/anita-anand-ousted-as-defence-minister-because-proposed-policy-update-too-costly-say-sources

[Dougie93]

4 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

So the political commentary on this I’ve seen on this so far hasn’t so much criticized Blair but has mostly been head-scratching about “why him?”   

it's quite simple

Minister of National Defence is the lowliest post in the Cabinet

 Treasury Board is one of the most influential

so Anita Arnand is being promoted

while Bill Blair is being demoted

[Aristides]

To date, Australia had taken delivery of 59 F-35's and all 72 are scheduled to be delivered this year. That is in addition to their 35 Super Hornets and Growlers. They are also considering an additional squadron.  One advanage to being later is our machines will be Block 4 aircraft which is a significant upgrade over earlier models. 

[Dougie93]

11 minutes ago, Aristides said:

To date, Australia had taken delivery of . . .

rising regional power Australia has the highest government capacity metrics in the world

feeble pseudo colony Canada has some of the lowest

thus Australia will have a fleet of SSN's with its LHA's, DDG's & FFG's

while Canada struggles to even maintain a coast guard, never mind a navy

Canada is not a frozen Australia

Canada can't even pull off being Giant New Zealand, never mind the big leagues of AUKUS

[Dougie93]

21 minutes ago, Aristides said:

 One advanage to being later is our machines will be Block 4 aircraft which is a significant upgrade over earlier models. 

you are banking F-35's which haven't even been ordered yet never mind delivered

Canadians hate the F-35 after the CBC ran a decades long smear campaign against it

so there is plenty of time & space for F-35 to be thrown under the bus again

more likely Ottawa will keep delaying, flying the CF-18's until the wings fall off

then simply disband Canada's fighter force altogether

exactly as it happened in loonie left wing New Zealand

Canada's closest proxy in terms of per capita military capacity

tho there are no limits to the depth to which basket case Canada will plunge in terms of dysfunction

New Zealand at least has a realistic sense of its modest status, unlike delusions of grandeur Canada

[BeaverFever]

21 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

Minister of National Defence is the lowliest post in the Cabinet

No it’s one of the highest actually. Even as DND is underfunded relative to its needs, it’s still the largest department and budget in the federal government and has one of the highest international profiles.  The MND resides in one of the most inner circles of cabinet. However the forces and figures that shape budget decisions are beyond MNDs and there are other ministers such a MOF and Treasury Board that have more influence over the public purse. 

[Dougie93]

2 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

No it’s one of the highest actually. Even as DND is underfunded relative to its needs, it’s still the largest department and budget in the federal government and has one of the highest international profiles.  The MND resides in one of the most inner circles of cabinet. However the forces and figures that shape budget decisions are beyond MNDs and there are other ministers such a MOF and Treasury Board that have more influence over the public purse. 

the role of the MND is simply to manage the decline into collapse of Canada's military

nobody wants to be tarred by having that dead end losers job

 

[Dougie93]

28 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

 Even as DND is underfunded relative to its needs,

the first step is understanding that you suffer from the Canadian Disease

the nature of said pathology being delusions of grandeur

related to Canada's insecurity incited by living in the shadow of the greatest country in the history of the world

resulting in the fervent desire for Canada to "punch above its weight class"

which is how you have destroyed the Canadian military in the end

quite simply by having champagne tastes on a beer budget

first resulting in the Boutique Military effect

but now progressing into the death throes of the Woke Military national humiliation

totally useless to the treasonous political class as a military

the once proud regiments reduced to a laughing stock by the Liberal cultural revolution

Pipe Major, sound the lament

 

[BeaverFever]

41 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

the role of the MND is simply to manage the decline into collapse of Canada's military

nobody wants to be tarred by having that dead end losers job

 

The role of MND is to manage the largest department and budget in the federal government in accordance with instructions provided by Cabinet and the PM.  While the Cabinet and PM instructions have unfortunately resulted in the decline of the CAF its is nonetheless a sought after senior position typically awarded to the most favoured and influential party members who historically haven’t cared so much about the military as they have about executing instructions from Cabinet and the PM and solidifying their high status within the party and maybe someday running for party leader. 

Edited July 29, 2023 by BeaverFever

[BeaverFever]

8 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

the first step is understanding that you suffer from the Canadian Disease

the nature of said pathology being delusions of grandeur

related to Canada's insecurity incited by living in the shadow of the greatest country in the history of the world

resulting in the fervent desire for Canada to "punch above its weight class"

which is how you have destroyed the Canadian military in the end

quite simply by having champagne tastes on a beer budget

first resulting in the Boutique Military effect

but now progressing into the death throes of the Woke Military national humiliation

totally useless to the treasonous political class as a military

the once proud regiments reduced to a laughing stock by the Liberal cultural revolution

Pipe Major, sound the lament

 

You make no sense 

[Dougie93]

22 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

The role of MND is to manage the largest department and budget in the federal government in accordance with instructions provided by Cabinet and the PM.  While the Cabinet and PM instructions have unfortunately resulted in the decline of the CAF its is nonetheless a sought after senior position typically awarded to the most favoured and influential party members who historically haven’t cared so much about the military as they have about executing instructions from Cabinet and the PM and solidifying their high status within the party and maybe someday running for party leader. 

I am forsworn by solemn oath taken

hand on the King James Bible in the face of God Himself

to defend the Realm & Crown from all enemies foreign or domestic

so I simply cannot follow you down this ignominious path

of being a sycophantic apologist for the treasonous Canadian ruling class

as they sell the Confederation itself down to the river to the Communists

death before dishonour therein

God save the King from the Quislings in Ottawa

[Moonlight Graham]

35 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

I am forsworn by solemn oath taken

hand on the King James Bible in the face of God Himself

to defend the Realm & Crown from all enemies foreign or domestic

so I simply cannot follow you down this ignominious path

of being a sycophantic apologist for the treasonous Canadian ruling class

as they sell the Confederation itself down to the river to the Communists

death before dishonour therein

God save the King from the Quislings in Ottawa

Lol you actively seek the destruction of Confederation itself, you're loyal to the British Crown not the Canadian Crown, two separate legal entities, which means you've broken your oath to the monarch of Canada.

[Dougie93]

1 minute ago, Moonlight Graham said:

Lol you actively seek the destruction of Confederation itself, you're loyal to the British Crown not the Canadian Crown, two separate legal entities, which means you've broken your oath to the monarch of Canada.

Canadian Confederation is inherently treasonous

anti-British, anti-American lunatic asylum proxy of the Chinese Communists in Beijing

I never swore any oath to defend & uphold such a self hating basket case of a fake country

 

[BeaverFever]

Ok this discipline has gone off the deep end let’s pull the crazy train into the station then get back on the right track 

[Dougie93]

1 minute ago, BeaverFever said:

Ok this discipline has gone off the deep end let’s pull the crazy train into the station then get back on the right track 

the crazy train is people like you pretending that Canada needs "strategic airlift"

for a military that can barely field three rifle companies at any given time

[Aristides]

2 hours ago, Dougie93 said:

you are banking F-35's which haven't even been ordered yet never mind delivered

They have been ordered.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-f35-fighter-jet-deal-1.6707769

 

I suppose we might be able to give up or sell the delivery slots to someone else who wants to buy them but we are committed to 88.

[Dougie93]

13 minutes ago, Aristides said:

They have been ordered.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-f35-fighter-jet-deal-1.6707769

 

I suppose we might be able to give up or sell the delivery slots to someone else who wants to buy them but we are committed to 88.

there is nothing there that commits Canada to buying 88

all the "agreement" says is that LMT has :

“successfully demonstrated that a resulting contract would meet all of Canada’s requirements and outcomes”

there is no firm order for 88 air frames therein

you have to factor in that the Canadian media are all lying treasonous TruAnon cult members

notice how it says that the Liberals have 'signed off on an agreement"

rather than signed a contract to order

this is an agreement in principle, not a purchase

Edited July 29, 2023 by Dougie93

[Moonlight Graham]

15 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

Canadian Confederation is inherently treasonous

anti-British, anti-American lunatic asylum proxy of the Chinese Communists in Beijing

I never swore any oath to defend & uphold such a self hating basket case of a fake country

 

How was Confederation anti- British?  They were largely loyalists and chose not to join the anti- British,  anti-monarchist Americans lol. 

You are anti-Canadian,  pro- American, pro-British.  You're a British 5th column and actively want to break up the King's country because you want it to become British again.  So your loyalties lie with 2 foreign countries.  One of the problems with Canada is their tolerance with people with loyalties to other countries like yourself.

[BeaverFever]

21 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

the crazy train is people like you pretending that Canada needs "strategic airlift"

for a military that can barely field three rifle companies at any given time

What’s crazy is you think Canada needs to field army forces overseas but not have the means to transport them there. 

[Dougie93]

7 minutes ago, Moonlight Graham said:

 You're a British 5th column and actively want to break up the King's country because you want it to become British again.

a "British fifth column" against the British Crown ?

ha ha ha ha !

cuckoo, cuckoo

I never stopped being British

born in the British Empire, under the rule of the British Crown, by the British North America Act 1867

I never had any fealty to a fake country that doesn't exist in the constitution

I just carry on with the oath that I swore to HM Queen Elizabeth II heirs & successors

Canadian Confederation never actually mentioned therein

[Dougie93]

5 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

What’s crazy is you think Canada needs to field army forces overseas but not have the means to transport them there. 

the means are commercial air transport

just like we always deployed overseas

Air Transat to a local airfield

then by rented buses to the forward operating base

since when has Canada ever executed a forced entry into theatre on its own ?

[Aristides]

21 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

there is nothing there that commits Canada to buying 88

all the "agreement" says is that LMT has :

“successfully demonstrated that a resulting contract would meet all of Canada’s requirements and outcomes”

there is no firm order for 88 air frames therein

you have to factor in that the Canadian media are all lying treasonous TruAnon cult members

notice how it says that the Liberals have 'signed off on an agreement"

rather than signed a contract to order

this is an agreement in principle, not a purchase

Well then I guess we have never ordered anything in the past. Contracts are always a two way street, both parties have to meet their obligations or be penalized.

1 minute ago, Dougie93 said:

the means are commercial air transport

just like we always deployed overseas

Air Transat to a local airfield

then by rented buses to the forward operating base

since when has Canada ever executed a forced entry into theatre on its own ?

Commercial carriers aren't big on entering war zones, that's the military's job. 

[Dougie93]

Just now, Aristides said:

Well then I guess we have never ordered anything in the past. Contracts are always a two way street, both parties have to meet their obligations or be penalized.

again, all it says is that TruAnon has "signed off on an agreement"

it does not actually say that they have signed a contract with a firm purchase to order

 

[Aristides]

4 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

again, all it says is that TruAnon has "signed off on an agreement"

it does not actually say that they have signed a contract with a firm purchase to order

Quote

I am here to announce that Canada will procure a new fleet of eighty‑eight F-35 fighter jets, through an agreement that we have finalized with the United States government and Lockheed Martin with Pratt and Whitney.

 

 

[Dougie93]

13 minutes ago, Aristides said:

 

yes,  yes, they "announce"

they "sign off on an agreement"

they "finalize"

this is all a play on words

the sycophantic CBC propaganda arm running interference for TruAnon

none the less, there is no contract to purchase a specific number of airframes therein

this is the Canadian state run media, not to be trusted at all

Edited July 29, 2023 by Dougie93