A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators say they expect Canada and the U.S. to work collaboratively on shared issues of defence and the border, but suggested Ottawa’s policies on military spending need to change to speed up progress.
“CAF – Canadian Armed Forces”
Canada’s 1st female defence chief ‘can’t believe’ U.S. senator would question a woman’s role in combat
The first woman to command Canada’s military called out a U.S. senator on Saturday for questioning the role of women in combat.
Gen. Jennie Carignan responded to comments made by Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee, who was asked on Friday whether president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, should retract comments that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units.
“I think it’s delusional for anybody to not agree that women in combat creates certain unique situations that have to be dealt with. I think the jury’s still out on how to do that,” Risch said during a panel session at the Halifax International Security Forum on Friday.
h/t Mauser
US senator says Trump would laugh at Canada’s military spending as Canadian security forum begins
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — A U.S. senator and supporter of Donald Trump said Friday the president-elect would laugh at Canada’s current military spending plans and said the country must do more.
Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the remarks at the start of the annual Halifax International Security Forum which attracts defense and security officials from Western democracies.
According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023, below the 2% target that NATO countries have set for themselves.
More …
Republican Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, claims Justin Trudeau – not Donald Trump – is the "greatest threat to NATO."
You can watch Rep. Turner's exclusive Canadian broadcast interview on CTV's Question Period, Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET. pic.twitter.com/TEqgpvseTI
— CTV Question Period (@ctvqp) November 23, 2024
h/t Mauser
Korea: The ‘Forgotten War’ That Canadians Actually Do Remember
Korea is called Canada’s “forgotten war,” though it is recalled at every Remembrance Day ceremony that I have been to since I was in elementary school in the 1970s.
Koreans remember it too. South Korea marks Korean War Day every June 25, the date in 1950 when the North Korean communists, after obtaining approval from Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, invaded South Korea across the 38th parallel in an attempt to reunify the country by conquest. Communist China (on a roll, having conquered mainland China less than two years earlier) joined on the side of the north in the spring of 1951. And the Koreans well remember how many countries—the United States, Britain, Canada, Turkey, Australia, and many more—came to their rescue to fight the communists to a standstill in 1953.
SLOBODIAN: Fired veterans’ will fight on in Charter rights COVID challenge
A lawsuit filed by 330 former and current Canadian Armed Forces members alleging the COVID-19 2021 vaccine mandate violated their Charter rights, was rejected by an Edmonton judge.
Federal Court Associate Judge Catherine Coughlan supported a government motion to strike the case.
Special forces tracked former soldier’s social media, shared private info without consent
Canadian special forces collected social media posts of a veteran as well as shared his private information without permission as they tried to strip him of his right to ask for government information, according to defence department records.
Documents shared with the Ottawa Citizen show Canadian Special Operations Forces Command claimed retired corporal Daniel Abboud was trying to intimidate its elite troops by asking questions about alleged wrongdoing and making posts on various social media platforms.
‘Canada spent more money on consultants and professional services than it did on the Army, Navy and Air Force combined’: Retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie on Canada’s ailing military
My intent is to offer some criticism of the status quo so that we can learn and then perhaps some sort of question period to get into some solutions. Essentially, in my opinion, ‘“Strong, Secure, Engaged”,’ the precursor to the current defence policy, delivered nothing substantive in terms of modern military equipment, which saw Canada, in fact, become weaker, more insecure, and essentially absent from the deployable stables of troops required for either United Nation missions, or, of course, NATO.
Canadians are ready to strengthen national defence. Will Ottawa answer the call?
Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House comes with a sobering reminder of his February statement encouraging Russia to target NATO allies whose national defence spending does not meet NATO’s 2-per-cent guideline. Mr. Trump’s statement underscores the urgent need for Ottawa to take a stronger, more independent role in global defence. This direction should reflect Canadian values, bolster the economy, reassure our allies, and build essential capabilities to address both conventional and unconventional threats.
Which Canadians? Not the NDP, not the LPC.
Federal judge throws out lawsuit challenging Canadian Armed Forces vaccine mandate
A federal lawsuit challenging vaccine mandates initiated by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) during the COVID-19 pandemic has been thrown out by a judge presiding over the case.
The legal action sought $1 million in damages for each of the 330 plaintiffs. Together, they claimed the 2021 vaccine mandates violated their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Canadian Forces need to recruit warriors, not DEI hires: retired major
Last month, while we noshed on southern-style fried chicken at a roadside eatery in Augusta, Ga., our upbeat waitress informed me she was joining the army to go to dentistry school. “Yeah, the military will pay my tuition, and then I’ll serve,” she explained. “It was a great career path for my dad.”
J.D. Vance, America’s vice-president-elect, tells a similar story. After high school, Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Using the G.I. Bill — a law that provides benefits for military veterans — Vance went on to study at Ohio State University.
Former ambassador says Canada has become ‘laggard,’ ‘irrelevant’ on defence spending
Former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney is calling Canada a “laggard,” and says the country needs to do “major work” on its defence spending if it wants to be taken seriously on other issues with the United States.
“If we expect to get any attention in Washington at all on anything, we’ve got to do major work on our defence capabilities,” Burney told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. “I mean, it really is dismal.”
Rory Gilfillan: Our once brave nation now leaves the fight to others
In the last gasps of the 1930s, prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made one last feeble attempt to keep Canada out of the Second World War. The policy would be called “limited liability.” Instead of supplying the soldiers needed to fight the coming war, Canada would instead provide grain to feed the Allies and train Commonwealth aircrews. While the policy was naïve it was at least understandable. In the First World War, Canada had lost 66,000 men and women. Out of a total population of nine million, this was no small thing. Everyone was connected. Everyone was impacted. And while we had fought valiantly, earning a seat at the peace talks in 1919, it hardly seemed worth the cost. Limited liability would be the last-ditch effort to avoid the gathering storm.
Canadians think there is not enough pride in the country’s military: poll
A large majority of Canadians will be observing Remembrance Day this year, most by wearing a poppy, but Quebecers tend to be less likely to observe the national day of remembrance than Canadians in other provinces, says a new poll.
The Postmedia-Leger poll looked at Canadians’ pride in the military, treatment of veterans and Remembrance Day.
It’s pretty obvious Trudeau and his government despise Canada’s military and its history, they turned the armed forces into a haven for cross-dressers and racist DEI cranks.
SLOBODIAN: CAF bans Remembrance Day prayer — again
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has resumed its full throttle attack on religious freedom.
But there’ll be a day of reckoning — like what occurred south of the border in Tuesday’s US election — for ideologues pushing God and freedom out of the picture, warned a military chaplain.
‘2032 is not good enough’: Kelly Craft says Canada has to spend faster on defence if Trump wins
The former U.S. ambassador to Canada, who served under former U.S. president Donald Trump, says Canada needs to spend more on defence, and do so faster than the federal government’s currently plans to.
“Canada, you can do better. I know you can do better,” Kelly Craft told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in a panel interview alongside former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton.