While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Murray Brewster.
New defence strategy has been in the works for more than a year. The Canadian government’s long-awaited defence industrial strategy formally landed on Tuesday and arrives in the shadow of a push by the Trump administration to further make the United States the arms-maker of choice among allies. The new strategy has been in the works for more than a...
Pact enhances collaboration on surveillance and joint operations. Canada and Denmark signed a defence co-operation agreement on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, setting the stage for a deeper partnership after the Trump administration threatened to annex Greenland. The agreement was signed by Defence Minister David McGuinty on Friday. Originally Prime Minister Mark Carney was supposed to be present...
A decade after the Department of National Defence pledged to fix systemic inequities facing military reservists, a new report from the Canadian Forces ombudsman concludes that little has changed — leaving ill and injured Primary Reserve members navigating a fragmented system marked by delays, confusion and unequal treatment. In the report — titled Marking Time: A Decade of Stalled Progress...
Report suggests alliances will require sustained work to survive. Almost every foreign diplomat you run across lately simply gushes about Prime Minister Mark Carney's Davos speech, and how his remarks about middle powers banding together went viral in Europe. As much as the speech represented a wake-up call for Canada and its allies, a new report that sets up the...
It's not much of a stretch to say that in terms of Canada-U.S. relations, we are — metaphorically speaking — at the point where we'd prefer to shoot the messenger, rather than listen to the message. In the view of some experts, the political and economic discourse is so distorted, so angry, so mashed up that important points of strategic...
The commander of the navy says there's no reason — in circumstances outside of war — to arm Canada's fleet of coast guard ships. And Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee tells CBC News that in the event of a conflict, there are potential ways the civilian vessels can be quickly given the equipment they need to defend themselves.
Trump threatening tariffs on European nations who oppose U.S. controlling Greenland. Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs on European nations unless they let him purchase and control the semiautonomous island. Two senior Canadian officials have told CBC News that...
In military deterrence lingo, what we're witnessing in Greenland is sometimes referred to as the "glass plate" or the "tripwire." It's a metaphor for breaking the glass — or crossing the threshold — between peace and war. Denmark announced Wednesday that it is bolstering its troop, naval and air presence in the Arctic island in conjunction with NATO allies.
There's been a subtle but significant shift in what NORAD has been seeing over the last year when it comes to mostly Russian — but also Chinese — activity in the Arctic, says the top commander of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). U.S. Gen. Gregory Guillot tells CBC News that air and sea incursions into the zones just...
Joint project with Eutelsat promoted by French president during G7 summit. A company largely owned by the French and U.K. governments is pitching Canada on a roughly $250-million plan to provide the military with secure satellite broadband coverage in the Arctic, CBC News has learned. Eutelsat, a rival to tech billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink, already provides some services to the...
U.S. action in Venezuela, Greenland comments cast shadow on peace negotiations. The catchphrase going into Tuesday's coalition of the willing meeting on Ukraine in Paris appears to be: expect the unexpected. That was clearly the vibe as leaders from the 30-or-so countries, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, gathered in the French capital.
Canada's defence establishment entering an era of bigger ambitions and budgets. The commander of the Royal Canadian Navy is floating the idea of an ice-capable amphibious landing ship to move troops and equipment around the country’s Arctic — and perhaps elsewhere. But Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is quick not to get his hopes up — and has even, occasionally, taken pains...
Mission to deter Russian aggression in Baltic region already Canada's largest overseas deployment. Canada’s military operations command has embarked on a study about how the country’s NATO deployment in Latvia can be realistically sustained into the future, and one of options could involve more permanent basing, says a senior commander. Lt.-Gen. Steve Boivin, the commander of the Canadian Joint Operations...
A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was warned repeatedly to stay away from a representative of that country's intelligence service and lied about the contacts he did have, military court records allege. Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar faces eight charges under the National Defence and Security of Information acts, including communicating "special operational information"...
A new study by the Center for European Policy Analysis suggests Russia and China are pulling ahead of NATO nations, including Canada, in the race to develop and field drones capable of operating in harsh Arctic conditions. The report, released this week, identified infrastructure gaps, questioned the adequacy of investment and pointed to procurement obstacles that hinder the integration of...
Army commander suggests rifles expected to be sourced from domestic supplier. A program intended to replace the entire stock of the Canadian military’s aging assault rifles is being sped up, CBC News has learned. An internal Department of National Defence presentation references a move to quickly order the first tranche of weapons under the Canadian Modular Assault Rifle program. The...
Supplementary reserve of 300,000 citizens envisioned. The Department of National Defence is scrambling to figure out how it will clothe, equip and train hundreds of thousands of new reservists envisioned under an ambitious mobilization proposal that Canada’s top military commander describes as a work in progress. Similarly, in what may be an ominous sign of the times, the department has...
The Canadian military is undertaking a structural reorganization designed to make the force more nimble and adaptable to new technology, the Department of National Defence said Thursday. Following the lead of allies such as Australia, it has created a new joint forces command that will house major support elements such as military health services, logistics and operational support branches and...
Witnessing the ongoing public debate about fighter jets and submarines this fall has felt a lot like watching people argue over baseball, hockey or some other team sport. Naturally, it has been particularly uncompromising online where the characteristics and quirks of each aircraft and boat have been analyzed to the nth degree with the kind of fan worship usually reserved...
Should Canada choose to fly the Swedish-built Gripen-E, the country’s air force could receive the first aircraft as quickly — or perhaps even sooner — than the long-awaited American-manufactured F-35, the CEO of Saab signalled Thursday. Micael Johansson also said the defence giant is willing to set up not only an assembly factory in Canada, but a full-fledged manufacturing centre...
Instructions formally submitted to German, South Korean firms. Canada has formally issued firm bidding instructions to the two companies vying to build the navy’s new submarines, CBC News has learned. The document went out to ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany and Hanwha Ocean Co. Ltd. of South Korea last week.
Canada’s top flight aviation industry and aerospace expertise makes it an ideal place to expand aircraft production, including Saab’s Gripen jet fighter, to meet the needs of Ukraine’s fledgling air force, said Sweden’s defence minister. Pals Jonson made the comments on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, David McGuinty, and amid the ongoing debate about whether Canada...
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly pitted two giant defence companies against one another on Tuesday for the future of Canada's fighter fleet, saying the $27-billion contract to buy 88 U.S.-made F-35 jets doesn’t deliver enough jobs for workers in this country — and that the public expects a better deal.
Transferring aircraft will help Ottawa meet NATO's new spending target. Transport Canada will be surrendering most — if not all — of its aviation wing to the Department of Defence in a plan that’s shrouded in secrecy. The move of the federal department’s “core aviation services” was flagged in the recent federal budget. It has the potential to affect the...
Advances in DNA technology mean there will likely be no more unknown soldiers in future wars, experts say. It’s often said no one has ever truly died as long as you remember them and speak their name. It's more complicated but nonetheless true for Canada’s Unknown Soldier, who was laid to rest under the frozen, watchful gaze of his Great...
Prime minister says he's '100 per cent confident' the budget is right for the country. Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled on Saturday that he’s prepared to fight an election over his government’s upcoming budget should it come to that. The fiscal plan will be tabled in the minority Parliament on Tuesday, but it is far from clear whether the governing...
PMO says there will be no further comment on the Ontario government ad that derailed U.S. trade talks. The question of whether or not the prime minister and his chief of staff saw and approved — either directly or tacitly — an Ontario government anti-tariff ad that set off U.S. President Donald Trump followed Mark Carney to Singapore on Tuesday...
Canada is shooting for a free trade deal with ASEAN countries, but there's no quick fix. Prime Minister Mark Carney is due to arrive in Malaysia on Saturday in search of trade opportunities with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). But the question on everyone’s mind is whether he’ll get any facetime with the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who...
Donald Trump, Xi Jinping expected at APEC summit in South Korea. Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to walk an international tightrope over the next week as he departs Friday for a set of Indo-Pacific Summit meetings, one of which involves both the United States and China. The challenge will involve staying on the relative good side of U.S. President...
A contract to supply Ukraine with refurbished light armoured vehicles is officially dead, the defence minister told a House of Commons committee on Tuesday. The Department of National Defence gave 25 decommissioned troop carriers to Armatec Survivability in Dorchester, Ont., located outside of London, almost two years ago, to be rebuilt. The now-defunct project was driven by the defence department...
DND, federal agency refuse to comment on state of the program. Ukraine has yet to receive the more than two dozen refurbished light armoured vehicles Canada promised to the war-torn country in September 2023, CBC News has learned. The vehicles remain stuck in bureaucratic and corporate limbo — even though the Department of National Defence delivered the decommissioned vehicles to...
Plötner says German shipbuilder is open to the idea — all Canada has to do is ask. There's nothing stopping Canada from building half — maybe more — of the dozen submarines it intends to buy for the navy, Germany's armament state secretary tells CBC News. Jens Plötner says the decision would be up to the Canadian government, but the...
Agency mandated to work more closely with allies including U.K., Australia and France. The Liberal government has unveiled its long-awaited, long-promised agency to co-ordinate and speed up the purchase and delivery of equipment to the Canadian military. The new Defence Investment Agency (DIA) was announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney's office in a statement Thursday morning.
As the Carney government tries to breathe life back into Canada's military and its industrial base with a new federal agency, it's being told it needs to make the distinction between defence procurement and defence production. The contrast in language may be subtle, but from a public policy and political perspective it would be a radical shift in mindset for...
Expert says Russia's trial balloons are straight out of Cold War playbook. Some things fly underneath the radar, both figuratively and literally. A Canadian expert on Russian warfare says he believes a direct line can be drawn between Moscow's repeated testing of the airspace belonging to NATO allies in Eastern Europe and the Pentagon's recent, quietly announced plan to cut...
Transport Canada scaled back its summertime surveillance of the Arctic this year for pollution, endangered whale protection and marine safety, CBC News has learned. The decision to limit overflights comes at a time of increased political and national security attention on the region and five years after the department promised to deploy a drone for heightened vigilance.
The Canadian Army does not have enough vehicles to support both the brigade in Latvia and a similar-sized training exercise in Canada, a House of Commons committee was told on Thursday. Maj.-Gen. Robert Ritchie, the director of the strategic joint staff (the military's nerve centre), told the defence committee that over 400 vehicles of all types have been deployed for...
Defence Minister David McGuinty is clearly getting tired of being asked about the soon-to-be-completed review of Canada's purchase of F-35 fighters from the United States. "You've heard me on this before," he told journalists on Tuesday, with uncharacteristic frankness. "The F-35 review is continuing. It's — I have nothing else to say at this stage." The poor man hasn't been...
Spending on major military projects must boost economy, says Carney's defence procurement secretary of state. Ottawa will favour the pitch that creates the most Canadian jobs when it decides whether to award a contract for a dozen new submarines to a German or a South Korean consortium, the government's point person for military procurement says. The comments from Liberal MP...
Canadian units deemed combat ineffective in recent training exercise. Prime Minister Mark Carney recently walked a gauntlet of parked military gear while visiting Canadian and allied troops in Latvia. All of it was spit and polish, some draped in camouflage and looking showroom ready, if not somewhat menacing. It was an impressive, seemingly substantive, display of combat power.
How much to spend and where to buy equipment are the political choices Carney faces. There was a particularly striking moment last week in Warsaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney renewed his friendship with Poland's Donald Tusk, a flash that subtly captured the stark choices Canada will likely face in the not-too-distant future. Carney was genuine in his praise of...
Hanwha Ocean boasts first 4 subs would come before 2035. Competition to build Canada's new fleet of submarines kicked up a notch Wednesday with the South Korean bidder reiterating its pledge to deliver more boats faster than its German rival. Hanwha Ocean Ltd., in a statement, expressed its appreciation for the Liberal government's decision this week to narrow the field...
PM Carney meeting chancellor, attending business roundtable in Berlin. As he delivered the hard sell pitch last spring for Canada to buy his submarines, Oliver Burkhard, the CEO Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (tkMS), used the phrase "strategic partnership" half a dozen times. Canada would be part of "a family," he said. We will — perhaps — soon get a better...
The Canadian Army is now dealing with another incident of alleged hateful conduct that involves Quebec-based soldiers caught on video allegedly partying while some people at the event delivered Nazi salutes. In a statement, Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the commander of the army, said the video was brought to his attention on Aug. 6, and an immediate internal investigation was launched...
There was an interesting — albeit brief — recent eruption of clarity in the ongoing saga of whether Canada intends to proceed with the full order of American-made F-35 fighters. It was courtesy of the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, who perhaps spoke the quiet part out loud last week in an interview with Canadian independent podcaster Jasmin Laine...
DND stats show reported incidents almost doubled compared to previous year. The Canadian military has witnessed a resurgence in hateful conduct and racism reports over the last year following several years of decline, according to data obtained by CBC News. The detailed information comes as the army deals with a fresh set of extremism and disreputable conduct allegations.
As NATO nations, including Canada, ramp up rearmament, they are increasingly confronted with various ghosts of the Cold War, notably the resilience of Russian industry and its capacity to be able to deliver weapons — that while often technologically inferior to the West — are "good enough" to wage war. Moscow's ability to produce en masse drones, missiles, aircraft and...
Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright spoke to CBC News about investigations into alleged extremist activities, Facebook group. The credibility and reputation of the Canadian Army is once again being questioned following an investigation into alleged extremist activities involving soldiers in Quebec and revelations of inappropriate social media posts by members of an Ottawa-based reserve unit, the country's army commander acknowledged Wednesday.
The officer in charge of a Canadian Army brigade has stepped down in the aftermath of a controversy over a now-defunct Facebook group where members of an Ottawa-based reserve unit allegedly posted hateful and inappropriate content. CBC News has learned Col. James McKay, the commander of the 33 Canadian Brigade Group, told staff late last week that he has relinquished...
There was a remarkably salient moment at a recent journalism conference in Seoul where participants from 50 countries debated climate change and its effect on both the literal and political landscape of the world. The consensus, albeit a rough one, was that the public — from Azerbaijan to Zaire — was exhausted by the issue. It was tough to get...
The Canadian military and possibly the coast guard appear to have been keeping tabs on a Chinese research vessel as it returns to Arctic waters off Alaska for the second year in a row. Data compiled by an independent researcher and ship tracker, Steffan Watkins, shows a Canadian air force CP-140 surveillance plane was flying in the vicinity of the...
Government has levers it can pull in times of urgency. By anyone's measure, $150 billion a year is an eye-watering amount of money to spend on anything — let alone defence. While it pales in comparison to the inflation-adjusted appropriations of the Second World War, it is potentially, for this generation, the very definition of beating ploughshares into swords. Or is it?
There was a particularly telling moment at a bygone NATO summit about four years ago, which perfectly captured the sometimes capricious way the Western military alliance regards Ukraine. The secretary general of the day, the often unflappable Jens Stoltenberg, was asked about the Eastern European country's long-standing bid to join the allies. At that point, Ukraine had been waiting more...
Signing on to NATO's new defence spending target could cost the federal treasury up to $150 billion a year, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday in advance of the Western military alliance's annual summit. The prime minister made the comments in an interview with CNN International. "It is a lot of money," Carney said.
Carney has been open to more spending — but hasn’t committed to 5%. Short and sweet is not usually a phrase associated with the annual NATO leaders' summit, but arguably that's what many member nations are hoping for as U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the table. The gathering of allied leaders will be the first for Prime Minister Mark...
Bart De Wever says Iran is a sponsor of terrorism and should never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. There was little sympathy for Iran and reluctant backing for regime change among some European leaders, following the weekend airstrikes by the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities. On Monday, newly minted conservative Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever described...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Brussels to meet with EU members. Canada and Europe will be drawn a little closer together on Monday as Prime Minister Mark Carney signs a strategic defence and security partnership with the European Union. The agreement will open the door for Canadian companies to participate in the $1.25-trillion ReArm Europe program, which is seen...
Former military language and cultural advisers — who at times carried out some of the most difficult and dangerous assignments of Canada's war in Afghanistan — are now suing the federal government for discrimination over the alleged failure to properly train and take care of them following their service alongside combat troops, CBC News has learned.
Officials pitch working with long-standing traditional NATO allies for military buildup. Senior German and Norwegian defence officials say they're confident Canada will sign on to the ReArm Europe plan in the coming weeks and such a move will make it easier for the Liberal government to buy new submarines from allies. Jasper Wieck, the political director of the German Ministry...
At the onset of the First World War, Britain's veritable foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, remarked that the lamps were going out all over Europe and "we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." The metaphor has long been considered as the unofficial epitaph to what at the time was the longest run of peace and prosperity on...