Jan 11 2020 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A NATO team has been meeting at the U.S. State Department in recent days to draft proposals on what an expanded alliance presence in the Middle East would like. But Canada’s foreign affairs minister says NATO’s acceptance of a redefined mission could depend upon how willing the Americans are to stick around — particularly in […]
Jan 10 2020 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a direct plea to his Iranian counterpart to ensure that Canadian aviation safety officials are included in the investigation into the downing of Flight PS752. The appeal was made Thursday during a telephone call between the two leaders, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, Andriy Shevchenko, told CBC News. It is […]
Jan 6 2020 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The future of Canada’s military mission in the Middle East was thrown into confusion Monday as a leaked letter — later dismissed by the head of the U.S. military as merely a draft — suggested the U.S. was prepared to withdraw its troops from Iraq and move them elsewhere. Media reports about the letter from […]
Dec 24 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Canada’s new frigates are being designed with ballistic missile defence in mind, even though successive federal governments have avoided taking part in the U.S. program. When they slip into the water some time in the mid-to-late 2020s, the new warships probably won’t have the direct capability to shoot down incoming intercontinental rockets. But the decisions […]
Dec 23 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The Department of National Defence has faced some tough, pointed questions about whether it has chosen the right radar, main gun and close air defence systems for the navy’s new frigates, which will soon hit the drawing board. An unsolicited defence industry slide deck presentation, obtained by CBC News, questions each of those key components […]
Dec 22 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The Canadian navy will take possession of two Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships in the new year — and it looks like they’ll be spending as much time in the sunny south as they do in the Far North. Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, the commander of the navy, told CBC News recently that military planners see the […]
Dec 19 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A Quebec shipyard that was once at the centre of the now-dropped criminal case against former Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is now formally in line to become the federal government’s third go-to shipbuilder. Public Services and Procurement Canada announced Thursday that Chantier Davie, located in Levis, Que., has pre-qualified for the position and could potentially join […]
Dec 16 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A veteran political organizer and businessman will step into the federal Conservative leadership race to replace Andrew Scheer, CBC News has learned. Bryan Brulotte, the CEO and chair of employment firm MaxSys Staffing and Consulting, said late Sunday he intends to run. “I’m in,” he said in a telephone interview. “I’ll need to see what […]
Dec 15 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The unrelenting tide of anti-government violence in Iraq — including targeted killings of protesters and gruesome reprisals — hasn’t derailed Canadian and NATO military training missions in the country, but it has made them more challenging, a top Canadian general told CBC News. “I’m concerned about what has been happening in Iraq over the last […]
Dec 13 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s new marching orders from the prime minister put special emphasis on the expensive and politically touchy necessity of renewing Canada’s commitment with the United States to defend the skies and sea lane approaches to North America. The minister’s mandate letter, signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was released Friday and also […]
Dec 7 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — It was perhaps the most jaw-dropping moment in Donald Trump’s impromptu, marathon news conference — an event which, along with the NATO leaders summit that provided the occasion, was already crowded with jaw-dropping moments. “Right now, the only soldiers we have in that area are essentially the soldiers that are keeping the oil,” the U.S. […]
Dec 3 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Canada is “slightly delinquent” when it comes to meeting NATO’s target for spending on defence, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday on the eve of the military alliance’s 70th anniversary celebrations. He seemed ready to go easy on Ottawa, however — telling journalists in a wide-ranging news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning […]
Dec 3 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit the ground running on Tuesday with a series of courtesy calls in London ahead of the NATO summit with other world leaders. Trudeau met with Prince Charles at Clarence House, the royal residence that had been home to Queen Mother. There have been reports in Britain that the prince […]
Dec 3 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — It’s the bureaucratic equivalent of searching behind the couch cushions for loose change: the semi-regular exercise of finding federal expenses to include in Canada’s annual calculation of defence spending. And it appears federal officials have gotten quite good at it. Documents and briefing notes released to CBC News under access to information legislation follow the […]
Dec 2 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be hitching rides on a variety of air force planes for the foreseeable future. The CF-150 Polaris Airbus that usually shuttles the prime minister to world events is out of commission following a hangar accident last month. The nearly 30-year-old passenger aircraft, which is specially outfitted with a private cabin, […]