National Defence Committee on June 3rd, 2026

[Kate Kaminska, Director General, BOREALIS Joint Program Office, Defence Research and Development Canada, Department of National Defence]

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.

I am pleased to be here to discuss the bureau of research, engineering and advanced leadership in innovation and science—better known as BOREALIS—and its role in strengthening Canada's defence innovation ecosystem.

As the committee has heard from previous witnesses, Canada has world-class talent, cutting-edge research and globally competitive firms. The challenge is to ensure that sovereign Canadian technologies can move more quickly from research and development to operational use in support of Canada's defence and security.

BOREALIS was created as part of Canada's defence industrial strategy to help accelerate that transition. Its focus is on strengthening the pathways among research, development, testing and operational adoption by better connecting government, industry, academia and military end-users around shared mission priorities.

A key component of this effort is the development of the Defence Innovation Secure Hubs, or DISHs. These hubs provide secure environments in which Canadian companies, researchers and government can work together to design, prototype, test and refine their technologies.

In November 2025, a pilot maritime DISH was established in Halifax, focused on the undersea domain. It includes technology such as autonomous systems, advanced sensing and AI-enabled analytics. The pilot has already supported collaborative testing and experimentation activities, which are helping Canadian companies evaluate and refine their technologies for defence purposes.

BOREALIS is working closely with the IDEaS program to help accelerate the transition of promising Canadian technologies into operational use in support of the Canadian Army's Minerva initiative. The project is advancing practical, cost-effective, drone-based targeting and range-finding capabilities that have the potential to enhance battlefield awareness.

In closing, BOREALIS represents an effort to strengthen Canada's ability to translate research excellence into operational capability.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you.

We'll start the next five minutes, please.

[Kendal Hembroff, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Industry Sector, Department of Industry]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As you know, Canada published its first defence industrial strategy in February. The release of the strategy serves as a historic first step, setting out a whole-of-government framework that will guide Canada's defence investments. Our focus is now on execution and delivering results for the Canadian Armed Forces and our allies while ensuring that every dollar maximizes jobs, industries and economic benefits for Canadians.

ISED's role in the development of the strategy is to ensure that we are leveraging the full breadth of Canada's economy through a comprehensive package of industrial policy measures anchored within Canada's broader industrial strategy. As the federal government's home for industrial policy and one of the strategy's co-leading departments, ISED is playing a key role in implementing the DIS.

Committee members will have seen that the strategy includes commitments to invest in Canadian research and innovation, with a focus on the 10 sovereign capabilities, through a variety of different federal programs. This includes investments to accelerate cutting-edge defence and dual-use research and development, to anchor top Canadian quantum companies and talent, to bolster access to capital to support commercialization and scale-up, and to help integrate Canadian small and medium-sized businesses into defence supply chains, among other things.

For example, that includes the Business Development Bank of Canada's defence platform, which provides up to $6 billion in financing, venture capital and advisory services to help SMEs innovate and grow.

As announced by the Business Development Bank of Canada earlier this year, the platform has already provided more than $91 million in financing, and it recently made its first investment through its NordFort venture capital fund to support the development of stratospheric drone technologies.

Programs such as Innovative Solutions Canada and the strategic response fund also play an important role in furthering Canada's defence and dual-use technology objectives. Since May 2025, for instance, Innovative Solutions Canada has worked with national defence to provide over $128 million to Canadian companies to further the development, testing and adoption of made-in-Canada defence, dual-use and quantum solutions.

In recognition of the challenges that many companies face in navigating federal programming, the defence industrial strategy also committed to establishing the launch of a new concierge service, which was officially launched at CANSEC last week. This service will build on ISED's existing expertise to support those Canadian companies working on defence technologies that are linked to the sovereign capabilities by serving as a coordinated, single-window approach to navigating government programs, provincial partners, services and export opportunities.

The strategy also included a commitment to modernize Canada's industrial and technological benefits policy, or ITB policy. Updates to this policy were announced last week by the Prime Minister. In alignment with the defence industrial strategy, these updates will maximize the economic and industrial benefits that we derive from procurement. Key changes to the ITB policy are designed to direct investments by contractors to areas that will have the greatest impact on creating a more dynamic, competitive and resilient Canadian defence industrial base.

This includes, among other things, enhanced incentives for working with and investing in small and scaling firms, as well as leveraging Canadian supply chains. It also includes credits for strategic investments that will grow domestic production and IP transfer, as well as new multipliers for workforce development, including indigenous training and development.

This is the current ISED function that Secretary of State Fuhr mentioned will be transferring to the Defence Investment Agency later this summer.

The strategy also sets out a vision to work differently with Canadian industry, and we have achieved some early results on this front.

As announced by the Prime Minister at CANSEC, the government has published a new strategic partnership framework. This framework sets out how the government will work more closely with industry to advance key sovereign capabilities, through more structured and sustained engagement, aligned with our defence and security priorities.

The defence investment agency will lead the identification of new strategic partners in collaboration with ISED and national defence, as opportunities arise.

The strategy recognizes that strong returns on our investments will be critical. To this end, the strategy sets clear and ambitious targets to measure success.

Do you want me to stop here? I can.

I'm happy to answer any questions about the economic targets.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you so much. I'm sorry to cut you off.

We're now going to start with our first round. We're going to have five minutes each, folks.

I'm going to start with Mr. Kibble.

It's over to you, sir.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our panel for their interesting information.

Ms. Hadwen, you mentioned the 3.5% NATO GDP goal of spending.

What year was that for, if you could refresh my memory?

[Wendy Hadwen]

It was 2030.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

In 2030.... Thank you.

Right now, the government has self-reported 2% spending to NATO.

Are you aware that this is not verified by NATO, but that it's just self-reporting, and NATO accepts that?

[Wendy Hadwen]

I'm sorry. Could you repeat the...?

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

It's the 2% that's self-reported to NATO. They just say, “Okay. Yes, we accept that.”

[Wendy Hadwen]

The reporting to NATO is consistent with the NATO standards and is verified by NATO.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

It meets all NATO standards. In the NATO standard, it says that coast guards would be required to deploy to an operational theatre. They need to have that capability to be counted under that 2% spending, whereas our Coast Guard, as we've heard under testimony, is definitely not capable.

I'm giving that as one example of not meeting the proper spending in it's self-reporting to NATO. In fact, I would refer to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which is the global standard on determining government spending. They've singled out Canada, saying that we've only actually spent 1.5% that has met the NATO spending requirement. We have not met it, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's study, and we have been singled out by them.

What makes up that other...? That's a lot of money—another 0.5% of our GDP—that doesn't qualify as NATO spending, according to them.

[Wendy Hadwen]

Thank you for the question.

I know you will have the chief financial officer for National Defence here, likely for estimates or some other appearance. I might recommend that they would be the person who is able to speak to this—

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Okay, that's fair.

Is there anyone else on the panel who could explain how that half a per cent of Canada's GDP simply does not meet the requirements of NATO? Is there no one?

Okay. I'd like to move on to a different topic.

We talked about maximizing spending and the efficient spending of dollars for the defence investment strategy, and I think that's commendable. We also want to get the right things that we need.

However, testimony from industry leaders we had here earlier at the committee was that there was no national security plan. They agreed with me that with no national security plan and no national capability inventory, it makes it very difficult for them to work together and to determine what we need to purchase for Canada.

Would you agree, then, that we are missing a national security plan as the underpinning to determine what we need in terms of the proper equipment and the capabilities that we wish to bring forward?

Perhaps Ms. Folkes can start.

[Paula Folkes, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services]

Thank you for the question.

As you know, establishing a national security plan would be under the purview of departments such as the Department of National Defence and, obviously, with international ramifications, Global Affairs Canada would likely play into such a strategy.

I understand that we're here today to talk about the defence industrial strategy, and all I can say is that build-partner-buy involves not only a domestic focus, but also a broadening of our trade relationships and, when we must, buying from trusted partners—

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you.

Very quickly, then, a national security plan would look at things like cognitive warfare, prekinetic threats, coercive trade, election interference and organized crime. These are things that would determine the threats Canada is facing. I see none of that in the defence investment strategy. Industry has pointed out that we need this national security plan to efficiently guide us. We can buy these tanks, these ships or those rifles, but if we don't know what it is that we need, it does not seem to meet....

I don't know if anyone would agree, but as Ms. Hembroff said, we want to maximize the efficient spending of our money. Without that underpinning, without assessing all these multiple threats that we face, it seems to be willy-nilly. Would anyone agree or disagree with that? If you disagree, why?

[Wendy Hadwen]

Mr. Chair, if I may, I'll start, and my colleague Kendal will likely add something.

We are currently operating with the defence policy, “Our North, Strong and Free”, from 2024, which is pretty clear in its articulations of the threats Canada faces.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Does it include some of those threats? Are they even addressed?

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you. You are out of time. I apologize.

I will now move over to Ms. Lori Idlout for five minutes.

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Qujannamiik, Chair.

Qujannamiik to the witnesses for appearing.

It's June and it's National Indigenous History Month. Naturally I'll be asking about indigenous peoples. I wonder if each of the witnesses can share with us what government and industry can do to make sure there are increased indigenous opportunities.

How can they take more opportunities to make sure they are more engaged? I think we all know that there are challenges when it comes to increasing the engagement of indigenous peoples: first nations, Métis and Inuit. I would love to hear from each of you about how we can make sure there is an increased engagement from first nations, Métis and Inuit.

[Kendal Hembroff]

I suspect that probably we will all have things to add, but I'll start, and I'll try to be brief.

The concierge service I mentioned, which was recently launched, will be especially beneficial to SMEs, and I would certainly encourage indigenous businesses to reach out. It is intended to help those companies pathfind through the federal system.

The second thing I'll mention is that I talked about changes to the industrial and technological benefits policy. We introduced a brand new multiplier for workforce development, which is a five-times multiplier. We also increased the current multiplier that we have for indigenous skills and training to 10 times, and that is the largest multiplier we have under the ITB policy, in recognition of its importance.

[Wendy Hadwen]

The success of the defence industrial strategy will definitely require working more closely and differently with indigenous partners, particularly because indigenous partnership in the defence industrial base will position us well for the activities we have planned for the north.

I can speak about the northern operational support hubs, which will establish a dispersed network of principal hubs and secondary nodes to provide critical infrastructure and logistical support for military operations in the north. Colleagues are regularly doing consultations in all communities and with rights holders, organizations and delivery partners to make sure that everything we do is something we are doing in collaboration with communities.

The northern operational support hubs emphasize collaboration with indigenous partners, communities and regional governments to align the military operational requirements with shared regional priorities. Specifically, these concern dual-use infrastructure: airports, seaports, medical capacity and alternative power generation. The northern operational support hubs will not only strengthen Canada's defence posture but also enhance community well-being, resilience and economic opportunity.

[Kate Kaminska]

To add to what my colleague was saying, Mr. Chair, certainly from the perspective of BOREALIS, we are very interested in ensuring that we leverage indigenous knowledge. Increasingly, as we move towards working in the Arctic and the north as a strategic area of interest for national defence, we're making sure that when we do consult and do source the best and brightest innovators from across the country, we include, of course, the indigenous communities in that.

We've been very intentional with our outreach activities. For example, we held an industry day for BOREALIS earlier this year. We made sure to reach out to indigenous organizations and participants to ensure that they also had the opportunity to participate, hear what we had to offer and, it is hoped, see themselves in the types of research priorities we see for BOREALIS going forward.

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Do I have enough time...?

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

You do have some time left.

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

That's excellent.

Wendy, maybe you could remind us of something. In Nunavut, I know there was huge excitement about the announcements of which communities were selected for NOSHs and nodes. Can you list them off for us, please?