National Defence committee  Perhaps I can just say a couple of words. I would say that you're correct. I mean, there is an issue with countries that have a capability, or at least a perceived capability, like North Korea, or Iran for that matter. The very reason the NATO missile defence shield was establi

National Defence committee  I would only add that Canada joined the consensus on missile defence for European nations. That was very clear, and it was very clearly specified that Canada agreed to that because of the sensitivities of North America, of course. I know that it signed up to missile defence for E

National Defence committee  I can add a few comments. You've hit on something that's been an issue for a long time, certainly in my time in NATO. Both in my time here as the chief, but particularly when I was there in Brussels, it was clear that Canadian companies were probably not getting as much work as

National Defence committee  As I think everyone is aware, Canada withdrew from Afghanistan in particular. Although it wasn't the only nation to withdraw, it did withdraw most, if not all, of its forces ultimately. The withdrawal from the AWACS program, the withdrawal from air-ground surveillance at about th

National Defence committee  It was diminished. Our influence, perhaps more correctly, was diminished as a result of it. I was asked about it on more than one occasion when I visited NATO, and I used to be able to get to NATO about every six months or so. It was a question asked not only by NATO practition

National Defence committee  That's a decision the Government of Canada makes for its own reasons. But from my perspective, from a contribution point of view, it was certainly a diminishing of our operational contribution to NATO that I certainly would have liked to see remain in place.

National Defence committee  Canada is already doing a lot to help relieve that by the projection of forces. If we want to talk about projecting stability, Canada is doing that not only in the Baltics but also in Ukraine and through the training programs it contributes to in other areas, the air support that

National Defence committee  I could add to that, if you'd like, only because I have the agenda in front of me.

National Defence committee  I have the major lines, anyway. What Mr. Scheid has already passed you is quite accurate, by the way. There are five key themes for this upcoming summit. One of them will be defence and deterrence, and enhancing that even beyond what it is now. We've discussed that a bit, so t

National Defence committee  Canada will have a role to play in terms of North Atlantic Council decision-making, because it is consensus-based decision-making. For that very reason, we'll at least be involved in the discussions of deterrence and the postures. The deterrence, of course, is not just convention

National Defence committee  I think the U.S. is still in consonance with the INF treaty. To me, NATO and the U.S. are pretty much in lockstep, I would offer. The U.S., obviously, has the largest nuclear arsenal, if you want to talk about a deterrent arsenal, along with the U.K. and France. So I don't think

National Defence committee  I was just researching something here. Could you repeat the basic part of the question?

National Defence committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Robillard. In fact, I know the AWACS operations well, and I know what they mean for the Alliance. I flew on AWACS aircraft when I was chairman of the military committee. Canadians' contribution to the air force during their decades of participati

National Defence committee  Good morning, distinguished members of the standing committee and ladies and gentlemen. Bonjour. I've already been introduced by the chair. Thank you very much for that. I've also been engaged at the industry level, I might add, for about 10 years now, ever since my retirement.