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I regularly listen to the Defence Deconstructed podcast, which regularly delves into a range of topics concerning the Canadian Armed Forces (the CAF). Recently, I listened to a conversation that discussed the brutal Wall Street Journal opinion piece that took Canada to task for its anemic defence spending, which is approximately 1.3% of GDP. Inarguably, it was the single most damning piece of opinion regarding the sorry state of Canada’s defence capabilities in recent memory. In listening to the conversation…
Canada’s Policy Position on the Ukraine War: The Ugly Reasons Canada’s number one foreign policy challenge is Ukraine. To date, Canada has sunk nearly $3 billion into this war and Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have been full-throated in their support for Ukraine and its entry into NATO. To many, Justin Trudeau is an unserious person who cares very little about foreign policy issues. To that, add the fact the man seems a bit of a pacifist, or at the…
There have been two recent articles here in Canada about Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) that identified issues within Canada’s special forces community. The first addresses a number of HR issues within Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2). These issues range from burnout to the mishandling of sexual violence allegations. The second article outlines what I would call the “poor cousin syndrome” that various units in the CANSOFCOM have toward JTF-2, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) tier-one fighting unit. In…
Recently, I wrote a detailed blog on why the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) can’t meet its recruiting targets. Further to that post, the CAF announced it would allow Permanent Residents (PRs) to apply to the CAF. Subsequently, it was announced that 2,400 PRs applied to the CAF. This was an important and positive policy change for the CAF. If done well, recruiting, training and holding onto PRs could go some distance to increasing the CAF’s enrollment numbers and increasing the…
I did some reading up on Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the consensus seems to be that it’s a step in the right direction but that it is also modest. In Take Whiteman and its sequel, China plays a role, but it’s primarily in the background. In my novels, the United States is in the midst of a civil war and has largely pulled back from its international commitments. I have also assumed China has taken Taiwan and is asserting itself…
If Canada Invested 2 percent of its GDP in defence what would the Canadian Armed Forces (the CAF) look like? The following analysis is for the purpose of having a bit of fun and creating discussion. My novel, Take Whiteman is entirely fiction. What’s below is also speculative. It is a thought experiment. It’s particularly timely in light of what has transpired in the Ukraine. Several journalists have been hand wringing over Canada’s paltry defence spending. Well, here’s something they…
Canada’s legacy in Afghanistan – Four book recommendations
The Answer is… Yes! Now before I get into this topic, let me hedge everything that follows with this statement: Nothing in the article is meant to be a takedown of the men and women who serve within the Royal Canadian Navy. Every day, they do the best job they can do with the equipment they have and the mission they are given. They are a dedicated, competent, and admirable group of people. And I daresay, that in researching this…
It should be Sweden’s J-39 Gripen So if you’re reading this there’s a good chance you read my book, Take Whiteman. Take Whiteman is fiction of course, but there are real world events that I like to offer my two cents on. Defence matters is one of those topics. And what fighter jet Canada is going to select in the coming months is perhaps the biggest defence policy issue in Canada right now. So to give my readers some unsolicited…
