Canada’s security is languishing under the Trudeau government

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the Canadian economy, it also lays bare Canada’s vulnerability to increasingly hostile foreign actors. The Liberal defence plan, Strong, Secure, Engaged, left Canada ill-prepared for the real world. The new reality of COVID-19, the return of great-power rivalry, and interrupted supply chains for critical equipment, is causing Canadians to doubt whether this Liberal government is capable of protecting Canada’s security and sovereignty. Before the pandemic, the Liberal government failed to deliver the critical equipment our Canadian Armed Forces need to protect us on the land, sea, and in the air, and is compromising our ability to continue to contribute meaningfully to our NORAD and NATO alliances in the future. Now, amassing record amounts of pandemic debt, the Liberals risk pushing already delayed defence procurements even further into the future, jeopardizing projects like the fighter-jet replacement program, the Canadian Surface Combatant frigates, and derailing the Arctic and offshore patrol ships. Critical projects long-ignored by the Liberals risk never seeing the light of day under this government, such as upgrading our North Warning System and replacing our Chrétien-era submarines. This equipment is not a luxury in today’s world, but is essential to protecting our sovereignty as a country. The American military has been clear and is on the record; it is not the policy of the United States of America to defend Canada against a long-range missile strike by the likes of North Korea. Unfortunately, beginning negotiations to join the American Ballistic Missile Defence program has never been on the Liberal agenda. And under the Trudeau government, Canada has only contributed token support to our allies and allowed our participation on UN missions to slide to the lowest levels on record. So what is their plan to protect our Arctic sovereignty, defend our airspace, and patrol our three coasts? We have no modern fighter jets to defend our airspace. We have no heavy ice-breakers or submarines with under-ice capabilities to patrol our Arctic. And, our frigates project is grossly over-budget even before the steel is cut, leading some experts to muse we may never afford them. COVID-19 should have served as a wake-up call. Instead, the Liberals carry on with their failing defence plan as though nothing has changed. In a world of pandemics and fragile supply chains, it is a matter of national security that Canada cut the red tape on defence procurement, and foster domestic defence capabilities we can rely on in times of crisis. We saw the evidence during the pandemic as countries scrambled to buy up stocks of personal protective equipment and ventilators to keep their citizens alive. It was quickly understood that domestic production of these critical materials was essential, a matter of national security, and so the re-tooling began by Canadian companies to meet that need. Sadly, it was a lesson learned too late. The Liberals are failing to apply this lesson to national defence. We must identify what our core defence competencies are, and make sure we are putting Canadian technology into Canadian ships, jets, and vehicles. The ability to build and maintain our own defence equipment capability inside our own country at times of crisis, along with our Five Eyes partners, is critical to maintaining our sovereignty. Justin Trudeau’s weak leadership in the face of an increasingly aggressive Communist Chinese regime in Beijing should worry Canadians. The Liberal foreign policy of appeasing China has failed to ban Huawei from our 5G network, failed our farmers, failed the unjust detention of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, and failed our entire population fighting COVID-19. A reset of foreign policy doesn’t seem likely under this Trudeau government. Despite the global crisis, it is no closer to identifying its foreign policy objectives and aligning our defence objectives accordingly. So, it should come as no surprise the Liberals fumbled the ball throughout the pandemic in securing critical medical equipment, handing sole-sourced contracts to Liberal friends and questionably classifying COVID contracts as “secret” under national security exemptions. While Trudeau was busy trying to shovel record amounts of money out the door to his friends at WE, Vladimir Putin was busy conducting complex Arctic military exercises right on our Arctic doorstep. Despite warnings from defence experts to take note of Russia’s newly demonstrated ability to seize Arctic islands, even in bad weather, Trudeau kept his head firmly planted in the snow. The Liberals are unwilling to do the hard work necessary to equip Canada to face these emerging threats to our Arctic sovereignty. Trudeau has failed the test of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic due to his arrogance and entitlement. If the Liberals remain in power, Canada’s security and sovereignty will be increasingly vulnerable and compromised, especially when forced to confront the next global crisis. It’s all just a matter of time. James Bezan is the MP for Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman, Man., and the Conservative Party critic for defence. The Hill Times