REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE |
TUESDAY, June 14, 2005 |
The Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence
has the honour to table its
ELEVENTH REPORT
Your Committee, which was authorized by the Senate on Wednesday, October 20 2004, to examine and report on the national security policy for Canada, now reports that between Friday May 6, 2005, and Thursday May 12, 2005, it travelled to London, England, Brussels, Belgium and Mons, Belgium to conduct fact-finding discussions with senior officials from the British government and armed forces, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and academics.
British Government and Armed Forces
As part of these meetings, the Committee held substantive discussions with:
Colonel Nick Ashmore, Director, Directorate of Army Resources and Plans, UK Armed Forces;
Mr. Gavin Barlow, Director, Directorate of Policy Planning, UK Ministry of Defence;
Commodore Cunningham, Director, Naval Staff, First Sea Lord’s Staff, UK Armed Forces;
Lieutenant-General Rob Fry, Deputy Commander, Defence Staff, UK Armed Forces; and,
Mr. Richard Jones, Assistant Director Equipment Program, Defence Procurement Agency.
NATO
As part of these meetings, the Committee held substantive discussions with:
General Sir John Reith, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe;
Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, Deputy Secretary-General, NATO;
General Rainer Schuwirth, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Euope;
Dr. Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations, NATO; and,
Ambassador Jespar Vahr, Head, NATO Reform Initiative.
Academics
As part of these meetings, the Committee held substantive discussions with:
Colonel (ret’d) Christopher Langdon, Head of the Defence Analysis Department, Editor of The Military Balance and Research Fellow Russia/CIS, International Institute for Strategic Studies; and,
Commander (ret’d) Rodney Craig, Defence Analyst (Navy), International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Canadian Officials
The Committee also took advantage of the opportunity to meet with Canadian military and diplomatic personnel serving in London, Brussels, and Mons, including:
Ambassador J. Juneau, Canada’s Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council;
Vice-Admiral Glenn Davidson, Military Representative to the North Atlantic Council;
Colonel Matthew Overton, Army Advisor, Canadian Permanent High Commission to the United Kingdom;
Mr. Ron Hoffman, Minister (Political/ Public Affairs), Canadian Permanent High Commission to the United Kingdom;
Mr. Mark Allen, Second Secretary, Canadian Permanent High Commission to the United Kingdom;
Colonel Chris Henneberry, Deputy Military Representative to the North Atlantic Council;
Brigadier-General Matt Macdonald, Director of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Euope;
Colonel Rick Hatton, Defence Counsellor and Deputy Military Representative to the North Atlantic Council.
The content of our discussions in both the United Kingdom and Belgium has been immensely valuable to the Committee’s on-going study of Canadian national security and defence policy and will contribute materially to reports the Committee plans to table in the Senate in the coming months.
Respectfully submitted,
COLIN KENNY
Chair