QUESTION PERIOD — National Defence
North Warning System
February 19, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Senator Gold, I’m following up on a question posed by Senator Patterson last week on NORAD and the North Warning System. The Senate Finance Committee, of which I’m a member, spent a significant amount of time on the Department of National Defence and its capital expenditures. Last year the committee released a report on military procurement. It’s quite a challenge to track capital expenditures on various capital projects within that department.
There’s been a lot of interest in NORAD and the North Warning System since earlier this year when Canadian jets intercepted two Russian bombers near the North American coastline.
The Canadian Global Affairs Institute hosted a conference last month on military procurement during which NORAD and the North Warning System were discussed at length. Commodore Jamie Clarke, deputy director of strategy of NORAD, spoke at the conference and said that the government’s 2017 defence policy included plans to modernize NORAD but offered few specifics. In fact he said that NORAD modernization is not included in the funding outlined in the 2017 defence policy. While NORAD modernization is also mentioned in the minister’s mandate letter, neither specifics nor costs are disclosed. Jody Thomas, the Deputy Minister of National Defence, also spoke at the conference last month about NORAD and the need to upgrade the system.
Military leaders are now sounding the alarm about the North Warning System, but the department, in my experience, is so slow at implementing capital projects or procuring capital equipment, there seems to be no sense of urgency. So my question is fairly straightforward: What is the estimated cost to upgrade NORAD and the North Warning System and what are the timelines?
I thank the honourable senator for the question. Sometimes simple questions emit longer answers and ones that I don’t necessarily have at my fingertips.
NORAD is part of our common defence of the North and is fundamental to the protection of our sovereignty in the region, a sovereignty which is challenged by the activities of other countries in the area. Thank you also for referring to the mandate letter with regard to the North Warning System because it is something that the government takes very seriously.
There have and continue to be investments in the area but, as for the overall total and the timeline, I frankly don’t have the answer. I will inquire to see who might have the answer. If an answer is available, I will be happy to provide it.
I thank the honourable senator for that answer. Could I also ask you to follow up on something else — unless you have the answer there now? The 2017 policy statement is three years old now. There’s a correlating investment plan that spans the next 20 years. However, the last three years have seen so many changes. For example, there’s another shipyard involved. I think they’re going to build an additional ship. There’s now an issue with regard to the submarines.
It seems there are many upcoming capital expenditures that aren’t included in the 2017 investment plan. Even though the investment plan is only 3 years old, it spans 20 years, and it seems to be out of date already.
I’d be interested to know whether the minister is going to update the plan, because it seems that at this point somebody should be looking at what’s in it, what should be in it and revising it.
Thank you for the question. I will add that to my inquiries. I hope that we in the Senate can play a role, whether in our committees or otherwise, to be kept apprised of plans as they unfold. The government is committed to ensuring that our investments in our various systems are à la hauteur de nos besoins, that meet our needs as a sovereign country. I thank you for your question and I will make inquiries.
