Spring 2004 (Volume II, Issue I)

Promoting new understanding and improvement of Canadian foreign and defence policy.

In this issue:

• Reserves Conference
• Ross Laird Ellis Lecture Series
• 2004 Military Journalism Course
• Graduate Student Paper Competition
• Student Run Conference Competition
• Ross Munro Media Award
• Special Notice
• CDFAI Donors
• About CDFAI

Reserves Conference

On March 25-27, Calgary hosted the 2004 International Reserves Conference entitled “Homeland Defence and the Reserves”, where distinguished military experts such as Thomas F. Hall - Assistant Secretary of Defence US Reserve Affairs, Lt. General Edward G. Anderson III - US Army, Deputy Commander NorthCom and Jeffrey Grey – Professor, University of New South Wales Australia discussed and debated the issues regarding structuring, training, and employing land force reserves for homeland defence.

This conference was co-sponsored by the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, the Land Force Reserves Restructure Project Management Office of the Canadian Army and the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI).

For more information on the conference please visit www.cdfai.org and go to Programs / Conference / 2004 International Reserves Conference.

CDFAI is grateful for the sponsorship and participation of:

• Major Conference Sponsor: General Dynamics Land Systems Canada
• Gala Dinner Sponsor: General Dynamics Canada
• Technology Sponsor: SMART Technologies Inc.
• Additional Sponsors: Defense News Media Group, The Fairmont Palliser Hotel

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Ross Laird Ellis Lecture Series

On May 17, 2004 the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute co-sponsored the Ross Laird Ellis Lecture in conjunction with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. The lecture series is named after Ross Laird Ellis, a militiaman who rose through the ranks to become the Commanding Officer of the Calgary Highlanders in the course of the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary in World War II. Open to the general public and University of Calgary faculty and students, the purpose of the Ross Laird Ellis Lecture is to provide Canadians with access to relevant and reliable information on Canadian defence and foreign policy.

Margaret Wente, one of Canada's leading columnists, was our 2004 Ross Laird Ellis guest lecturer.

As a writer for The Globe and Mail, Ms. Wente provokes heated debate with her views on the issues of the day. She has twice won the National Newspaper Award for column-writing, and is the only journalist in Canada to hold that distinction.

Ms. Wente joined The Globe and Mail in 1986 to edit Report on Business Magazine. She went on to edit the Report on Business section of the daily newspaper and, later, the front section. She began writing a weekly column in 1992, and has been a full-time columnist since 1999.

The Ellis Lecture was held in the Burlington Theatre at the Glenbow Museum where Margaret Wente shared her recent experiences as a reporter in Iraq. The topic of her speech was: "Adventures in the war zone: a journalist's view of Iraq". Please visit www.cdfai.org for a full transcription of her speech which can be found in Programs / Publication Information / Ross Ellis Lecture in Military and Strategic Studies.

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2004 Military Journalism Course

The Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs institute (CDFAI), in partnership with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies (CMSS) at the University of Calgary (U of C), hosted their second annual Military Journalism Course running from May 2nd-11th, 2004.

CDFAI sponsors a scholarship for ten students to attend an eight-day course on military journalism and the Canadian Armed Forces. The goal is to enhance the military education of Canadian journalists who will report on Canadian military issues domestically and abroad. The course includes a combination of media-military theory in a classroom setting, coupled with field visits to Armed Forces regular and reserve units. Journalism students from across Canada are eligible to apply. Included in the scholarship are:

• transportation to and from Calgary
• accommodation
• meals
• travel within Alberta

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Graduate Student Paper Competition

Congratulations to the 2004 Winners!

1st Place
Brent Ellis, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs C/o Carleton University
“If It’s Not Terrorism, It’s Not Relevant” Evaluating NATO’s Potential to Contribute to the Campaign Against Terrorism

2nd Place
Erin Weir, Centre for Military & Strategic Studies c/o University of Calgary
"Using the Legacy of WWI to Evaluate Canadian Military Leadership in WWII"

3rd Place
Maria Mikhailitchenko
Department of Political Studies c/o Queen’s University
"Reform of the Security Council and its implications for Global Peace and Security"

In February 2004 three prizes were awarded to graduate students for essays written on themes chosen by the student, on the subject of Canadian defence, Canadian foreign policy, Canada’s military or Canadian security.

$5,000 was awarded for first prize, $3,000 for second prize and $2,000 for third prize.

Please visit www.cdfai.org  to read the winning papers which can be found in Programs / Conference / Student Run Conference Competition.

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Student Run Conference Competition

In November 2003 CDFAI contributed three (3) grants each of $5,000 that were awarded to a student run conference for the 2004 school year with a focus on Canada’s foreign or defence policy.

Congratulations to our Winners!

 
Centre for Military and Strategic Studies
University of Calgary
SMSS 6th Annual Conference: The Patterns and Challenges in Conflict
February 27th-28th, 2004

International Relations Student Association
University of British Columbia
Human Security in Canadian Foreign Policy: Change, Consequence, and Challenges for the 21st Century
March 4th-7th, 2004

Centre for Defence and Security Studies
University of Manitoba
Transformation of War in the 21st Century
February 5th-7th, 2004

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Ross Munro Media Award

The Ross Munro Media Award was initiated, in 2002, by the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA), in concert with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI). Its purpose is to recognize, annually, one Canadian journalist who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the understanding, by the general public, of Canada’s defence and security issues. Submissions can be made in either of Canada’s official languages. Any Canadian may nominate a journalist for the Award. Nominations must be in writing, and be accompanied by a summary of reasons for the nomination, copy of the article, series or electronic coverage and a short biography of the nominee. Submissions may be made in either of Canada’s official languages. Further information, including selection criteria may be seen at http://www.cda-cdai.ca.

Nominations are invited for the 2004 Award. These must be received by September 3rd, 2004 and should be addressed to:

Ross Munro Media Award Selection Committee
Conference of Defence Associations
359 Kent Street, Suite 502
Ottawa, Ontario   K2P 0R7

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Special Notice

2005 will mark the 10th Anniversary of the deliberations and report of the Special Committee on the Restructure of the Reserve. The committee consisted of Dr. Jack Granatstein, Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Charles Belzile and the late Chief Justice (Ret’d) Brian Dickson. In the spring and summer of 1995 the committee sought the views of Canadians regarding the future of land, sea and air reserve forces in Canada. This report was issue in the Fall 1995. All subsequent work on reserve restructure and much of the work of the recent Ministers Monitoring Committee on Change stemmed from the Special Committee of the Reserve Restructure.

In honour of the occasion and to measure the progress Canada has made on restructuring the reserves CDFAI has commissioned a special study by the two remaining members of the committee, Dr. Granatstein and Lieutenant General Belzile. Their study will be published by CDFAI in the Fall of 2005. In conjunction with this release a special conference on reserve restructure plus 10 years will be held in cooperation with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies in Calgary, Alberta. Watch this space for more details.

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CDFAI Donors

About Our Organization

CDFAI provides Canadians with factual and comprehensive policy analysis to promote their understanding of Canada’s foreign policy and the state of our military preparedness and national security by developing and sponsoring authoritative research and education programs.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Calgary, CDFAI is a non-profit, charitable research and education institute.

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Subscribe

If you would like to be included on our regular mailing regarding conferences, lectures and newsletters, please send your particulars to [email protected] or sign up for our mailing list at www.cdfai.org. All email addresses gathered by CDFAI are kept confidential as we do not release or sell any information collected from the public to any third party without explicit permission to do so. 

CDFAI also adheres to a strict no-SPAM policy and as such, does not forward emails containing information provided by third parties and/or organizations and businesses with which it has no official interest, relevancy and/or affiliation.

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