iPolitics webcast: Do we need a national security strategy?

by Callie Sanderson

iPolitics
March 12, 2012

On Tuesday, March 13 (10:30 am) iPolitics convened the seventh in our series of webcast panel discussions of public policy challenges. The topic posed for this session was “Do we need a national security strategy?” Viewers were able to watch the panel discussion live without registering. Missed out but want to see it now? Click on the video box below to view it in archived format.

Introduction
Recent reports published by the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) institute and the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI) among others have highlighted the need to re-examine current national security policies and create a comprehensive plan for the future. Find out from our panelists what this strategic plan should entail and what is best needed for Canada to compete on the international stage. Some of the questions explored by our panel will include:

1. What would a national security policy ideally consist of and how do we get there?
2. What has been left out until recently in national security discussions?
3. The upcoming federal budget could greatly affect funding and programming to defence operations, what would you like to see supported in the budget and where should resources be placed?
4. What are the short-term and the long-term goals of developing a national security strategy? Who are the key stakeholders moving forward?
5. What is currently impeding Canada’s ability to create a comprehensive security plan? In what ways could we go about addressing these challenges? How can it be made more sustainable and achievable?
6. What trade-offs exist between more traditional priorities and emerging priorities?
7. Do we need a US style national security council?

The guest moderator for this panel was veteran security reporter Jeff Sallot.

The panel included:

• Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat now working as a Senior Strategic Advisor for McKenna, Long and Aldridge LLP and with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. He is Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI) and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.
• Ferry de Kerckhove has served as the Canadian Ambassador to Pakistan, Indonesia and most recently to the Arab Republic of Egypt. He has also held many senior positions related to economics and international affairs in Ottawa, and served as a Canada’s High Commissioner in Pakistan. He currently serves as a member on the Board of Directors at Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute.
• David Perry, a doctoral candidate in political science at Carleton University, where he holds the Dr. Donald Baker Security and Defence Forum PhD. scholarship. His research interests include Canadian defence and security policy, defence economics, and the privatization of defence and security. He is a defence analyst with the CDA Institute, a member of the CDFAI-CIC Strategic Studies Working Group, and a pre-doctoral fellow with the Centre for Security and Defence Studies at Carleton.

Recommended readings on national security:

• Push to reform Arctic Council raises as many questions as it solves, P. Whitney Lackenbauer, iPolitics, February 17, 2012.
• Canada needs a National Security Strategy, Paul Chapin and George Petrolekas, iPolitics, Feb 21, 2012.
• A national security strategy for dangerous times, Brian Stewart, CBC, February 22, 2012.
• Canada needs a security strategy, Jack L. Granatstein, Ottawa Citizen, February 21, 2012.
• Vimy Paper: The Strategic Outlook for Canada, Paul Chapin and George Petrolekas, Conference of Defence Associations Institute, Vol 5, February 2012.
• Making Canada safe: The National Security Policy, CBC, April 27, 2004.
• Comprehensive Security Requires Comprehensive Structures-How Comprehensive Can We Get? Anne Fitz-Gerald and Don Macnamara, Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute Strategic Studies Working Group, March 2012.
• Bloated DND headquarters needs cuts, retired Lt.-Gen. tells committee, Kathleen Harris, iPolitics, October 3, 2011.