The defence industry in Canada is facing serious challenges. Declining defence expenditures, protectionism in Canada's principal markets, political resistance, and escalating costs of weapons technology all threaten it. The Canadian Defence Industry in the New Global Environment is a thorough examination and assessment of the problems and prospects of the industry given the recent dramatic changes that have transformed the international security environment.
The Cold War produced a matrix of Canadian/US extra-governmental military and economic relationships which significantly shaped Canadian political decision-making as it related to the defence of the continent under the auspices of the North American Air/Aerospace Defence Agreement (NORAD). In the post-cold War era, these relationships continue to effectively support a traditional security agenda for the Canadian government. The rewritten NORAD Agreement, signed in March 1996, is the vehicle for Canadian participation in US missile defence programs worldwide. Paying particular attention to the decisions to adopt a nuclear weapons role for Canada's continental air defence forces, to test the US air-lunched cruise missile in the Canadian North, and to become increasingly involved in active missile and space-based defence programs, the author examines: · the Cold War construction of Canadian/US military and economic relationships · the effects of these relationships on political decision-making · the public discourse as a site of alternative understandings of Canada's role in the Cold War. Ann Denholm Crosby provides a challenging analysis of Canadian defence decision-making in both its Cold war and post-Cold War contexts.
Since the mid-1950s, successive Canadian governments have grappled with the issue of Canada’s role in US ballistic missile defence programs. Until Paul Martin’s government finally said no, policy-makers responded to US initiatives with fear and uncertainty as they endlessly debated the implications – at home and abroad – of participation. However, whether this is the end of the story remains to be seen. Drawing on previously classified government documents and interviews with senior officials, James Fergusson examines Canada’s policy deliberations during five major US initiatives. He reveals that a combination of factors such as weak leadership and a tendency to place uncertain and ill-defined notions of international peace and security before national defence resulted in indecision on what role Canada would play in ballistic missile defence. In effect, policy-makers have failed to transform debates about the issue into an opportunity to define Canada’s strategic interests at home and on the world stage. Canada and Ballistic Missile Defense is the first comprehensive account of Canada’s response and indecision regarding US ballistic missile defence initiatives, and the implications of this inaction.
Canadians have high hopes for Prime Minister Paul Martin, and widely welcome him as Liberal leader. But will he give Canada the government Canadians expect? In this book Murray Dobbin focuses on what Martin has done in business and in politics, and what he can be expected to do in office. What Dobbin reports is often surprising. Martin's actions reflect a man deeply committed to an agenda of less government, expansion of the private sector at the expense of public services, tax cuts favouring those already well off, and closer relations to the U.S. In many areas Martin's views seem closer to Brian Mulroney than those traditionally associated with the Liberal party. And he is often at odds with the values Canadians themselves express in opinion polls. A successful CEO himself, Martin thinks and acts as a CEO in his political role. For Canadians who want Ottawa to do more in health care, education, social services and culture, Martin's accession may mark a significant step backwards. Based on extensive research and interviews with key analysts, this book offers a different view of Paul Martin from the usual portrayals in the business-friendly news media, and from the other books on Martin being published in fall 2003. Rather than a play-by-play account of who did what to whom in Martin's political career, Murray Dobbin keeps his eye on what really matters to most people: what Paul Martin has done to date in business and politics, and what he is likely to do as prime minister.
