Blair says he ‘expected’ CSIS warrants to be dealt with ‘promptly’ – National

Blair says he ‘expected’ CSIS warrants to be dealt with ‘promptly’ – National

Former public safety minister Bill Blair said he “was not advised” for weeks after CSIS says it told his chief of staff that it was seeking approval to investigate an Ontario Liberal powerbroker in March 2021. What remains unclear is why, according to testimony from a CSIS official, the warrant application targeting Michael Chan, a … Read more

Canada plans to send Ukraine over 80K unarmed small rockets – National

Canada plans to send Ukraine over 80K unarmed small rockets – National

Canada plans to send 80,840 surplus small unarmed air-to-surface rockets to Ukraine as well as 1,300 warheads in the coming months, Defense Minister Bill Blair said in a statement on Friday. Canada announced an initial shipment of 2,160 unarmed CRV7 rockets in June. Each CRV7 rocket can be equipped with warheads designed variously to hit buildings, tanks or soldiers. … Read more

Sending Canadian ship to Cuba near Russian fleet was ‘carefully’ planned: minister – National

Sending Canadian ship to Cuba near Russian fleet was ‘carefully’ planned: minister – National

National Defence Minister Bill Blair’s office is defending the decision to send a Canadian ship to Cuba where it docked alongside some of Russia’s fleet, calling it a “carefully” planned move to increase its presence in the region. Spokesman Daniel Minden issued a statement on Sunday saying the visit to Havana’s port “was carefully and … Read more

Canada’s Arctic boost puts it on track to meet NATO target: minister – National

Canada’s Arctic boost puts it on track to meet NATO target: minister – National

By Staff The Associated Press Posted June 14, 2024 7:35 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Canada looks on track to meet NATO’s military spending guideline soon, Defence Minister Bill Blair said Friday, notably by boosting investment in the Arctic near its shared border with Russia as the region … Read more

Canada, China defence ministers discuss interference, Taiwan, Russia – National

Canada, China defence ministers discuss interference, Taiwan, Russia – National

Defence ministers from Canada and China sat down together for the first time in 11 years at an international security conference last week as the countries work to re-establish lines of communication. Bill Blair met with Admiral Dong Jun on Friday while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, marking the first meeting between the ministers … Read more

Canada getting ‘closer’ to key NATO defence spending target, minister says – National

Canada getting ‘closer’ to key NATO defence spending target, minister says – National

Defence Minister Bill Blair maintains Canada remains committed to reaching NATO‘s target of members spending two per cent of GDP on defence after the U.S. ambassador called Canada “the outlier” in the alliance due to not having a path to reach that target. In response to a question at the defence committee by Conservative defence … Read more

Canada now ‘the outlier’ in NATO on defence spending: U.S. ambassador – National

Canada now ‘the outlier’ in NATO on defence spending: U.S. ambassador – National

The United States’ ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, says Canada is becoming “the outlier” in NATO following a bipartisan letter from 23 American senators calling on Ottawa to meet the two per cent of GDP defence spending target. “At the end of 2024, the way projections are looking, Canada will be the only country in … Read more

Blair ‘confident’ Canada will meet NATO targets with push for more spending – National

Blair ‘confident’ Canada will meet NATO targets with push for more spending – National

Defence Minister Bill Blair says that he is pushing for more military spending to meet Canada’s NATO commitments, but he still needs to do more work on the “business case” to secure the extra funding. “One of the great challenges of being a defence minister is securing funding, and the second one is actually spending … Read more

Canada to contribute $76M to German-led air defence fund for Ukraine – National

Canada to contribute M to German-led air defence fund for Ukraine – National

Canada will contribute $76 million to a German-led initiative to raise funds for air defence systems that will be sent to Ukraine, the Canadian and German defence ministers announced Friday. Defence Minister Bill Blair and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed a letter of intent for the contribution to Germany’s Immediate Action on Air Defence … Read more

Ukraine faces Russian ‘meat storms,’ military chiefs warn as U.S. aid stalls – National

Ukraine faces Russian ‘meat storms,’ military chiefs warn as U.S. aid stalls – National

Pressure is intensifying on the U.S. Congress to pass additional aid to Ukraine, with senior military leaders in Canada and the U.S. issuing stark warnings this week that Russia will overwhelm the Ukrainians unless ammunition starts flowing to Kyiv soon. The mounting pressure comes as Ukraine has passed a controversial law to expand military conscription … Read more