War profiteers not welcome in Canada! Opposition organized to Ottawa weapons fair

By NICK LIN

The annual CANSEC weapons fair is being held in Ottawa May 29 and 30. Anti-war activists are holding a protest during the opening speech by Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan on May 29. Two other federal ministers – Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement – and Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff will also deliver keyote addresses. The “weapons fair” is organized by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), involving some 900 corporations. It  has been hosted annually in Ottawa since 1998 and just as often opposed by the people of that city.

New scramble for Africa: No to expanding Canada’s military presence in Africa

By ENVER VILLAMIZAR

On March 19, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that Canada would be sending a task force of an as-yet undetermined number of troops and Chinook and Griffon helicopters to join the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) for a one-year deployment. The announcement in fact expands Canada’s military involvement in Mali and the Sahel region of Africa which has been ongoing since 2010.[1]

No to Canada’s warmongering defence policy!

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) calls on everyone to condemn the “new defence policy” announced by the Trudeau Liberals on June 7. The policy does not respond to Canada’s defence needs but to the demands of the U.S. imperialists through NATO and the biggest defence monopolies and other private interests to increase military spending and step up war preparations. The announcement included a 70 per cent increase to Canada’s military budget over the next 10 years, increasing the size of the armed forces, the adoption of drone and cyber-warfare, further militarization of the arctic and purchasing additional warplanes and ships.

Canada-Ukraine Defence Agreement – An arms agreement for war

By TONY SEED

(May 20, 2017) – On April 3 Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak announced the signing of the Canada-Ukraine Defence Cooperation Arrangement. The agreement reportedly increases mutual co-operation in the areas of military policy, education, military research and development, as well as arms production.

Denounce the ‘new’ defence policy

By TONY SEED

Trudeau’s Defence Minister, Harjit Sajjan, released Canada’s “new” defence policy today. Here are the highlights:

• A 70 per cent increase in defence spending over the next 10 years;
• A staggering 62 billion dollar increase over the next 20 years;
• An increase in the number of fighter jets to be purchased from 65 (under Harper) to 88;
• An increase in personnel in both the regular and reserve forces;
• The acquisition of armed combat drones, the deadly hallmark of the Obama war doctrine and whose target is the peoples of this country and abroad, suitable of being “capable of conducting surveillance and precision strikes”;
• The creation of 120 new military intelligence positions and 180 new civilian intelligence positions, as well as building a “Canadian Forces Intelligence Command” capacity. It specializes Canada’s armed forces in black ops and cyber-warfare, whose target is likewise the peoples of this country and abroad. It prioritizes “the expansion of CAF Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (JISR) capabilities, while enhancing intelligence collection, analysis and fusion capabilities, and supporting and leveraging the expertise of Canada’s defence and security academic community”; and
• Expansion of the militarization of universities and research; $313 million is allocated for military research for the arms monopolies and $102 million for university and private sector outreach, i.e., recruiting and propaganda.

Annual weapons fair held in Ottawa: Militant picket opposes militarization and war

Canadians from all walks of life held a militant picket on the morning of May 31 against the annual CANSEC weapons fair sponsored by the Trudeau war government and the biggest U.S. arms monopolies. Warmongering Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan, who was scheduled to speak at a breakfast event shortly after 7:00 am was delayed in entering, along with representatives of General Dynamics, the producer of light armoured vehicles sold to Saudi Arabia, Raytheon, the world’s largest guided missile producer and many other arms monopolies. Protestors denounced Canada’s participation in escalating war preparations and the use of the CANSEC event to pay the rich weapons monopolies and secure arms for war criminals such as the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others.

More on Canada’s participation in US-led war coalition

On April 1 in Washington, DC following his participation in a U.S. Nuclear Summit, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada will be “investing” in the “Global Coalition Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).” The “Coalition,” which includes Canada is thus far an informal group of countries carrying out military actions in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere under the leadership of the U.S.[1]