The Canada First Defence Strategy is based on an extensive and rigorous analysis of the risks and threats facing Canada in the years to come, as well as the government’s vision for defence. Through stable and predictable defence funding, including balanced investments across the four pillars upon which military capabilities are built – personnel, equipment, readiness and infrastructure – the Strategy will increase the size of the Forces and replace their core capabilities. It also presents unprecedented opportunities for Canadian industry in its reach for global excellence.

The international community is increasingly recognizing that instability is no longer constrained by geography. In the pursuit of domestic security, it is becoming common for states to be proactive in addressing social and cultural drivers of twenty-first century insecurity where they occur. One such driver lies in the deep resentment towards the West harboured by radicalised individuals in volatile regions of the world, regions that are struggling with economic disenfranchisement, social and cultural change, and corrupt and controlling governments. Much of this resentment is driven by inconsistent, unjust foreign policies of Western states. Much stems from misperceptions or prejudices. In both cases, the proliferation of travel, communications, and weapons technology means that simmering resentment can pose a serious threat to targeted states.

The international arms trade has to date avoided serious international control measures, but in the fall of 2006 the UN General Assembly launched a process designed to bring the regulation of military exports into the arms control mainstream. The proposal for an Arms Trade Treaty, designed to make it more difficult to arm repression and fuel conflict, is about to be studied by a UN experts group, and even though formal negotiations are not imminent, the debate has already begun to articulate basic transfer principles and to point to changes in national export control systems that will become necessary. As a second-tier military exporter of some significance, and as an advocate of an arms trade treaty, Canada is in a position to promote controls based on agreed standards, transparency, and peer scrutiny and ensure that international wellbeing and respect for human rights will become the key test of responsible national export control policies and practice.

The Government of Canada requires information and intelligence data to make reasoned and sound decisions on behalf of Canadians. To achieve this aim, the government needs access to information from a variety of sources. There are many potential sources for this information – from open sources, highly classified ones, and information gathered by human sources.

Canada and the United States closely cooperated in most security issues during the 20th century. In recent years, however, security relations between Canada and the United States have become strained, mainly due to disagreements on the methods used by the United States in prosecuting the Global War on Terror. The first policy issue was the Canadian government’s decision to decrease security resources significantly in the wake of the Cold War. The second issue centers on Canada’s disagreement concerning Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, as well as other U.S. policy decisions such as the use of Guantanamo Bay.

Washington had urged Ottawa to increase its military spending, but those efforts went largely unheeded by liberal governments that placed themselves ideologically at odds with the Bush administration. For Mr. Harper, on the other hand, expanding a military force that had faced consistent reduction needs to be a high priority. The new military equipment is essential for Canadian forces on the ground in Afghanistan, and the move signals Canada's increased willingness to share a commitment to the war against Islamic extremism.

Seventeen alleged Islamic terrorists were arrested in Canada recently, leaving approximately 50 more terrorist cells to go, according to federal spy agency sources. But even with authorities acknowledging that more arrests are inevitable, there’s one thing that could hinder further takedowns: political correctness.

I thought about that following the arrests of 17 Canadian terror suspects last weekend. Most were citizens of Canada, born and bred, or residents. The police who announced the dragnet were careful to say that the young males did not represent any specific ethnocultural group - though all are Muslim.

In April 2005, the Government of Canada released a comprehensive analysis and review of Canadian foreign policy, the International Policy Statement: “A Role of Pride and Influence in the World.” The CIIA responded by proposing to Foreign Affairs Canada a series of Round Tables and public events to be held in six cities across the country.

The purpose of the survey was to determine Canadians’ expectations of newly-elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s performance on specific foreign policy issues.