Join Project Ploughshares for a virtual discussion on Canada’s historical role in the arms trade, current trends, and what lies on the path ahead.
It’s time for Canada to signal a shift in its nuclear disarmament policy
January 22nd marked a historic milestone for nuclear disarmament as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) came into force, officially becoming part of international law. Adopted by 122 states in 2017, the TPNW began a 90-day countdown to entry into force last October, when Honduras became the 50th state to ratify it. While many Canadians are celebrating, …
Canada’s efforts on responsible AI must include ban on autonomous weapons
During a week of virtual sessions hosted in September at the Geneva offices of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Canada remained silent. Not once in the last year has Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs focused on autonomous weapons when explaining Canada’s foreign policy priorities.
Rethinking arms control: A Canadian perspective
With a global pandemic and a still undecided U.S. election forming a dramatic backdrop, on November 6, the German Foreign Office hosted a virtual conference, “Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control.” This event, combined with an experts’ preparatory workshop on November 5, were used to shine a light on the transformational capabilities of new technologies on both “old” issues of arms control, such as nuclear weapons, and new ones, including autonomous weapons and drone swarms.
SPECIAL REPORT – Killer optics: Exports of WESCAM sensors to Turkey
Since 2017, Turkey has been a major customer for WESCAM products, second only to the United States. During this time, the Turkish military has not only been active in trying to put down an insurgency in southeast Turkey, but has become increasingly involved in armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Libya.
Understanding Canada’s Special Operations Forces
In July 2020, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) released its latest strategic plan, Beyond the Horizon.
Canada’s half-decade mission in Iraq
In the fall of 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Operation IMPACT, Canada’s military contribution to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Approaching its sixth anniversary, Operation IMPACT is Canada’s most significant military operation since the war in Afghanistan.
Canada’s top five arms contracts to the U.S. – 2015-2020
The most recently released federal records indicates that Canada transferred over $2-billion CAD in military exports to customers around the world in 2018. Left unpublished are the vast military exports to Canada’s closest trading partner, the United States. For years, Canada’s arms exports to the United States have been largely exempt from federal reporting protocols. Such exemptions persist despite Canada’s …
Open letter re: Ottawa’s decision to lift moratorium on Saudi arms exports
The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 14 May 2020 Re: Final Report – Review of Export Permits to Saudi Arabia Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, The undersigned, representing a cross-section of Canadian civil society organizations focused on arms controls, human rights, and international security, are writing in …
Canada must resist U.S. efforts to further undermine the Iran nuclear deal
The Iran nuclear deal has long been derided by U.S. President Donald Trump, whose actions have already jeopardized some of the concrete security dividends of the hard-won agreement. But his latest move constitutes a clear affront to international law that must be rejected, especially by countries like Canada that express strong support for a rules-based multilateral order. A flexible view …