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RCAF Commander LGen Meinzinger on Space Capabilities, Innovation in the RCAF, and Pandemic-era Readiness
This is an edited transcript of a discussion that took place January 28, 2021 between the CDA Institute and LGen Al Meinzinger Q: What challenges has the COVID-19 pandemic presented for RCAF readiness? How is the RCAF adapting to these challenges? A: Over the past 12...
Statement of the Conference of Defence Associations and the CDA Institute on recent allegations of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces
February 23, 2021 Nothing is more important to the Canadian Armed Forces than the confidence of Canadians and the trust of the rank and file in their leadership. The institution’s leaders owe their sailors, soldiers, aviators, and the Canadian public the highest...
National Security and Domestic Vaccine Supply: Lessons from the Munitions Supply Program
By Charles Davies, Fellow with the CDA Institute The COVID-19 pandemic has again shown that the concept of national security has broad sweep and needs far more attention from Canadian governments. The neutering of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network only...
ANDREA THOMPSON: A NEW, NEW START? The future of the U.S. and Russia’s nuclear arms reduction treaty
Q: For our readers that may not know what we're talking about today — can you explain what the New START Treaty is and how it works? A: Absolutely, and to start off, I want to thank the CDA Institute for the opportunity. As we were talking about a little bit ago, the...
Danielle C. Tarraf: The Digital Battlefield: Unpacking the Military Adoption of AI
What developments do you expect to see on digital battlefields in the near future? I like to remind people that AI encompasses many different technologies. What constitutes AI has changed since the term was first coined in the Dartmouth workshop in 1956. AI has been a...
Stephen M. Walt: The Post-Pandemic International Order
Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs. He previously taught at Princeton University and the University of Chicago, where he served as Master of the Social Science Collegiate Division and Deputy Dean of Social Sciences. He...
Eyck Freymann: Why Conventional Wisdom on China’s Belt & Road is Wrong
What does conventional wisdom say about OBOR and why is it wrong? Conventional wisdom is that OBOR is primarily an infrastructure, development finance, or connectivity initiative, and should be evaluated on those terms. I think that's only half-right, at best. The...
Paul Meyer: Canada, NATO, & The Nuclear Ban Treaty
Does the TPNW complement existing treaties? What are its aims and what gaps could it fill? Supporters of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) characterized it as filling a “legal gap”. This refers to the fact that of the three categories of...
Michael C Horowitz: Artificial Intelligence & The Global Balance of Power
Q: In a piece you wrote for CIGI you refuted the claim that “data is the new oil”. What does this statement mean and why don’t you agree with it? A: Everything from search results to image recognition—everything about the way that algorithms work requires data to make...
Adam Lajeunesse: Polar Silk Road: Deconstructing Chinese Ambitions in the North
Q: What has China articulated through its 2018 Arctic policy? And what are the policy’s essential pillars? A: China’s Arctic policy builds on several years of diplomatic and political statements going back well before 2018. What the policy has articulated is...
J. Berkshire Miller: Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Towards a FOIP Framework?
Q: How do American, Australian, and Japanese perspectives on a Free and Open Indo Pacific Strategy differ? Would it make sense for Canada to align with one of these frameworks? A: FOIP has been discussed a lot in the past few years, largely because of its recent...
Marcus Kolga: Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Cold Chain’ Hacking, Cyber Threats & Pandemic-related Disinformation
Q: What vulnerabilities are imbedded in the Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform (CCEOP)? What would the consequences of a successful hack have been? A: The CCEOP is one of the most complicated supply chains in the world. The Pfizer vaccine requires storage at...
UNCONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP BIAS? REFLECTIONS ON DIVERSITY, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND SYSTEMIC RACISM IN THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES
Lieutenant General (Retired) Guy Thibault, CMM, MSC, CD Former VCDS (2013-16), Chair Conference of Defence Associations Institute“The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are committed to demonstrating leadership in reflecting Canadian ideals...
Jussi Toivanen: Learning from Finland’s Society-Wide Approach to Countering Disinformation
Jussi Toivanen is the Chief Communications Specialist for the Finnish Prime Minister's Office. He is responsible for coordinating the government's approach to countering disinformation and managing crisis communications for the state. Q: Finland's approach to...
Charles Burton: What a Biden Presidency means for Canada-Chinese Relations
Q: How have the policies and positions of the Trump administration impacted Canada’s relationship with China? A: Chinese foreign policy has been changing under Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. Under Obama there had been a belief that China could be brought into...
VIMY PAPER 46: NAVIGATING A WORLD OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE, STRATEGIC RIVALRY AND UNCERTAINTY: DETERMINING A CANADIAN INDO-PACIFIC ORIENTATION
The emergence of Sino-American rivalry is a system-level feature of and force in global politics, however, should be the impetus for a re-examination of Canada’s Indo-Pacific relations. Canada needs a more comprehensive and interlinked Indo-Pacific approach – one that...
(WEBINAR) Peace, Order and Good Government in Mali
Cliquez ici pour accéder à au contenu en français: https://cdainstitute.ca/paix-ordre-et-bonne-gouvernance-au-mali/ Click here to redirect to English language page https://cdainstitute.ca/peace-order-and-good-government-in-mali-transatlantic-perspectives-eng/
NORAD Modernization: Report Three: JADC2/JADO
Introduction The CDA Institute, in partnership with NDIA and NORAD/USNORTHCOM, hosted a three-part virtual roundtable focused on NORAD modernization. The goal was to allow experts from industry, academia, and government to break down silos and engage in direct...
Canada’s Bite and Bark in the Baltic-Black Sea Region
Roman Waschuk Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine (2014-19), and Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia (2011-14) Discussions about Canada’s role in the world often start out with lofty ideal constructs, and end with gloomy conclusions about lack of capacity and/or...
COVID-19 : Update on CDA Institute Flagship Events
Dear Members of the Conference of Defence Associations Community, As many have noticed in past months, our programmes have evolved considerably in the context of the pandemic. We’ve put together some very successful webinars that thousands of viewers enjoyed in over...
ACCESS DENIED: The Art of Fighting Back Foreign Electoral Interference
CLICK HERE TO REDIRECT TO WEBINAR DETAILS & REGISTRATION PAGE: https://cdainstitute.ca/elections-denied/
NORAD MODERNIZATION: REPORT TWO: DEFEAT CAPABILITIES
Introduction NDIA/CDAI hosted the second of three webinars on 26 August 2020, intended to examine key capability requirements for the modernization of continental defence under auspice of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The goal was to allow experts...
NORAD Modernization: Report One: Awareness & Sensors
Introduction The CDA Institute, in partnership with NDIA and NORAD/USNORTHCOM hosted a three-part virtual roundtable focused on NORAD modernization. The goal was to allow experts from industry, academia, and government to break down silos and engage in direct...
China’s Arctic Ambitions and What They Mean for Canada By P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Adam Lajeunesse, James Manicom, and Frédéric Lasserre
By Dean Coslovi In China’s Arctic Ambitions and What They Mean for Canada, authors P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Adam Lajeunesse, James Manicom, and Frédéric Lasserre examine how China’s increasing interest in the Arctic should be viewed from a Canadian perspective....
‘In a Narrow Alley’: Burn-In Isn’t a Novel About Robots A review of Burn-In by P.W. Singer and August Cole By Christopher Ankersen
By Christopher Ankersen The scholar of classics Adrienne Mayor concludes her important essay “Biotechne” with the following warning: We are approaching what some call the new dawn of robo-humanity. When that day comes, what myths will we tell...
Peter Jennings (ASPI): Canada + Australia in the Indo-Pacific
Q: In what ways has Australia’s defence policy changed in the new strategic outlook? How has China responded? Peter Jennings: Australia has a tradition of producing what we call “defence white papers” every five years or so. [This one] is essentially a policy update...
TRACKING THE STORYLINE: Media Impacts on CAF Recruitment
In the spring of 2020, the CDA Institute and Ipsos Canada conducted a survey of 2000 Canadians. The objective was to measure knowledge and familiarity with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), consumption of positive and negative storylines about the CAF in media sources,...
Roland Paris: Threats, Allies, and Canadian Strategy
Q: What is the state of Canadian American relations and how can Canada successfully manage this relationship if current trends in U.S foreign and domestic policy continue? Should Canada look to other allies for cooperation? Roland Paris: The United States is...
Stephanie Pezard (RAND): Emerging Challenges & Strategic Competition in the Arctic
Q: what are Russia and china’s ambitions in the Arctic and what steps are they taking to secure these interests? Is cooperation with Russia in the Arctic still feasible? Stephanie Pezard: Russia and China have very different ambitions in the Arctic, which are...
Marcus Kolga: The Covid-19 Vaccine Hack, Russian Information Warfare & Cyber Resiliency
Q: There have been Russian hacking attempts aimed at US, British and Canadian COVID-19 vaccine research. How has Canada dealt with this and what do you recommend we do so we can protect intellectual property and national sovereignty against these intrusions? A: This...
Deep Fake, Twitter Hacked: Welcome to Disinformation on Steroids. An Interview with tech expert Branka Marijan
Q: The July Twitter hack has been confirmed as the largest in the social media company's 14-year history. It is also being called just the tip of a very large iceberg with vast security implications. What to you is most concerning about this attack from an electoral...
Amb. David Mulroney: On Hong Kong, Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, and Canada’s next move
Q: What kind of calculations determined President Xi’s decision to impose the new security bill in Hong Kong and why is it being implemented now? A: I think it's the distraction of the pandemic. [China] is hoping to get away with this while the world is focused...
Executive Director’s Update
Dear members of the growing Conference of Defence Associations community, Already, a year has passed since I joined the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. It has been quite a ride. In a good way. Before I dive into all the things I'm excited...
INTERVIEW: Amb. Dennis Horak on Saudi Arabia / Canada relations
1) Ambassador Horak, you were sent back to Canada on a tweet. Is the medium the message? Tweets are not an effective tool of diplomacy. “Twitterplomacy” (as I have come to call it) is PR aimed at supporters or the already converted. By their very nature and limited...
Engaging Silent Enemies: NATO’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Challenge
Roger Hilton, GLOBSEC Security and Defence Fellow In the classic film The Hunt for Red October, Soviet Admiral Ramius addresses his crew prior to diving and declares, “They (the West) will tremble again at the sound of our silence”. The essence of the quote could not...
Quantum Supremacy Webinar
WEBINAR DETAILS July 10, 2020 - 10:00 EDT We'd like to thank IBM Canada for providing the tech support and online platform to host this international event. WHY ATTEND: Top American and Canadian experts will comment on the fast approaching national security challenges...
Free Webinar: All Five Eyes on 5G
Click on the image below to redirect to event page & registration.
Walk the Talk: Time to Operationalize Canada’s Whole-of-Government Approach to Twenty-First Century Conflict
The 2008 Manley Report highlighted significant machinery of government obstacles to the effective conduct of the Afghanistan mission, and in particular the operations of the interdepartmental Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT) which the Panel called “a...
ANALYSIS: The Canadian Armed Forces and the COVID19 Pandemic: Entrenching the Military as Canada’s De Facto Emergency Management Organization
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has played a sizable and vital role in Canada’s pandemic efforts. COVID19 represents the most extensive and intensive involvement of CAF in a domestic emergency in living memory, but this is a continuation, and acceleration, of a...
