Photo: The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld Secretary of Defense Anita Anand gets up during the question-and-answer session on March 30, 2022 in Ottawa. Anand promises to introduce a “strong investment package” for North America’s aging defenses in the coming months. Defense Secretary Anita Anand promises a “strong investment package” for North America’s aging defenses in the coming months, as Ottawa comes under increasing pressure to boost military spending and work with Washington to protect the continent. Anand made the pledge during a speech to the Senate Defense Committee on Monday, just days before the Liberal government was to unveil a federal budget that many expect to include new money for the Canadian Armed Forces. “The current climate of defense and security has also underlined that we need to do more to strengthen our defense in Canada and North America in general,” he told senators, referring to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “To this end, in the coming months, we will launch a strong investment package to strengthen our continental defense in close cooperation with the United States.” However, defense officials who appeared before the commission after Anand could not say when work could begin on modernizing the North American Aerospace Administration, which is controlled by both the United States and Canada. This is despite the fact that military officials and experts have been warning for years about Norad’s state, parts of which are now obsolete as Russia and other adversaries have developed more advanced weapons. It is also despite the fact that Canada is under pressure from NATO’s military alliance to increase its defense spending, with the Norad fundraiser seen as the easiest and most likely scenario when the Liberals unveil their budget on Thursday. This is because while the government has already planned and costed most of the expected military markets for the next 15 years, there has been no budget or significant work to modernize Norad. read more Do you have an opinion? Send it to [email protected] April 2, 2022 – 13151 votes Should the latest BC carbon tax increase be overturned in the light of high inflation? Yes: 11167 No: 1777 Uncertain: 207 March 31, 2022 – 8861 votesWould you travel more outside of Canada by lifting the COVID-19 test requirement? Yes: 4870 No: 3521 Uncertain: 470 March 30, 2022 – 8346 votes Would you feel safe traveling by self-propelled vehicle? Yes: 1240 No: 6493 Uncertain: 613 March 29, 2022 – 8829 votes Does BC need a “relaxed” period for home buyers? Yes: 4228 No: 3921 Uncertain: 680 March 28, 2022 – 10,215 votes Was Will Smith’s Chris Rock slap at the Oscars directed or real? Directed: 3070 Genuine: 5729 Uncertain: 1416
