President of the Rideau Institute and author of Missile Defence: Round One (Lorimer, 2006), Steven Staples, said that the appointment of retired General Walter Natynczyk as head of the Canadian Space Agency raises questions about the future of Canada’s space program and its closer relationship to the military. "My concern is that we may be … Read more
A new report on the future of Canada’s submarine program has been released by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The report, “That Sinking Feeling: Canada’s Submarine Program Springs a Leak” was written by University of British Columbia political science professor Michael Byers and defence analyst Stewart Webb (a visiting research … Read more
The Rideau Institute released a report titled: "The worst procurement in the history of Canada”: Solving the maritime helicopter crisis, by Michael Byers and Stewart Webb. More information is available online.
A new report, released by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, calls on the government to replace the Canadian Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue fleet in a timely and objective manner, and proposes that a number of made-in-Canada aircraft be considered to fulfill Canada’s search and rescue requirements, especially on the West … Read more
The Rideau Institute is reporting that National Defence Minister Peter MacKay (Central Nova, NS) underestimated the cost of last year’s Libya intervention, according to incremental cost figures released with the DND 2012-13 Report on Plans and Priorities. In June 2011 MacKay told Canadians that the incremental cost of the Libya mission from March 2011 to … Read more
The federal government may not be making the correct choice by replacing Canada’s CF-18 fleet with the F-35, warned Colonel Paul Maillet (ret.), the Royal Canadian Air Force’s former CF-18 fleet manager. Maillet said the government is facing significant performance risks, headaches and much higher costs than anticipated. The full release is available online. Call … Read more
The 2011 Rideau Institute Leadership Award will be awarded to Kathleen Ruff for her work to end Canada’s export of asbestos. The Rideau Institute Leadership Award is given by the Rideau Institute Board of Directors to a person or group for making an outstanding contribution to a progressive vision of Canada. Ruff has brought to … Read more
The Macdonald-Laurier Institute has released a new report that tabulates the number of additional dollars spent on national security since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The report, called The Cost of 9/11: Tracking the Creation of a National Security Establishment, was written by economist David Macdonald, and examines how much federal government spending … Read more
The cost of the F-35 stealth fighters will be much higher than the government’s figures, and will even exceed the cost announced last month by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), according to Winslow T. Wheeler, Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC. Call 613-565-9449.
The Sayisi Dene First Nation called on Indian and Northern Affairs Minister John Duncan (Vancouver Island North, BC) to apologize on behalf of the federal government and settle a fourteen-year-old claim by the First Nation concerning their forced relocation in the 1950s, and the ensuing deaths and poverty they suffered. Call (204) 926-1504.
