Frenzied War Preparations and Promotion of Militarization
Canada Gives Away Billions in the Name of "Arctic Sovereignty" and "Reconciliation"
Picket outside U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, June 9, 2024 against
militarization of the Arctic
Just days after he swore allegiance to King of England Charles III to assume the post of Prime Minister, the not-yet-even-elected Mark Carney made a visit to the Arctic to announce billions would be spent to militarize the Arctic. This further endangers the cause of peace in that region and the lives of Inuit communities on whose land the military facilities are established and war exercises conducted. All of it is done in the name of defending Canada's sovereignty and reconciliation with the long-suffering Inuit.
This shows above all else that the militarization of Canada and spending on war production and preparations are not policy of this or that government but of the Canadian state itself.
Carney travelled to Iqaluit, Nunavut on March 18 on his way back from France and England where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer respectively, as well as Charles III. In Iqaluit he announced that "Canada intends to partner with Australia to develop advanced Over-the-Horizon Radar technology. This partnership will include developing Canada's Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system, an investment of more than $6 billion that will provide early warning radar coverage from threats to the Arctic."
This is said to be part of the modernization plan for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) which is commanded by the United States, to which Canada committed $38 billion in June 2022. By partnering with Australia, the government claims that this will "deepen our long-standing bilateral defence relationship" with that country. Australia has operated its Over-the-Horizon Radar system for more than 30 years. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of the British defence company BAE systems.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported: "For months, senior officials have been discussing exporting Australia's world-leading radar technology JORN [Jindalee Operational Radar Network] to the United States, but after Donald Trump's return to the White House, Canada saw an opportunity and leapt. [...] With the United States continuing its campaign of tariffs on foreign nations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was good for Australia to 'diversify' its trade relationships."
Australian officials said a direct sale to the U.S., which has been considering the JORN system for more than a year, was thrown into question by the audit of Pentagon spending by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by billionaire Elon Musk. While "the Canadians were always going to follow the U.S. purchase and slipstream off that" circumstances changed and "things moved quickly," a senior official told ABC.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles described the deal to ABC as "potentially the biggest defence industry export that Australia has ever been a part of."
Also announced by Carney was "a greater, sustained, and year-round Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) presence in the Arctic -- an investment of nearly $420 million to protect our sovereignty across land, air, and sea. With an expansion of its Northern and Arctic operations and training exercises, and the deployment of more personnel, the CAF will be better placed to defend Canada's Arctic presence and sovereignty -- while enabling greater collaboration with NATO Allies."
Despite media statements that Canada is switching its military procurement from the U.S. to Europe and Australia to spite Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada, these are state expenditures, not policies of this or that government.
Of Canada's contribution to the military build-up of the "North American Arctic," Carney said:
"Canada is, and forever will be,
an Arctic nation, and we can never take our sovereignty and
security in the region for granted. Our government will
strengthen Canada's Arctic security, bolster partnerships with
our closest Allies, unleash the North's economic potential, and
reaffirm reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Canada will
remain a strong, secure, and sovereign nation."
The Canadian government is spending billions of dollars to strengthen U.S. command over Canada's north, in the name of "sovereignty" and "security" but it will provide neither for Canada. It is a clear financial contribution to NATO and NORAD, which won't even be factored into the five per cent of GDP contribution demanded by the U.S. for NATO.
Canadians want Canada to be a Zone for Peace. Today, the more the U.S. and the Genocide-7 (G7) prepare for war and declare the U.S. an "indispensable nation" for which no crime of war and genocide is too great to achieve its striving for world domination, the more Canadians and the peoples of the world will oppose the war preparations of the imperialist powers.
Dismantle NATO and NORAD!
Not a Single Youth for Imperialist War!
Make Canada a Zone for Peace!
(TML, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace)
This article was published in
Volume 55
Number 3 - March 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/M550033.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca