Putting Canadian and Quebec Territory and Public Space in Service of Aggressive Military Alliances
- Christine Dandenault and Claude
Brunelle -
October 30, 2004. Demonstration in opposition to
the presence of warships in Montreal.
Canada is a founding member of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) established on April 4,
1949. It has also been a member of the North
American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) since
May 12, 1958. The integration of the Canadian
military into the U.S. military has been one of
the characteristics of Canada's membership in
these military alliances. Despite the determined
and continued opposition of the Quebec, Canadian
and Indigenous peoples to any participation of
Canada in such alliances and wars of aggression
and occupation under the helm of the U.S.
imperialists, the Canadian government continues
its interventions against the peoples of the
world. This translates into putting the territory,
public space and public funds at the disposal of
these alliances.
La Presse reported on October 21, that the
Canadian government will be increasing the federal
budget allocation for war based on its commitment
as a member of NATO. "NATO figures show that
Canada is on the verge of committing 1.45 per cent
of its GDP to the military this year. This not
only represents a significant hike from last
year's 1.29 per cent, but the largest share of the
GDP for defence in a decade.[1]
"It also exceeds the Liberal government's
original provisions, set out in the 2017 defence
policy, to spend 1.4 per cent of the GDP on the
military by 2024-2025 -- the year NATO members
were to reach the two per cent target."[2]
Pretext of Protecting Populations and Countering
Threats from Abroad
Fifty years after the implementation of the War
Measures
Act and the military occupation of Quebec by
the Trudeau government, Canadian military training
activities continue in the name of protecting the
population.
The military occupation of Quebec was used to
crush the struggle of the Quebec people in the
late 1960s for the affirmation of their rights,
under the pretext of an apprehended armed
insurrection, which was later revealed as pure
fabrication on the government's part. Shortly
before the 50th anniversary of that occupation,
October 31, Canadian Special Operations Forces
held a military exercise at the Farnham military
base during the night of October 20-21. CH-146
Griffon and CH-147 Chinook aircraft flew over the
municipalities of Farnham, Chambly and the
surrounding towns en route to the Saint-Hubert
airport. It was reported that the sky was full of
helicopters and that shots were fired. Canadian
Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) is a
high-readiness organization, able to deploy
special operations forces on very short notice,
purportedly to protect the Canadian population
against threats at home and abroad.
Ian Grant, the captain in charge of the command,
says: "The training included extensive air support
from the Royal Canadian Air Force. This exercise
was regular training for Canadian Special
Operations Forces Command that helps maintain the
skills that may be required for overseas
deployments, and provides an opportunity to build
the skills needed to protect Canadians here at
home.[3]
In August, a military training exercise was held
in the Arctic, called Operation NANOOK, a mainstay
of the Canadian Armed Forces since 2007. The
exercise lasted three weeks and was led by Canada
and, for the first time, joined by allies the
United States, France and Denmark.
A report on the naval exercise in the Arctic
says that it was intended to send a message of
unity against potential adversaries in the north
-- who are identified as Russia or China. Three
Canadian Navy warships and four allied warships
participated in the exercise, conducting most of
their activities in the Davis Strait between
Baffin Island and Greenland, which is considered
part of the Northwest Passage.
"The message is that the Arctic is strategically
important. It's becoming
increasingly important for our collective
national security," said Vice Admiral Steven
Poulin, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's
Atlantic area [our emphasis].[4]
In July 2020, the 408 Tactical Helicopter
Squadron travelled to 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta to
participate in Gander Gunner 2020, a week-long
aerial gunnery exercise for the squadron's
newly-assigned aircrew. CH-146 Griffon helicopters
flew over the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, each
equipped with two lateral C6 machine guns to learn
new skills.
The Gander Gunner exercise focused on door gunner
accuracy, effective attack patterns and realistic
tactical scenarios, to maintain the high standard
of training for all aircrew. Missions used night
vision goggle technology to allow attack teams to
conduct fire missions even through the darkest
nights.[5]
In October, soldiers from the Canadian Army
participated in a military exercise in Kuwait with
the U.S. military. Canadian Forces members in
Kuwait were trained in special operations weapons
at the Udairi Range complex with the U.S.
Joint Special Operations Forces Support Detachment
in Kuwait (JSSD-K), led by the United States
Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for U.S.
military operations in the Middle East, Central
Asia, and South Asia.[6]
Members of JSSD-K brought together soldiers from
the 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron,
the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineering
Squadron, 387 Air Expeditionary Squadron, Camp
Canada and Camp Moreell for a day of Special
Operations -- Weapons (SOF) training.[7]
Militarization of Police Forces
One of the aspects of life today is the
bankruptcy of democratic institutions and the
violent response of governments to contain the
popular will that demands control over all
decisions affecting the lives of the people. The
use of police powers takes many forms, including
the militarization of police forces. For example,
war weaponry is now purchased by various
municipalities and made available to their police
forces. In February 2018, the City of Laval
entered into a $168,000 private contract with Colt
for the purchase of long guns and powerful
ammunition. The assault rifles are not intended
for use by special forces, but for patrol
officers.
The justification was provided in the call for
tenders: "It is imperative for the Laval Police
Service to acquire adequate, effective and precise
patrol rifles so that police officers can
neutralize the threat in a minimum amount of time
and with maximum precision." The rifles are to be
made available to patrol officers and carried in
the trunks of patrol cars so that they can react
in the event of an attack or killing. What is the
threat? It did not say.
In 2018, the Chateauguay Police Department took
steps to equip its patrol officers with 5.56 mm
calibre weapons. These weapons are to be used
under two circumstances: in the presence of an
active shooter or a barricaded suspect. Patrol
officers can intervene in high-risk situations
without waiting for the arrival of the
intervention team.
In November 2019, the media announced that
members of the City of Montreal Police Service
(SPVM) Emergency Response Team (ERT) will soon
carry assault rifles with an even greater strike
force than those already in their possession. The
police force has issued a call for tender to
acquire weapons comparable to the mythical AK-47,
capable of stopping a pickup truck or piercing
light armor.
In 2018, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the
provincial police force, received 230 Colt C8
rifles from the Canadian Forces. One hundred and
fifty patrol officers are to be trained "on
budget." One hundred have already taken the course
and some forty weapons are already circulating in
as many patrol units across Quebec. In November
2019, the SQ also signed a $153,000 contract to
purchase semi-automatic long guns and 300 Blackout
ammunition from the MD Charlton Company.
During 2017, the City of Longueuil signed at
least 11 contracts for a total of $751,000. A
dozen assault rifles were purchased for the
tactical teams, as well as accessories such as
silencers, and optical equipment.
In addition, tens of thousands of rounds of
ammunition have been ordered for patrol officers'
long guns. Patrol officers will use C8 assault
rifles supplied by the Canadian Army. "All of our
patrol officers who will be using long guns have
undergone rigorous training," the City of
Longueuil Police Service said.[8]
Militarization of Life and Public Space
More recently, within in the context of the
pandemic, the federal government deployed the
Canadian Armed Forces to "assist" public
authorities. Among other things, Deputy Prime
Minister Chrystia Freeland's refusal to allow the
Cuban Henry Reeve Brigades to provide assistance
to the Anishinaabe and Dakota communities in
Manitoba at their request is a case in point.
Instead, the next day, the Deputy Prime Minister
called on the Canadian Armed Forces to assist
them.
In Quebec, more than 1,400 members of the
Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) were mobilized by
civilian authorities in 47 residential and
long-term care centres (CHSLDs). Operation LASER
-- the deployment of Canadian Forces members to
seniors' residences in Quebec and Ontario in the
spring to combat COVID-19 -- was carried out
gradually, beginning on April 22. The Legault
government even intervened to request that the
armed forces remain until September, saying it was
an essential service.
The government refused and continues to refuse to
listen to and apply the proposals of workers and
professionals in the field who have the experience
and know-how to save lives. Instead of responding
to the pressing demands of health care workers in
terms of equipment, masks, human and material
resources and ending the anti-social offensive
with large investments in health care, the
government has turned to the armed forces.
COVID-19 becomes the pretext. In actual fact, this
becomes a military exercise in the public domain,
right in the heart of health care facilities.
Natural Resources Deemed in the National
Interest
Another aspect of the use of our national
territory for military and aggressive NATO and
U.S. Command purposes is their strong interest in
our natural resources that can be used for
military purposes. The October 24, 2020 issue of TML
Weekly points to the minerals of interest:
"Of the 35 critical minerals, many others are
also extracted in Canada, such as cobalt (in
Ontario), niobium, scandium and titanium (in
Quebec). Plans are in place for others to be
mined, such as chromium (Ontario's Ring of Fire),
vanadium (from the tar sands in Alberta and
Quebec's Lac Doré complex), lithium (in the James
Bay area, Quebec) and rare earth elements (REEs)
(in northern Saskatchewan). In all these cases,
Quebec and provincial governments across Canada
are providing all sorts of handouts to the rich in
the form of infrastructure projects (building of
roads, railways, power lines, and research and
development facilities) and bailouts. [...]
"As indicated in the 2018 United States
Geological Survey document on critical minerals,
many of the elements found in Canada have military
and civilian applications. Aluminum is used in
many civilian and military ground, marine and
aerospace applications such as vehicles, naval
vessels, airframes and plane and rocket fuselages.
Cesium and rubidium are indispensable elements in
global positioning satellites (GPS), rocket
guidance systems, military infrared devices (night
vision), cellular phones and fibre optics, to name
just a few.
"Indium is used for aircraft windshields,
military infrared imaging, flat panel displays for
computer and TV screens and for nuclear
applications, amongst many other uses.
Various REEs are used in jet engines; in
military guidance, laser, radar and sonar systems;
and to make permanent magnets. Tellurium has
military applications in infrared devices (night
vision) and semiconductors for telecommunication
and electronic devices. Uranium has many
applications for space missions, nuclear
propulsion of military vessels and nuclear power
stations."
Make Canada a Zone for Peace
 In these military
activities and the occupation of public space and
territory, the peoples of Canada, Quebec, the
First Nations and even the peoples of the world
and their objective movement to be able to decide
upon all matters of concern to them are not part
of the equation. Yet, the reality is that only the
peoples of the world in their struggle for
justice, dignity, emancipation, peace and security
are capable of achieving peace.
For decades Canadians and Quebeckers have
expressed their opposition to any participation by
Canada in aggressive alliances that seek to crush
and subjugate other peoples and nations that
refuse to submit to imperialist dictate.
Demonstrations, petitions, and public statements
are now part of their DNA. Not a single NATO
warship can dock in a Quebec port, or anywhere
else in the country, without being met by
demonstrators. The Canadian, Quebec and
Indigenous peoples are actively demonstrating
their desire for a Canada that is a zone of peace,
for an anti-war Canada that it is so urgent to
build.
Notes
1. "Le Canada
augmente nettement sa part en défense, selon
l'OTAN," La Presse, October 21, 2020.
2. Ibid.
3. "Des aéronets survolent
la région en plein nuit," Journal de Chambly,
October 21, 2020.
4. "Le Canada mène un
exercice militaire dans l'Arctique," La Presse,
August 4, 2020.
5. "Exercise Grander
Gunner 2020," Canadian Armed Forces, September
16, 2020.
6. 45e Nord, Armes
d'opérations spéciales: les Canadiens
s'entraînent au Koweit avec les Américains,
October 23, 2020.
7. Ibid.
8. "Vague d'achats
de fusils d'assaut au sein des corps policiers
du Québec," Radio-Canada, May 15, 2018.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 45 - November 21, 2020
Article Link:
Putting Canadian and Quebec Territory and Public Space in Service of Aggressive Military Alliances - Christine Dandenault and Claude
Brunelle
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
