The legislative body passed a motion March 18 to halt arms exports to Israel because of ongoing human rights concerns over the nation’s military operations in Gaza.

But government ministers have stated the motion will only temporarily pause exports and that some existing equipment sales are proceeding.

The result is confusion among defense firms that are seeking clarification.

Christyn Cianfarani, president of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, pointed out that the Canadian government strictly regulates what, where, when and how companies can export controlled goods.

“For companies to be able to comply with changes to those rules, they need to know what the changes are,” Cianfarani wrote in a March 25 email to Defense News. “The government has a responsibility to quickly publish the exact details of any changes to its policy surrounding exports, and that hasn’t happened yet.”

After the motion passed, Defence Minister Bill Blair told reporters that the issuing of export permits for military shipments to Israel has been temporarily put on hold. He did not indicate when that might be lifted.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told journalists that the Canadian government stopped approving permits Jan. 8 because of human rights concerns resulting from Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

But later, on March 20, Reuters reported Joly’s office sent a statement acknowledging that companies with existing military export permits to Israel can continue with their deliveries.

A senior official with the government’s Global Affairs Canada told the Senate’s foreign affairs panel March 20 that it remains unclear how the motion will affect defense exports to Israel. Global Affairs Canada is responsible for overseeing defense export permits.

“These are things that are being refined,” Alexandre Lévêque, assistant deputy minister for Europe, the Arctic, the Middle East and the Maghreb, told lawmakers, noting that the government wants to “limit any exports that go into arms [and] weapons that could be used directly in the conflict” in Gaza.

He did not specifically detail how the government intends to determine whether a specific part or piece of equipment is used in the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel leads a Canadian government ranking of the top 12 non-U.S. destinations that require export permits for military goods and technology. The number of permits issued in 2022 for movement of such goods to Israel was 315, according to the Canadian government. And that year, Canada exported about CA$21 million (U.S. $15 million) worth of defense-related products to Israel.

Israel condemned the motion passed in the House of Commons. “It’s regrettable that the Canadian government is taking a step that undermines Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas terrorists,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted.

Project Ploughshares, a Canadian think tank focused on disarmament and international security, issued a statement March 21 that expressed disappointment that the new policy does not apply to export permits already issued and “which Global Affairs Canada has the full authority to revoke.”

It also noted the House of Commons motion failed to address Canada’s transfer of military end-use parts and components to Israel via the United States.

News website The Maple reported Feb. 10 that Canadian government figures show domestic firms sent to Israel CA$28.5 million in military goods during the first two months of the war in Gaza, which began in October. Those exports included engines for drones; electronic systems and aircraft components; and fire control equipment, according to The Maple, which obtained the data using the federal government’s Access to Information Act.

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair announced Feb. 15 that $227 million Canadian will go toward the RBS 70 NG short-range Air Defence System. The equipment, made by Saab, is expected to be delivered later this year.

Blair also announced that Canada is spending $46 million Canadian to acquire new counter-drone equipment. TRD Systems of Singapore, CACI Inc., of the United States, and Leonardo UK will all receive contracts for various elements.

Blair, who was in Brussels for a NATO defense ministers’ gathering, linked the purchases to Canada’s ongoing support to NATO and Euro-Atlantic security. “Canada’s support for the NATO alliance is steadfast,” Blair said in a statement announcing the new equipment deals.

The procurements come in the wake of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement in July 2023 that, as part of a major commitment to NATO, Canada would spend another $2.6 billion Canadian to double the number of troops it has stationed in Latvia. Canada currently has roughly 1,000 military personnel in that country.

The government announced Dec. 15 that it is also buying new anti-tank missiles for its troops in the Baltic country. Defense News has confirmed that the Spike LR2 anti-tank system, made by Israeli vendor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is the weapon of choice for a cost of $43 million Canadian.

Kened Sadiku, a spokesman for Canada’s Department of National Defence, stated in an email that initial operating capability of the Spike weapons is expected to be achieved by mid 2024. Full operational capability is expected in the winter of 2026. “Due to operational security, the total number of units to be acquired cannot be disclosed,” he added.

Canada’s equipment efforts for its faraway NATO troop contingent come as Baltic neighbor Estonia noted that the alliance’s new emphasis on forward defense, approved at the 2023 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, was starting to bear fruit.

“We are on track with the regional plans and, if needed, they are executable already now,” Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur said in a Feb. 15 statement. He was referring to the concept of defending the eastern flank forcefully, as opposed to weathering an initial attack and waiting for reinforcements, as had been the plan before.

Blair had also announced Dec. 15 that starting in summer 2024, Canada will deploy four Royal Canadian Air Force Griffon helicopters to Latvia. The government will also periodically deploy Chinooks, starting in fall 2025. This is the first time that Canada has persistently deployed tactical aviation capabilities to Europe since operations in Bosnia and Kosovo in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to Blair.

Also for the first time, Canada has deployed its medium-range radar capabilities to support the contingent in Latvia, Blair noted. The sensors are designed to provide aerial surveillance for the brigade, as well as quickly and accurately identify air vehicles and munitions.

A Canadian Army tank squadron of 15 Leopard 2A4M tanks, along with supporting personnel and equipment recently arrived in Latvia. The full complement of approximately 130 personnel should be in place by spring 2024, Blair said.

The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System project was to deliver a fleet of drones for the Royal Canadian Air Force that would be operational by 2025. That date has now shifted and the delivery of the first aircraft is expected in 2028.

“The Canadian RPAS configuration will require significant development work in order to address RCAF requirements, which differ from our allies’ requirements,” said Department of National Defence spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin told Defense News.

Ottawa is focused on acquiring the General Atomics MQ-9B Reaper in a project budgeted with as much as 5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.6 billion). It’s hoping to have a contract in place by the end of this year or early next year.

The developmental work would require the integration of new systems on the MQ-9B, Poulin said in an email.

“For example, the need to operate at high northern latitudes, including in the Arctic, requires the use of satellites and aircraft antennas and communication components not previously integrated on the MQ-9,” she said. “Similarly, additional testing and qualification work will be required to ensure the RPAS can be operated and maintained in Canadian climatic conditions.”

Poulin said there is also some developmental effort required to integrate the Canadian-made WESCAM MX-20 EO/IR sensor onto the platform.

“Other examples include work required to develop a training solution tailored to RCAF requirements, and airworthiness certification required to support the RCAF concept of operations,” Poulin added.

Mark Brinkley, a spokesman for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, declined to comment.

In September the U.S. State Department approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to Canada for 219 Hellfire missiles and other weapons and radars to be used by the MQ-9B. The proposed sale is worth an estimated $313 million.

Department of National Defence spokesman Andrew McKelvey said that FMS proposal was developed based on the current planned timelines for the RPAS project. The equipment and weapons expected to be provided through the FMS case will be delivered as and when required to support the RPAS integration, testing and production work that will be performed by General Atomics, he added.

The so-called Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar would be established in the southern portion of the province of Ontario and provide long-range detection of incoming threats approaching Alaska. The system would be part of what the Canadian government is calling a layered approach to keep watch over the northern approaches of the continent.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the system March 24, 2023, during a visit to Ottawa by U.S. President Joe Biden.

As many as four sites could be needed for the system’s transmitters and receivers. Canada’s Department of National Defence is currently assessing locations in the province bordering the American states of Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

“Decisions on potential locations are expected to be finalized by spring 2024,” department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said.

Initial operating capability for the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar is set for 2028, she added, and full operating capability for 2031.

The radar would “provide long-range surveillance of northern approaches to the major population centers in North America by establishing a northward-aimed high frequency over-the-horizon radar system in southern Canada,” according to an April 7, 2022, briefing prepared for defense industry representatives.

The preliminary cost estimate for the system is CA$1 billion (U.S. $743 million).

A second system to be built, the Polar Over-the-Horizon Radar, would also provide early warning radar coverage over the Arctic, but that system would be located in the high Arctic at a site still undetermined. Its capability would come online two years after the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar, according to Canadian defense officials.

Lamirande did not have a cost estimate for that effort.

A third project, called Crossbow, is a complementary but classified network of sensors that will be distributed across northern Canada. It’s expected Crossbow will begin operating around 2029 or 2030. Development of Crossbow is taking place in conjunction with the U.S. military.

The Department of National Defence declined to provide additional details, citing the classified nature of the project.

A fourth portion of the layered defense involves space-based capabilities. Canada will develop a new space-based system to replace the surveillance satellites of the current RADARSAT Constellation Mission as well as other surveillance-related spacecraft now operating. The new project, called Defence Enhanced Surveillance from Space, will include a space-based synthetic aperture radar and an automatic identification system for maritime tracking.

That new space system won’t be available until at least 2035, according to the Canadian government.

Trudeau also announced what he called the Defence of Canada Fighter Infrastructure project. That will involve spending CA$7.3 billion on new infrastructure to support the acquisition of F-35 jets by Canada. Those aircraft are expected to arrive starting in 2026 but would not be fully operational until three years later.

The new infrastructure project would include upgraded locations in the Arctic region from which aircraft operate.

Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the acquisition plans on March 9, noting the systems are urgent operational requirements in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“These projects will better equip our Canadian Armed Forces members deployed on NATO’s eastern flank with the capabilities that they need,” Anand told retired and serving military officers at the Conference of Defence Associations’ annual meeting in Ottawa. “Canada’s leadership of the NATO battlegroup in Latvia demonstrates our unwavering commitment to the alliance.”

Canada currently has about 700 troops in Latvia.

The Canadian military is calling the first tranche of equipment it will buy a portable anti-X missile system, or PAXM. That project will acquire anti-tank missiles, plus simulators for training.

The country will soon issue a request for bids and award a contract in mid-2023, according to Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier.

The department declined to release budget details on the three new projects.

Canadian troops in Latvia will also soon receive a counter-drone system. The Counter Uncrewed Aircraft System program, or CUAS, will see the force purchase a system to protect against small drones. A request for information was issued to defense and aerospace firms on March 2.

The country is expected to award contracts for various systems in fall 2023 and January 2024. The military plans to acquire both vehicle-mounted and fixed-site systems.

The air defense project will see a soldier-portable very-short-range air defense system equip Canadian units in Latvia. The release of a request for bids is expected in the summer. The Canadian military hopes to award a contract in early 2024, Le Bouthillier said.

Canadian troops have been stationed in Latvia since 2017. In June 2022, the Canadian government reaffirmed its commitment to Latvia, noting it would improve command-and-control, air defense, and anti-tank capabilities.

In addition, Canada has spent more than CA$1 billion (U.S. $724 million) on equipping Ukraine’s military since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

On Jan. 10, the Canadian government announced it would purchase a surface-to-air missile system for Ukraine, but no further details are available.

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau outlined the plans to spend CA$500 million (U.S. $391 million) on cybersecurity initiatives over the next five years in his 2018 federal government budget released Tuesday. After that initial period, the government will set aside CA$108 million a year for continuing cyber security initiatives. For comparison, the United States spends $15 billion a year on cybersecurity.

Morneau noted the government will establish Canada’s first comprehensive cybersecurity plan. “Cyber-attacks are becoming more pervasive, increasingly sophisticated and ever more effective,” the 2018 federal budget document stated. “Successful cyber-attacks have the potential to expose the private information of Canadians, cost Canadian businesses millions of dollars, and potentially put Canada’s critical infrastructure networks at risk.”

Like many nations Canada has faced cyberattacks. Last year an attack forced the Canada Revenue Agency to go offline temporarily as Canadians were trying to file their taxes to that department.

Of the new funding, CA$155 million will go to the Defence department’s Communications Security Establishment so it can create a new Canadian Center for Cyber Security. “By consolidating operational cyber expertise from across the federal government under one roof, the new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security will establish a single, unified Government of Canada source of unique expert advice, guidance, services and support on cyber security operational matters,” Morneau’s budget document noted.

To bolster Canada’s ability to fight cybercrime, the government will spend CA$116 million to create a new National Cybercrime Coordination Unit to be operated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The unit will be a coordination hub for cybercrime investigations in Canada and will work with international partners on battling cybercrime, government officials said.

Another CA$236 million will be budgeted to develop and support a new National Cyber Security Strategy. The strategy will focus on securing computer systems, developing threat assessments and keeping critical infrastructure safe. It would also work with the financial and energy sectors on improving their cyber security, according to the Canadian government.

The contract covers 21 such systems.

The rapid-fire, radar-guided gun system was described by Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, in announcing the contract, as the most effective naval self-defense system available against close-in threats such as missiles, small ships and aircraft.

“It is the last line of defense for the backbone of the Royal Canadian Navy — the Halifax-class frigate,” he said.

The CIWS in-service support contract will be valid until late 2037.

The contract will update all 21 Phalanx CIWS and provide engineering services, project management, support and disposal services, as well as the procurement of spares and test equipment, according to Canada’s Department of National Defence.

A number of the upgrades will center on improvements to the gun’s radar system, a Department of National Defence official said.

The previous contract to maintain the systems was also with Raytheon Canada and lasted 10 years. The value of that was deal was CN$189 million.

The increase in value represents the planned improvements with the radar, the need for more maintenance because of the older nature of the system and the longer period for the maintenance, the department official said.

Each of the 12 Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigates carry a Phalanx CIWS. Others are used for training.

The service also plans to install the systems on the new joint support ships. Those supply vessels are to be built at Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver and are expected to be available after 2021.

The repeaters provided by Canada’s Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) satellite project will significantly cut down on the time it takes to locate a distress signal, according to Canadian military officers.

The 24 search-and-rescue repeaters will be installed on the Air Force’sUSAF’s GPS 3 satellites. The first repeater is expected to be on one of the satellites scheduled for launch in 2017. COM DEV of Cambridge, Ontario, will be awarded the contract to build the repeaters. In 2013 it received a CAN $4.7 million (U.S. $3.5 million) contract from the Canadian government for research-and-design work on the systems.

The MEOSAR satellite project, which will also include the construction of three ground stations, could cost up to $249 million, according to Canada’s Department of National Defence. Companies will be asked for bids on the ground segment portion sometime next year. A contract for that will be awarded in 2018, with the ground stations built by 2020.

Once in orbit 22,000 kilometers above the Earth, a MEOSAR repeater will be able to detect signals from emergency beacons and retransmit the signals to receiver stations on the ground. The emergency messages can then be sent to appropriate authorities so that people in danger can be quickly located and rescued.

Email: dpugliese@defensenews.com