Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Senator Gold, in June of 2022, then defence minister Anita Anand announced $38.6 billion to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. The funding is meant to be spent over 20 years and is focused on modernizing our surveillance systems, the technology we use and our air-weapon systems while also investing in new infrastructure and support capabilities as well as science and technology aimed at future proofing our capabilities to defend North America.

The President of the U.S. and Prime Minister Trudeau released a joint statement on March 24, 2023, stating:

Our highest priority is to protect our citizens and our sovereign territory. We will invest in the modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) . . .

They specifically agreed to accelerate the procurement of the Over-the-Horizon Radar to 2028, and Canadian investment in Arctic infrastructure to support the arrival of the first F-35 aircraft in Canada.

Senator, can you give this chamber an update on the contract for specific investments?

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the sixth report of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs.

I’d like to begin by thanking Senators Dean and Anderson and the other members of the committee for joining me alongside some of my Canadian Senators Group colleagues for the Arctic Sovereignty and Security Summit that I co-sponsored with Inuit development corporations in Iqaluit last September. I can very clearly see many of the themes raised by participants at that Summit reflected throughout the report and recommendations. I also thank the committee for going to great lengths to ensure that Arctic Indigenous voices are well represented in this report as well.

The report, entitled Arctic Security Under Threat: Urgent needs in a changing geopolitical and environmental landscape, touches on many issues that I have been engaged with for years, and I was very happy to see that it contained such clear, strong and compelling recommendations.

While I agree with all of the recommendations, I wanted to focus my limited speaking time today on one in particular. Recommendation 4 states:

That the Government of Canada, in the next defence policy, outline Canada’s approach to deterring adversaries in the Arctic, including during the expected “gap period” between when adversaries could deploy new weapons systems and when the North American Aerospace Defense Command will have the technology to detect them.

This recommendation speaks to questions I asked of the government leader, Senator Gold, earlier today. We need to continue moving forward with our ambitious plan to strategically invest $38.6 billion over the next two decades on North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, modernization. Part of that includes making sure we are able to keep the North secure now, not just in 20 years. With the ongoing instability brought on by Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, and given the sadly deteriorating state of peace in other regions of the globe, we must preserve and defend the peace we currently enjoy in the Arctic.

Colleagues, I was recently in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, on Victoria Island in order to be present for the visit of U.S. Ambassador David Cohen. During the luncheon held there, he gave a speech during which he described the U.S. views on the Arctic region. He said:

In one sentence, the United States sees the Arctic region as a place free of conflict, where nations act responsibly, and where economic development and investment take place in a sustainable, secure, and transparent manner that respects the environment and the interests and cultures of Indigenous peoples.

That really spoke to me. We have a duty to Canadians and to our allies to maintain a strong, stable and secure Arctic. That is why I am so convinced that we need to focus our attention on acquiring a fleet of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft to replace our aging CP-140 Aurora aircraft. The Auditor General’s 2022 report on Arctic Waters Surveillance clearly stated:

Action is needed to close gaps and put equipment renewal on a sustainable path to provide a full picture of what happens in the Arctic, which is essential to developing the actions needed to monitor maritime activities and respond to threats and incidents.

As I said in the preamble of my question today, the P-8A is currently employed by all other Five Eyes nations — namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — as well as by Indo-Pacific nations such as India and South Korea.

The Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft capability is vitally important to Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, NATO responsibilities and maritime challenges in the Arctic. Until the Over-the-Horizon Radar is in place, the aircraft is also essential to NORAD’s all-domain awareness.

The letter of acceptance to officially acquire these aircraft is set to expire on November 30, 2023. The timeline for the P-8A provides overlap with the existing capability in the CP-140 — overlap that is crucial to maintain coverage. Any other solution will, I fear, require years of development and testing. Any further extension of the CP-140 would involve risk and billions of dollars in additional cost. The P-8A will remain the only currently available aircraft that meets operational requirements for years to come. Therefore, I am anxious to see this solution secured as soon as possible.

I do know and acknowledge that there is still substantial pressure from Bombardier to have the contract go out to tender. However, I fear that opening up a competitive process could put Canada in a position where it will not be part of the coalition we have struck with our allies of interchangeable Multi-Mission Aircraft. It is also noteworthy — and a fact — that the Bombardier aircraft simply exists on paper, while the P-8A is tested and proven. Public Services and Procurement Canada’s own statement from March 27, 2023, stated that the P-8A is “ . . . the only currently available aircraft that meets all of the CMMA operational requirements . . . . ”

So why are we delaying? In my opinion, this is urgent.

Once we make this investment, Canada should also turn its attention to the variety of coordinated investments that must take place to support this modernization of our fleet. Currently, our Forward Operating Locations do not have hangars that could sufficiently house the incoming fleet of F-35s we purchased. We need longer and paved runways in the Arctic for them. As well, we desperately need to improve and modernize the telecommunications infrastructure in the North.

During that same visit, I had a chance to tour a North Warning System location — that’s CAM-MAIN — in Cambridge Bay with the ambassador. I have to share with you, colleagues, that entering it was like entering a time warp. I’m old enough to remember staying at those sites when they were relatively new when I was part of Nunavut’s travelling court system. I can tell you that 40 years later, they haven’t changed much at all. That is frightening to me, given that we need to have a heightened awareness of what is happening in our Arctic, and we need to be able to respond to a potential threat that has spent the last few decades strategically investing in their military presence in the North.

The Russian North and coast are bristling with military bases, air bases and ports. I don’t say this as an alarmist, but as a pragmatist. The time for action is now. It is not enough to simply announce the funding. We need to start spending it immediately and wisely.

The title of this report of the Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs speaks clearly on the importance and timeliness of this study: Arctic Security Under Threat: Urgent needs in a changing geopolitical and environmental landscape. I wholeheartedly endorse every one of its 23 thoughtful and welcome recommendations and urge its quick adoption by the Senate.

Thank you. Qujannamiik, honourable senators.