Video still: Live feed of announcement.
Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a $6.6 billion “Defence Industrial Strategy to strengthen security, create prosperity, and reinforce strategic autonomy”.
The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office highlights: “The Defence Industrial Strategy will create 125,000 high-paying careers, increase our defence exports by 50%, raise the share of defence acquisitions awarded to Canadian firms to 70%, and grow Canadian defence industry revenues by 240%.”
It further notes that in order to “Scale up Canada’s defence and dual-use innovation, and export it to our allies” the Government of Canada will “Boost Canadian defence exports through a new dedicated team for export promotion” and “Appoint new trade commissioners in the United Kingdom and key European Union markets to support Canadian business abroad and ramp up Canada’s presence at major global defence and aerospace trade shows”.
What does a 50% increase mean?
In the most recent Annual Report on Strategic Goods and Technologies Pursuant to Section 27 of the Export and Import Permits Act, Global Affairs Canada noted: “For the 2024 calendar year, the value of Canadian exports of controlled military goods and technology to non-U.S. destinations amounted to approximately $2.504 billion, compared to a value of $2.143 billion in 2023 and $2.122 billion in 2022.”
It has been estimated that Canada exports at least another $1 billion in “military goods” to the United States on an annual basis.
It’s not clear from today’s announcement if the intention to “increase our defence exports by 50%” is in relation to the $2.5 billion figure (to non-U.S. destinations) or it refers to the estimated $3.5 billion (that included exports to the U.S.).
Will human rights obligations be considered?
We note that today’s announcement does not mention Canada’s obligations to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), C-233, the proposed No More Loopholes Act that would apply ATT requirements to military exports to the U.S., or reference obligations to international law or human rights obligations.
What is meant by “guardrails”?
CTV News quotes the prime minister saying today: “We will be very deliberate and open in terms of defence and security partnerships we sign with allies throughout the world and what opportunities that opens up and be clear about what the guardrails are around … the types of exports we would envision with those countries. We will be broadening our partnerships. We’re deepening with our closest allies.”
What are the implications of the safety of human rights defenders?
From PBI-Canada we are looking specifically at the implications of military exports to countries where State actors violate human rights and where these exports directly put at risk the safety and lives of human rights defenders, land and environmental defenders, lawyers, journalists, social leaders and communities.
As part of the holistic protective accompaniment we provide to threatened human rights defenders around the world, we will be seeking answers to these concerns and measures to ensure that Canadian-made weapons, components and technologies do not put at further risk the lives of human rights defenders.
We look specifically to the relationship between “Voices at risk: Canada’s guidelines on supporting human rights defenders” and the new “team for export promotion” and the appointment of “new trade commissioners in the United Kingdom and key European markets” who will be at “major global defence and aerospace trade shows” so that the role of Canada’s embassies, consulates and international missions includes a prioritization of the safety and security of human rights defenders.
We continue to follow this.
