Canada's way of life in 'jeopardy' as governments fail to take security issues 'seriously': Mark Norman
The former vice admiral blasted federal politicians of all stripes for the 'irresponsible' and 'dangerous' politicization of the country's security and defence
OTTAWA — Canada’s former vice chief of defence staff Mark Norman says that Canadians’ “way of life is in jeopardy” because successive federal governments failed to take defence and security issues “seriously” for years.
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Speaking to the annual Conference of Defence Associations Institute in Ottawa on Friday, Norman lambasted federal politicians of all stripes for the “irresponsible” and “dangerous” politicization of the country’s security and defence.
“We are not taking defence and security seriously in this country and our way of life is in jeopardy as a result,” Norman said during an opening statement for a panel he was hosting on “gauging China’s ambitions, strategy and ability to project power in the Indo-Pacific.”
“This conference is an important platform for the discussion of national defence and security issues, a much-needed contribution to what is a woefully inadequate, arguably non-existent, national security culture here in Canada,” he added.
Norman was the Armed Forces’ second-in-command until he was suspended in January 2017 and then charged by the RCMP one year later with breach of trust for allegedly leaking information on the purchase of naval supply ships. In May 2019, the case against Norman collapsed. He was exonerated and received a large financial settlement from the federal government.
At the Friday’s conference, Norman spelled out his concern about Canada’s “under-investment” in security and defence over the decades by alternating Conservative and Liberal governments.
He called on all parties to “stop immediately” the “politicization” of the country’s national security interests and apparatus and warned of dire consequences if they don’t.
He implored the Trudeau government to implement a “robust mechanism” that would set security and defence as “national priorities,” though he did not say how such a mechanism would work.
“These vital national interests are too important to be subject to the whims of short-term political interests and public opinion,” he said.
“If our leaders fail to protect this vital national interest, none of the other subordinate pressing political concerns or otherwise urgent domestic priorities will actually matter,” he added.
His speech comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is embroiled in a growing scandal about what it did about warnings it allegedly received from the intelligence agency about the Chinese government’s efforts to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
For weeks, Trudeau has faced calls for a public inquiry after multiple media reports detailed secret briefings provided by Canada’s national security apparatus to the government on alleged Chinese foreign interference efforts involving up to 11 federal candidates, including Liberal MP Han Dong (who has denied the allegations).
Trudeau announced last week that he would be appointing a “rapporteur” to determine if a public inquiry was needed, all the while denying that foreign interference had an effect on the outcomes of the elections.
Norman said that Canada has long relied on its proximity and military alliance with our neighbours to the south to protect us, but that doesn’t cut it any longer.
“Canada, however, is no longer immune to events on the other side of the world and nor is our way of life guaranteed simply because of our proximity to the United States or our relative wealth and advantage as a nation,” Norman said.
Another panelist, Taiwan’s economic and cultural office in Canada representative Tseng Ho-jen, called on the government to do more to help Taiwan in the face of increased Chinese military threat before it’s too late.
“Taiwan is racing against time to be better equipped to deter the Chinese operation. We hope for like-minded countries, the Western countries will step up their efforts to help Canada,” he said.
“I hope that we learn a lesson from the war in Ukraine. That is, deterrence is always cheaper than fighting for what is taken.”
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