Royal Canadian Artillery Association Report on the

Conference of Defence Associations Annual General Meeting and Seminar 24-25 February 2011

The Conference of Defence Associations is an Association of Associations comprised of 18 voting groups, including the RCAA. The collective weight of these associations gives the CDA a voice unlike any other in Ottawa. The CDA is the lead advocacy group for defence matters in Canada and they have the attention of the Minister of National Defence whenever they speak. The CDA is our main vehicle for making important defence positions known to the government of Canada and to lobby for change when warranted.

The CDA is also joined to a related group called the CDA Institute which is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge of defence matters. The CDA and the CDAI are connected by a common administrative framework and run out of the same office in Ottawa but they are two legally separate entities. The CDAI has a charitable organization status that the CDA does not and both organizations have different focus: academia vs. advocacy.

The CDA and CDAI each hold many events and activities throughout the year but there are two high profile events that are best known. In February The Ottawa Conference, as it has come to be named this year, is a gathering of those interested in military matters. During the two day conference, one day is devoted to the CDA and the other to the CDAI. This year well over 500 people were in attendance from government, academia, think tanks, industry and the military. During the Fall, the keystone event is The Vimy Dinner which is held to honour with The Vimy Award an individual who is recognized as having made a significant contribution to defence causes.

Below is a summary of the Ottawa Conference as reported by those RCAA representatives to the conference.

  1. Aim. The aim of this report is to advise members of the RCAA on the content, outcome and principal impressions of our attendance at the Conference of Defence Associations Annual General Meeting and 2014Ottawa Conference in Ottawa, 20-21 February 2014.
  1. RCAA Attendance.The following members of the RCAA attended, on behalf of the Association:
  • LGen, (Retd)Michael Jeffery, Colonel Commandant
  • Col (Retd) Gary Burton, Chairman of the Board of Directors RCAA
  • LCol (Retd) Craig Cotter, President RCAA
  • HLCol, Don Dussault, Vice President RCAA
  • LCol (Retd)Mike McKay,Secretary/Treasurer RCAA
  • LCol (Retd)Bob Elliott, Chair of the Legacy Committee RCAA
  • Maj Mike Calnan, Communications Director RCAA
  • Other Gunners were present throughout the audience.
  1. CDA Council meeting and Annual General Meeting

The CDA Council meeting and AGM were attended by our Chair of the Board of Governors and the Vice President RCAA. The Chair of the CDA Council noted that this was the first full year of no funding from the government and that although the CDA is in fairly good financial shape they are now into deficient budgeting.

The DND briefing to CDA was done by MGen Day and he spoke primarily about the Canada First Defense Strategy (CFDS)and provided some thoughts ontheimpact ofbudget cuts. In the throne speech, the government noted thatCFDS would be revisited, however itwould appear that the CFDS will remain the cornerstone for Canadian defence policyand no new foreign or defense policy will be issued by the current government. The Canadian military will be expected to usethe CFDSas the basisfor its planning despite the budget cuts. There was some discussion regarding cuts to the HQ as recommended in the Transformation Report but it is apparent that these will not go as deep or as quickly as recommended.

There was some discussion of "The Strategic Outlook for Canada - 2014" publication written by Ferry De Kerckhove and George Petrolekas. (See para 4a below)

The report on RCAA activities was delivered at the meeting and our comments on "What’s in it for me?" from an association member’s perspective struck a chord with a number of other associations. The Engineers spoke to their successes with their welfare program for members. A number of small associations appear to be in the decline with the Dental Association noting that it may fold due to lack of leadership.

The RCAA Executive continues to advocate through the CDA on matters of concern to Gunners, Soldiers and the Canadian Public.

  1. The Ottawa Conference Day 1 – The theme was: "The shifting theatres of Canada’s Engagement –Asia Pacific - Indian Ocean."
  2. Two Key note speakers The Honourable Jean Charest, former Deputy PM and Premiere of Quebec and The Honourable Kevin Rudd, former PM of Australia spoke of changes in the world view.
  3. Speakers were as follows and addressed the conference as panels of experts:

Panel 1- Canada–Australia; Security in the Asia-Pacific

  • Dr Fen Osler Hampson, Director Centre for International Governance Innovation
  • Leonard Edwards, former Deputy Minister Foreign Affairs
  • Col (retd) Dr John Blaxland, senior fellow, Australian National University
  • Commodore (retd) Dr Eric Lerhe, former Comd Canadian Pacific Fleet

Panel 2 – The West’s Pivot towards Asia: what it means

  • Dr Jim Boutillier, Special Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific HQ
  • David Gordon, Head of research Eurasia Group
  • Nigel Inkster, Former Director for Ops and Intelligence, MI6
  • MGen (retd) Zhao Ning, Vice President, China Institute for International Strategic Studies

Keynote Speaker – Admiral Jonathon Greenert – US Chief of Naval Operations

Panel 3 – Cyber Security in the post-Snowdon Era

  • MGen (retd) John Adams, former Director Comms Security Estb, Canada
  • Melissa Hathaway, former Director, US Joint interagency Cyber Task Force
  • Rafal Rohozinski, Principal SecDev Group
  • Dr David Mussington, former Senior Advisor Cyber Security for US Department of Defense

Panel 4 – Lest We Forget – Other Strategic Concerns: Arc of Instability from Maghreb to Pakistan

  • David Colllins, former high commissioner Kenya and Pakistan
  • Marius Grinius, former Canadian Ambassador to North and South Korea
  • Robert Fowler, former Deputy Minister, DND
  • Admiral Matthew Kohler, Director of Intelligence, US Africa Command

Although not yet active, this link will provide more detail on the conference.

  1. Principal Observations/Conclusions from Day 1
  • These were all very high level discussions at the strategic/political level – but they impact on the CAF and the RCA.
  • Would pivoting our focus to Asia cause a pull back on our ability to engage in our current limited manner with NATO? As we have seen over the past decades in the cold war and since, the value of NATO in relationships, standardization and being a world player is synergistic. Our coalition operations of the past decade echo this fact.
  • Our involvement at conferences and exercises with the Pacific Rim partners bears fruit far in excess of the effort. We must engage further and build our relationships over the long term. Work in Asia is all about relationships. As the keynote speaker Admiral Jonathon Greenert – US Chief of Naval Operations said, “we cannot surge trust and relationships.”
  • To the Artillery, this means that we should maintain close relations with US, Australia and NZ, but perhaps also seek new relationships with other Asian countries to keep abreast of the latest technologies, equipments, doctrine and tactics. This may be initiated through participation in Pan Asian exercises with Australia and NZ which can be spun off into bilateral relationships. This is a long term process which requires high level artillery involvement to maintain continuity and corporate knowledge.
  1. Day 2 – The theme of Day 2 was "Armed Forces in a period of financial restraint – a new fiscal reality"
  1. Day two started with a series of Keynote speakers.
  2. The Honourable Rob Nicolson, Minister of National Defence
  3. General Tomas Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff
  4. The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services
  5. General Sir Nick Houghton, UK Chief of the Defence Staff
  6. Vice- Admiral Bob Davidson, Canadian Military Representative to NATO

b.Keynote Speaker – Karl-Theodore zu Guttenberg, former German Federal Minister of Defence.

  1. Speakers were as follows and addressed the conference as panels of experts:

Panel 1- Defence and security at a time of fiscal, operational and strategic transition- Allied Views and Approaches

  • David Perry, Senior Defence Analyst, CDA Institute
  • Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
  • Bruno Tertrais, Senior Research Fellow Foundation pour la RechercheStratégique- Paris
  • Rear- Adm Allan du Toit,Australian Military Representative to NATO and the EU.

Panel 2– The updated Canada First Defence Strategy – new vision or less of the same?

  • Vice Adm (retd) Ron Buck, former VCDS
  • Vice Adm (retd) Paul Maddison, Former Comd RCN
  • LGen (retd) Mike Jeffery, former Comd Canadian Army
  • LGen (retd) Andre Deschamps, former Comd RCAF
  1. Principal Observations/Conclusions from Day 2
  2. The political speakers followed the government mantra of reducing to sustain national deficit reduction and offered little new. The overwhelming feeling from this day was that the belt tightening was inevitable and will be applied following the Canada First Defence Policy which is under review. The recent announcement of the rejigging of the defence procurement policy as noted by the Minister of Public Works was refreshing, however it is noted that you can streamline the process but if your caveats are that the industrial benefits (jobs/votes in Canada) would be one of the three top priorities in procurement, you aren’t going to get too radical in your improvements.
  3. Admiral Davidson, the Canadian Mil Rep to NATO, presented a fairly straightforward take on the joys and pains of working with NATO, emphasizing the value in being a member and abilities it provided in standardization with regard to coalition ops.
  4. The British CHOD noted that there was real risk in making reductions of creating a hollow force as we try to maintain capability. It was important to review what you need vice what you want. A defence review would press this home.
  5. Panel 1.The day’s first panel was on austerity's impact on defence and security. The three speakers noted that in each of their nations austerity was in fact the norm. Each noted that hard decisions had to be taken and taken by Political and military leaders. The future is not rosy.
  6. Panel 2.The Second panel included retired heads of the Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force. The bottom line was that the fiscal reality is ugly and reductions were sure to loom large in achieving this within the context of the CFDP. It was noted that we can’t afford to have duplication as we see with multiple commands. People are 50% of the budget and need to be able to avoid duplication.The reductions would be only soundly achieved with the military leaders, Army, RCN and RCAF lead by the CDS making the policy work without rice bowl mentalities being engaged.
  1. Major Conclusions Applicable to The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery:
  2. There is a need to find creative ways to maintain the hard fought capabilities that we have acquired over the past decade. This will be difficult in the fiscally restrained atmosphere that we will experience over the upcoming years. Creativity is the key at unit level.
  3. The RCA must look into Asia and use our ABCA membership to engage with nations in the Asia-Pacific region to create enduring relationships. This includes small and large countries.
  4. CDA AGM is an ideal opportunity to conduct advocacy on behalf of the Royal Regiment – but we must do so in a deliberate, focussed and coordinated manner. Hence, within the RCAA we need a team that focuses on the future effectiveness of the RCA and then advocates on their behalf. The forthcoming RCAA Seminar is an ideal way to identify the future focus.
  1. Major ConclusionsApplicable to the RCA Association:
  2. The CDA AGM is an ideal time to play an influential role in the CDA – we must be engaged in the CDA Executive deliberations and CDAI.
  3. The lessons learned and innovation that we and other associations have experienced are of value and need to be shared to ensure a strong confederation and longevity of our associations.
  4. RCAA members should be advocating on behalf of the RCA and the RCAA - we must do so in a deliberate, focussed and coordinated manner.

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