According to a recent poll, Canadians are much more likely to view climate change as a “critical threat” to Canada’s “vital interests” than international terrorism. Commissioned by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI) and conducted by the Innovative Research Group Inc., the poll found that 49% of Canadians believe climate change to be […]
Archive | January, 2010
Canada and UN peacekeeping
A new fact-sheet published by the Peace Operations Working Group documents the collapse in Canadian government support for UN peacekeeping since the early 1990s. As recently as 1992, Canada was the single largest contributor of personnel to UN peacekeeping missions. We have since fallen to 56th place. In October 2009, we contributed just 55 of […]
Bill Robinson joins us as Ceasefire.ca editor
Ceasefire.ca is very happy to welcome Bill Robinson to our team. Bill has been writing about Canadian defence and security policy issues since 1983. He was on the staff of Project Ploughshares, and has done research and writing for Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Polaris Institute, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Rideau […]
Jargon watch: Weapons of mass destruction
When most people talk about “weapons of mass destruction“, they’re thinking of nuclear weapons, or maybe chemical and biological weapons—not exploding underpants. But as this Tom Tomorrow cartoon suggests, accused “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction for attempting to destroy Northwest Airlines flight 253 by detonating […]
662 responses: Our Ceasefire.ca Member Survey results
Most Ceasefire.ca members feel “It’s Just Right” We are really pleased with the high level of satisfaction Ceasefire.ca members have with the nature and frequency of our e-mail communications. In the case of articles and petitions, three out of four members say the frequency of mailings is “just right.” Of those who disagree, a majority […]
Budget "adjustments" miss obvious defence spending waste
As noted in an earlier post, all three branches of the Canadian Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) are currently conducting budget “adjustments”, amounting to $190 million, that have to be made by the end of March. As part of this process, the Army is “adjusting” its budget by $80 million, and the Reserves are reportedly […]