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Canadian military quietly stops reporting wounded

The Canadian military has quietly stopped reporting when soldiers are wounded on the battlefield (Murray Brewster, “Canada forbids reporting of battlefield wounded,” Globe and Mail, 23 March 2010).  In order to satisfy the public’s right to know what is going on in Afghanistan, the military says it will instead provide an annual report on battle-related injuries. The […]

Staples headed to Afghanistan?

Rideau Institute President Steve Staples has asked the Department of National Defence to include him on the next stakeholders’ tour of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. DND has organized several tours of the Afghanistan mission for Canadian academics, defence lobbyists, journalists, and other “opinion leaders”, but rarely (if ever?) have these tours included prominent critics […]

CADSI calls for defence industrial strategy

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) released a report last week on the challenges and opportunities facing the Canadian defence industry with respect to military procurement. Canada’s Defence Industry: A Vital Partner Supporting Canada’s Economic and National Interests, commissioned by the federal departments of National Defence, Industry Canada, and Public Works and […]

Stop-and-go on START treaty

U.S. and Russian efforts to finalize a new strategic nuclear arms control agreement to replace the 1991 START treaty, which expired in December 2009, continue to drag on (Peter Baker and Mark Landler, “Delay on Arms Pact Slows Rest of U.S.-Russia Ties,” New York Times, 9 March 2010; see also Peter Baker, “Obama and Medvedev […]

Ban nuclear weapons from Arctic: Report

Arctic and nuclear weapon states need to work together to rid the Arctic region of nuclear weapons, finds a new report by security analysts Michael Wallace and Steven Staples. Ridding the Arctic of Nuclear Weapons A Task Long Overdue was released today by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Pugwash Group, the national affiliate of […]