Canada's making it rain on defence. Who gets the money?
5/30/202650 min
The House is on the ground at the country’s biggest defence and security show, for an in-depth look at Canada’s plan to spend big on the military. Catherine Cullen meets Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, former Defence Minister Peter MacKay, New Brunswick premier Susan Holt, as well as defence contractors to hear about unmanned fighter jets, AI in warfare, and whether Canada is prepared to tick off Donald Trump with some of its military purchases.
Plus, former Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced his resignation from Parliament over concerns about Carney’s climate commitments. Parliament Hill watchers Paul Wells and Shannon Proudfoot discuss whether Guilbeault’s departure will hurt — or possibly help — the Prime Minister.
And, in the days before the World Cup begins across North America, president of the Canada Border Services Agency Erin O’Gorman joins The House to discuss Canada’s new entry requirements over Ebola, and whether an increase in spending on the Canada-U.S. border has made it harder to get into the country.
This episode features the voices of:
- Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State for Defence Procurement
- Peter MacKay, former defence minister
- Susan Holt, Premier of New Brunswick
- Paul Wells, author and podcaster
- Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer for the Globe and Mail
- Erin O'Gorman, president of the Canada Border Services Agency
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Stephen Fuhr· Guest0:28
[upbeat music] This is a CBC podcast.
Speaker 30:32
Oh, the line's behind.
Speaker 40:35
Oh, there's no way.
Speaker 10:36
[laughs] If there's such a thing as Disneyland for defense, this is it. Outside a convention center in Ottawa, dozens of people are lined up in intense sun. There's excited chatter in several different languages. I ask a couple of guys walking by to explain what's happening.
Speaker 40:56
So this is a lineup to sit inside the, uh, new Saab, uh, fighter jet here. Uh, it's, uh, quite the lineup. Lots of excitement.
Speaker 11:03
You guys gave up. The line's too long.
Speaker 41:04
Yeah, we, uh... It's a little, a little too, little too warm outside here, so, uh- [laughs] ... decided to try it again tomorrow.
Speaker 11:10
Getting your picture taken in the cockpit of a fighter jet is just one of the draws at CANSEC, Canada's biggest trade show for the defense industry. I'm Catherine Cullen, and today on The House, we're going inside the buzzing defense show with one of the key people deciding what Canada's military should buy as it tries to muscle