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Speaking Notes for General Maurice Baril
Chief of the Defence Staff
Toronto Board of Trade
Toronto, Ontario, October 25, 1999 |
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(Source : Canada Department of National Defence ; issued Nov. 5)
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Canadian Forces, Business and Industry"
Mr. Lewiss,
Members of the Military Committee,
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board of Trade:
Good afternoon. I'd like to begin first by thanking Reg Lewiss for inviting me here today to speak to the Military Committee. Your timing could not have been better.
I'm also very pleased that so many other members of the Toronto Board of Trade could join us: because I came here to do some recruiting. Don't worry. I'm not sending anyone off to basic training -- at least not just yet. But I am going to ask for your support today in ways that may require you to take risks of a different sort.
Many of you are key decision-makers in Canadian business and industry. Some of you are also suppliers to the Canadian military. To one degree or another, you are all 'stakeholders' in defence. And as such, I'm certain that you're curious to know what the future holds for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.
Well, let me begin by speaking directly to your self- interest, and to ours as well: we're setting our compass for a course that can only benefit from a stronger relationship with business and industry.
As you may already know, we have recently developed a strategy to guide us in planning effective fighting forces for the next century. And as that strategy took shape, one point became very clear -- we need to work in close partnership with Canadian business and industry to achieve our aims.
Of course, in many respects, we do that already. Defence has always relied on business and industry to provide equipment and supplies. And today, Defence routinely contracts for services that were once performed in-house.
In fact, in recent years, we've greatly increased our reliance on civilian contractors to deliver non-core capabilities. Who would have thought even 15 years ago, that the Canadian Forces would contract out primary flying training?
Well that's the case today, and, in fact we're considering more joint ventures with the private sector -- for two important reasons. Such partnerships can cut our costs; but even more critically, they allow us to focus attention and resources on our core activities.
To make the best of such alliances, however, we have to strengthen the links between our organizations. I'm not trained as an engineer; even so, I hope to do some bridge building here today.
Forging a stronger partnership with business is one facet of the evolution that is occurring in Canadian military affairs. Today, I'd like to talk about the process we are using to direct that evolution.
In essence, we have developed a strategy to guide our planning and decision-making, both for the short term -- the next five years or so -- and the long term -- stretching ahead two decades to the year 2020.
You may have heard of the document I'm referring to -- it's called Shaping the Future of Canadian Defence: A Strategy for 2020. We released it last June and it's now available to the public on the DND web site.
Strategy 2020 builds on our current defence policy. The Defence White Paper released in 1994 said that Canada will continue to field multi-purpose, combat capable forces. Strategy 2020 explains what we have to do to translate policy into action. In a sense, Strategy 2020 acts like a bridge -- the strategic vision it expresses forms a link between defence policy and future activities.
Before I go into more detail about the strategy for the future, let me briefly touch on our raison d'être. The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces are charged with three roles:
• first, defend Canada and safeguard Canadian sovereignty;
• second, defend North America in partnership with the United States;
• and third, contribute to international peace and security.
Today, almost 4,000 men and women of the Canadian Forces are serving abroad in support of that third aim. Our presence in 24 missions worldwide reflects Canadian expectations -- expectations that the military will defend their fundamental values and interests.
Both Kosovo and East Timor are recent examples of situations in which we were called on to stand up for the things Canadians believe in. We could not have responded to either one if the Canadian Forces were anything but combat capable. I can't deny that our combat capability is under stress, however. One of the major challenges that the Canadian Forces face today is to avoid 'rust out'.
Years of cutbacks have taken their toll on our capital equipment program. And the ramifications go far beyond higher maintenance costs and lower 'in service' rates. Dated equipment also poses a barrier to our ability to operate in concert with our allies. With Strategy 2020 acting as a focus, we intend to try to earmark 23 per cent of the defence program to modernize equipment.
The second challenge to maintaining combat capability is our ability to develop a force structure for the future. Building modern forces that can respond quickly to crises at home and abroad -- and participate in both joint and combined operations -- is a long-term commitment. Defence planners have to think ahead 15-20 years to ensure that the right people, organization, equipment and doctrine are in place.
The nineties have been a time of great change for the Canadian military. In the past five years alone, DND and the Canadian Forces have had to adjust to deep cuts in funding and size, not to mention a major restructuring and the largest reform initiative ever undertaken in a federal institution. Consider the significance of the following events. Most of them have occurred since 1994.
• The Defence budget has been reduced by $2.7 billion or 23 per cent.
• The Regular Force has fallen from 75,0000 to 60,000 -- a drop of 20 per cent. To give you a sense of how select a group that now is, you could comfortably seat Canada's entire military -- army, navy and air force -- in the Skydome.
• Our civilian workforce has been reduced too -- from 32,500 to 20,000.
• As part of our restructuring, we've closed a number of bases, facilities and headquarters.
• We've implemented hundreds of internal reforms stemming from five separate reports and inquiries.
• Finally, the climate in which we operate has changed drastically too. Over the past 10 years, the number and the pace of operations has greatly increased. To give you an idea by how much, compare the record of the post-war period -- from 1948 to 1989 -- to the past decade. During the Cold War era, the Canadian Forces deployed on 25 operations. But since 1989, our Forces have deployed sixty-five times.
Now, imagine for a moment if Defence were a business -- and you were its CEO.
• With income down by almost 25 per cent, what would you do to maintain cash flow?
• With limited opportunities to invest in new plant and equipment, would you reduce or even abandon some product lines?
• What sacrifices would you make to free up the resources to invest in critical strategic alliances?
These are the sorts of tough questions that Strategy 2020 is designed to help answer. Fortunately, the picture isn't entirely bleak. A light appeared on the horizon earlier this year in the form of our first funding increase in more than a decade. That increase allowed us to start a number of programs to improve the quality of life for our uniformed members.
Over the past year, the government has also made decisions
• to buy new search and rescue helicopters
• to replace our fleet of submarines
• and, most recently, to increase its order for armoured personnel carriers.
These are all welcome acquisitions. But replacing equipment is only a part of the solution to the complex challenges that confront us.
Years of downsizing, institutional change and a steady stream of operations have led us to focus on the fires burning on our doorstep, rather than the smoke that's clouding the horizon.
This is a natural reaction to upheaval. But there's a price to pay if thinking about the present constantly overshadows concern for future requirements.
Strategy 2020 turns our attention forward. In effect, it provides us with a means of tracking two agendas at once: one focussed on current activities and the other focussed on change.
Through the pages of Strategy 2020, we've taken our mandate to maintain multipurpose, combat-capable forces and translated it -- into a series of long-term objectives first -- and then into specific five-year targets.
The next step is to turn those five-year targets into action. And, I'm pleased to tell you that we've already begun. A number of fire-year goals have been published as action items in the Defence Planning Guidance for the year 2000. This means, in other words, that the Commanders of the Navy, Army and Air Force have been tasked to make things happen -- beginning now.
It took a little more than six months to write Strategy 2020. However, that short length of time belies the effort that went into its development. We began in late 1998 by conducting an analysis of the current and emerging environment. Studying trends, reviewing lessons learned and consulting with defence experts allowed us to draw a detailed picture.
At the end of the twentieth century, the United States has emerged as the dominant power in a world wracked by religious, ethnic and resource disputes. Those disputes are likely to continue into the near future, while globalization, environmental degradation and other emerging issues spark new conflicts.
The list of potential threats to our security is also growing. Technology has spawned new forms of terrorism. Bioterrorism is just one of a new class of threats that can be directed at populations rather than opposing armies. Comparatively few people can make use of it to threaten a great many, something we call an asymmetric threat.
For more conventional forms of conflict, the battlespace in which we may fight is expanding. In the near future military forces are likely to clash in environments ranging from the sea floor to space and even cyberspace.
The nature of warfare has even changed. Information technology has dramatically altered military doctrine as well as the character and conduct of military operations. You may have heard of this phenomenon. It's called the Revolution in Military Affairs or 'RMA'
To adapt to this new environment, we must deepen our competency in a number of areas. Strategy 2020 identifies five competencies that merit special attention.
The first two are directed at better developing our people as leaders and making the Canadian Forces, in particular, a career of choice. The battlespace of the 21st century will demand decisive leadership. Leaders will require more education and training, in the application of RMA-concepts for example, to keep pace with allies in joint and combined operations.
An adaptable, multi-skilled workforce will be key to future success. We plan to implement major recruitment and retention programs, introduce new training strategies, and create more flexible employment
opportunities. Strategy 2020 also calls for more effective use of the Reserves.
We're especially interested in collaborating with the private sector to further develop our third competency: doctrine, technology and training. Fortunately, Canada is a leader in areas such as space, remote sensing and telecommunications. We plan to harness that expertise -- in some cases, as part of experimental ventures.
These ventures will no doubt require both partners to take risks. But the risks will be calculated to provide value to us and profits to our partners. Strategic partnerships will provide us with access to the technology needed to fight emerging asymmetric threats.
Canada's position as a leader in information management technology also works to our advantage. We intend to leverage homegrown expertise to develop and integrate modern enterprise management systems on a Department-wide scale. Introducing more efficient systems and management processes will also contribute to another aim -- and that is to reduce acquisition times for departmentally-approved programs by 30 per cent.
The fifth competency identified in Strategy 2020 addresses our ability to work together with our allies. Canada's security is maintained to a great degree through membership in strong and healthy alliances.
Of course, our most important ally, now and for the future, is the United States. In some respects, trying to keep pace with a world power is like keeping up with the Jones'. It's easy to go bankrupt trying, without ever succeeding.
That's one of the reasons that Strategy 2020 stresses the need to carefully select areas for investment. At the same time, however, we recognize that the ability to deploy on a worldwide scale, and to operate with our allies, will depend on the investment made in leading edge technology and both strategic airlift and sealift capabilities.
Canadians have told us clearly that they want a military organization to provide protection at home and promote their interests and values abroad. To meet those expectations, we must be able to field modern, interoperable, combat-capable forces.
Yet the hard fact remains, our resources are finite. Difficult decisions about capabilities, people and equipment will have to be made. Strategy 2020 will allow us to make those decisions from an informed vantage point.
There is an old Sioux proverb that, roughly translated, says 'if you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there.' With Strategy 2020, we have chosen a route, with a clear idea of where we intend to go.
Change always brings challenges and opportunities. Strategy 2020 represents an opportunity for business and industry. As Defence focuses on developing its core competencies and upgrading its equipment, we will be looking to you for input and support.
Thank you
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