Senator Patterson: Senator Gold, speaking of surveillance, Canada has known for years that we need to modernize the outdated North Warning System. In 2016, the defence policy where Canada tabled Strong, Secure, Engaged placed emphasis on defence innovation and long-term investments in defence. Renewing the North Warning System was included in the last mandate letter, and on August 14, 2021, a joint statement between the U.S. and Canada underscored the importance of upgrading and modernizing our outdated defence infrastructure command and control systems.

Right now, we don’t even have the capacity for the over-the-horizon monitoring to watch for hypersonic missiles, which we know China and Russia have. My question, Senator Gold, is what is the specific timeline your government has set to complete this critical security upgrade, and what concrete steps have been taken since the directive in 2016 to renew the North Warning System?

Senator Patterson: Thank you. I agree.

(On motion of Senator Galvez, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Ngo, seconded by the Honourable Senator Patterson:

That the Senate note that, by adopting the Journey to Freedom Day Act on April 23, 2015, and taking into account the first two elements of the preamble of the said Act, the Parliament of Canada unequivocally recognized violations of:

(a)the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet-Nam and its protocols (Paris Peace Accords); and

(b)the Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam; and

That the Senate urge the Government of Canada to call upon six or more of the current parties to the Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam, which include Canada, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, amongst others, to agree to the reconvention of the International Conference on Viet-Nam pursuant to Article 7(b) of the Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam in order to settle disputes between the signatory parties due to the violations of the terms of the Paris Peace Accords and the Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, the Russians are very actively developing their Arctic. This past decade has seen Russian forces consistently building up their Far North capabilities and stationing tens of thousands of troops in state-of-the-art bases. We have seen assets such as advanced missile launchers and nuclear submarines strategically positioned throughout their Arctic region. Earlier this year, Russia flew two fighter jets over the North Pole for the first time, refuelling in mid-air — an obvious example of military posturing by a foreign entity in an area where Canada has a competing claim.

Senator Gold, in light of everything that is happening in the Russian Arctic, what is Canada’s response to this increased Russian military activity?

Senator Patterson: Senator McCallum, you talked about balance, but you’ve given a bit of a litany of woe about resource developments and Indigenous peoples in the country. Would you agree that there are some places in some regions, including my region of Nunavut and maybe even the oil sands, where Indigenous people get a fair share of revenues, where the land is taken care of, where they have secured decent and fair agreements on employment and business opportunities? Are there not some places where things are working well in this country?

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: If I may ask a quick question.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I’m thankful for the opportunity to rise before you today to speak to the motion put forward by my friend and colleague Senator Ngo.

On June 29, 2021, Senator Ngo presented cogent and compelling arguments before this chamber that listed the need to reconvene the International Conference on Viet-Nam per Article 7(b) of the Paris Peace Accords. He pointed to destabilization in the region and ongoing tensions in the Indo-Pacific as reasons for the reconvention of a multilateral conference that would be seen as a “vital policy tool and a useful means for the diplomatic and peaceful resolution of conflicts in Asia.”

In a joint policy perspective from the School of Public Policy and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, Stephen Nagy writes that:

Canada needs to take a bigger part in the Indo-Pacific’s development and support for a rules-based order or risk getting locked out of the region’s economic, diplomatic and security benefits.

He goes on to state that:

Erosion of a rules-based Indo-Pacific order is not in Canada’s interests. It would make dealing with traditional and non-traditional security challenges more complex. It would aggravate the challenges of dealing with global issues such as climate change, transnational diseases and development. The negative effects of this lack of coordination would not be confined to the Indo-Pacific region.

Supporting a free and open, rules-based Indo-Pacific region is consistent with Canada’s middle-power identity and national interests. It’s time to turn statements into concrete action based on a long-term vision of Canada’s interests in the Indo-Pacific and a strategy to realize those interests.

A July 11, 2021, statement by Global Affairs Canada reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to support:

. . . lawful commerce, navigation and overflight rights, as well as the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal states . . . . These principles are essential to a secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

Canada is committed to defending and revitalizing an effective rules-based international order, including for the oceans and seas, and to the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.

And then recently, colleagues, and in fact in this very chamber in recent weeks, the importance of this region, the Indo-Pacific, was highlighted in the Throne Speech, which pledges Canada to “. . . making deliberate efforts to deepen partnerships in the Indo-Pacific . . . .”

Approving this motion will be a step in that direction.

Passing this motion and acting upon the recommendation to push for the reconvention of the international conference would be consistent with these policy and position statements.

Colleagues, Canada has a proud record of peacekeeping in its history and in Vietnam, having sacrificed troops in the conflict, having sent peacekeeping troops —