‘We are not taking defence and security seriously’ in Canada: Vice-Admiral Mark Norman
Global News
Canada's former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff warns "our way of life is in jeopardy" because Canada is "not taking defence and security seriously."
At the annual Conference of Defence Associations Institute in Ottawa on Friday, Canada’s former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, warned, “we are not taking defence and security seriously in this country and our way of life is in jeopardy as a result.”
Vice-Admiral Norman gave Roy Green exclusive access to his speech. It is reproduced below.
Before I speak to the specifics of this important panel discussion, I feel the need to say a few words on the broader issues of security and defence.
We are not taking defence and security seriously in this country and our way of life is in jeopardy as a result.
This conference is an important and timely platform for the discussion of national defence and security issues – a much needed contribution to what is a woefully inadequate – arguably non-existent – national security culture here in Canada.
Those of us here today have a significant responsibility to discuss these important issues – on behalf of the millions of Canadians who deserve to enjoy their lives free of concern about their personal security, the safety of their families, the future of their nation, or the integrity of our very way of life.
Most of us – in this room or watching remotely – have enjoyed levels of personal and collective security that many elsewhere in the world can only dream of.
I genuinely believe that the global security situation has fundamentally changed in the past few years, and the complacency and attendant “risk management” approaches to defence and security matters implemented by successive governments – of all political orientations – have severely undermined not only our credibility as a nation, but more importantly, our national security.