Ottawa Releases First National-Security Strategy in More Than Two Decades
Ottawa has released its first national-security strategy in more than two decades. The 13-page document, titled "Plan for a Stronger Canada," says the government will "prepare for all contingencies up to and including war," according to the Globe and Mail.
The strategy is a framework. It is meant to guide five new detailed policies covering defence, foreign affairs, economic security, public safety and intelligence. National security is the government's term for protecting the country from threats to its people, territory and institutions.
Canadian officials said the threats facing the country range from climate change, terrorism and pandemics to cyberattacks and artificial intelligence. They also pointed to the increasing possibility of a major war.
On intelligence, the strategy says Ottawa will strengthen the country's sovereign intelligence capabilities, including its collection and analysis of information. It names two agencies for that work: the Communications Security Establishment and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to convene a First Ministers' meeting on national security. That gathering brings together the prime minister and the premiers and territorial leaders, and its aim is to strengthen co-ordination with provincial and territorial governments.
Ottawa also says it will introduce legislative proposals to modernize national-security legislation within a year. Those proposals would be the next step in updating the laws that govern the country's security agencies.
