Canada Evaluates Participating in US Missile Shield
Defense News
By David Pugliese
May 2, 2013
Canada’s potential participation in the US military’s continental missile defense system is once again under consideration, sparking a debate in Canada on whether it makes sense to take part in the ground-based interceptor shield.
Canadian defense sources say work is underway to see what the country could contribute to the US missile defense system. The most likely contribution would be land for the installation of early warning radars, a proposal that will be presented to US officials in the near future.
In 2004, then-Liberal Party Defence Minister David Pratt said the Canadian government was considering making sites available to the US in Canada’s Arctic for use as missile defense radar sites. But a year later, in a major about-face, then-Prime Minister Paul Martin announced that Canada had decided not to join the US missile shield after all.
But with a Conservative Party government in power, the discussions on what the country can contribute are back on.
Canada’s interest is centered on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, which is composed of ground-based interceptor missiles, and support and fire control systems. The interceptors are located at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
On April 21, Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said on television that discussions about Canada’s role in the US missile defense system are needed. “I think we need a broader discussion about that, and I’m not prepared to venture an opinion at this time,” he said when asked about news reports Canada is prepared to join the system. …
