This week two Russian bombers approached Canadian airspace about 450 km off the coast of Newfoundland. The bombers were spotted by NORAD and two Canadian CF-18s were dispatched to intercept the pair of TU-95 Bears, according to a report in the Globe and Mail.

Nothing became of it, and the Russians claimed it was part of a training exercise and Canadian airspace was never breached.

This is the type of activity that former CF-18 pilot, Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, was telling me about last week. The saber-rattling is becoming less of a transparent choreography—as he put it—and more secretive on the part of the Russians.

Of course, we must ask how often these types of things happen, and how often the Canadian Forces decides to report on them. Curious to have the Canadian Air Force in the news at the very same time the government is trying to drum up support for the $16 billion-dollar strike fighter project.

*According to the Globe’s Daniel Leblanc it didn’t take long for the incident—one that occurs around a dozen times per year—to make it into the Conservatives Friday talking points as evidence supporting the highly contested F-35 procurement.

With their military having spent the better part of a decade amongst insurgents, improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers, Canadians have arguably become accustomed to the idea that future wars will largely consist of low-intensity counterinsurgency conflicts. As a result, many are questioning the government’s recent decision to purchase 65 stealth strike fighters—a fleet of planes that would not have been used by Canadians in Afghanistan, and instead conjures images of Cold War arms races.

The Canadian Forces expect to have 65 of the F-35 stealth strike fighters operational by 2016 at a cost potentially surpassing $16 billion. Credit: DND

Yet when he was appointed Canada’s most recent foreign minister in October 2008, Lawrence Cannon received a stack of briefing documents prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Tucked into one section was a page that discussed the global political and security environment. China figured prominently.

Click here to read the rest of this feature at Embassy magazine

Paul Stothart is excited.

Last year, iron ore and coal alone accounted for nearly $1.6 billion in Canadian exports to China. This represented $1 billion more than in 2008, continuing a trend that has become a major boon for Canada’s mining sector.

“Everything in our industry is driven by China,” said Mr. Stothart, vice-president of economic affairs at the Mining Association of Canada, explaining that world mineral prices for copper, nickel, zinc and uranium are largely set by—increasing—Chinese demand for raw minerals.

The Middle Kingdom looms just as large for Andrew Casey, vice-president of foreign affairs and international trade at the Forestry Producers Association of Canada.

“It’s been a brutal couple of years,” he said, adding that the ongoing downturn in the US housing industry has had a dramatic impact on Canada’s forestry industry. He predicts that long-term economic sustainability for the sector will ultimately arrive only from diversification. A comprehensive approach to selling Canadian forest products, he said, includes Asia.

Click here to read the rest of the story at Embassy magazine.

High fives to a group of University of British Columbia  J-schoolers who have been nominated for two Emmy awards for their documentary Ghana: A digital dumping ground that aired on PBS’s Frontline last year.

The ten students and their lead instructor—Peter Klein—are in contention for Outstanding Investigative Journalism and Outstanding Research categories.

Well done.

After two hours of high intensity shelling by joint-party interrogators on Monday, Richard Fadden, Canada’s top spy, maintained a firm grasp on one particular message: the Canadian public needs to know.

“I would argue it is good public policy for Canadians to be attuned to the threats that the country faces,” Mr. Fadden told members of the Commons’ Public Safety committee in his opening remarks. “[The Canadian Security Intelligence Service] believe[s] there is merit in Canadians being more informed about the threats to our national security.”

On the surface, it appears that is the reason Mr. Fadden was in front of the CBC’s cameras last month: Canada’s spy agency, under increasing pressure to be more transparent and accountable, was simply trying to open itself to the public and offer a blunt assessment of the type of world Canadians live in.

Click here to read the rest of the story at Embassy magazine

Happy 143rd  birthday Canada.

Celebrating this day in Ottawa seems to come with its own set of responsibilities. Firstly, I must find something red to wear immediately. I came here quite unprepared.

Happy Canada Day. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons (ScottsPicks)

I think it might actually be a misdemeanor to leave the house on July 1 without the proper Canadian colour.

Secondly, I need to accept the mission of celebrating as enthusiastically as possible. I think the masses are already assembling in front of the centre block for what I hear is the party of the year.

Word is the Queen is joining us later on the hill for a little shout out.

Rather enjoyable.

Throughout Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, many have complained that the public is not receiving sufficient information from the field about the military and its operations.

Certainly journalists have stepped up to the plate to provide what the government often does not. Opinions differ, however, on whether that reporting has been comprehensive enough, and if not, then who is to blame for such scarcity.

Last Wednesday, Senators Romeo Dallaire and Pamela Wallin, co-chairs of the Senate’s National Security and Defence committee, offered an answer: The media.

During a briefing detailing their findings in an interim report on “Canada’s present and future role in Afghanistan”—they concluded that Canada should continue to train Afghan security forces beyond 2011, and encouraged Parliament to revisit the debate over extending the pullout date—the senators found themselves in a discussion over the quality of media coverage.

Click here to read the rest of the story at Embassy magazine

I’m heading east to join the team at Embassy Newsweekly, one of Canada’s premier foreign policy reports.

Parliament Hill, Ottawa. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons: bouche.

Should be an interesting experience monitoring and reporting on the complex political machine that is our foreign affairs. I’ll be interning at the mag for June and July and hopefully pumping out interesting stories about trade, diplomacy and international development.

Feel free to contact me at evan@evanduggan.com if you have any news tips related to Canada’s foreign policy.

I’m all ears.

Greetings all.

May 3 happens to be World Press Freedom Day.

Some of the best journalism often comes at a cost. In many situations and countries across the world, journalists must pursue their work without the support of civil rights protections. Censorship, intimidation and barriers to governmental information continue to impede democracy and journalism.

Take a moment to check out what Amnesty International has to say about this important issue.

The new land and food edition is up at The Thunderbird.ca

Check out some innovative multimedia reporting from some of Vancouver’s best up and coming journalists.

Enjoy!