Canada to release Defence Industrial Strategy on Tuesday (plus the original plans for the week)

Noah Note

Canada will officially release the Defence Industrial Strategy on Tuesday, according to an email I received inviting me to the press conference. This is just under a week before it was originally scheduled to be released; Canada will finally have its new foundational document for how we plan to build the Defence Industrial Base.

Of course, if you’ve been following the news today, you might already know many of the strategy's major points. Most of the mainstream media decided to say "fuck it" and reveal details early. If you want a rundown, I would say that Papa Murray’s is the most detailed at this time.

I will not be releasing my own assessment until Tuesday when the ongoing embargo is lifted. While most articles contain the major policies outlined in the document, there is still much more that has not yet been revealed. I want to emphasize that there is an ongoing embargo, and I have been asked to respect it.

Out of respect for the DND Media Team, I have decided to hold back. I also don’t want to get in trouble just as I am being accepted as official media. Sadly, as a smaller publication, I do not have the leverage of the National Post or CBC, where I can leak things without consequence. I can repost what others have written, but I am hesitant to give my full opinion because I want to write about the whole policy, not just the major bits.

I will happily discuss these details with you guys in the comments, but I won't be posting on the strategy itself until I have permission. Such is the curse of being a tiny publication that wishes to follow the rules. I can speak more on the timeline, though, and I can still share a little "gossip" without venturing into the "no-no" territory of restricted information.

The original plan envisioned a week-long series of events culminating in several major announcements. The Strategy was supposed to be the start of this chain, releasing on Wednesday. This was to be followed by several agreements being signed while the Prime Minister was in Munich, including a new security MOU with Denmark, a new security framework with France, and finally, Canada officially joining SAFE.

The plan was to tie several major signings into the overall strategy. However, after last week’s tragedy, plans changed; the trip was handled much more mundanely than originally envisioned. To top it off, there was also supposed to be an official CMAR announcement and a Space announcement this week to cap off the release of the Strategy. I don’t know what that space announcement is, but it is apparently now scheduled for the end of February. The CMAR announcement was also pushed back.

Other announcements might have been planned, as well as more publicity for the events and signings in Munich, but this is as far as I know at this time. The goal was seemingly to turn this week into a week-long series of agreements and announcements centered on the Strategy and Munich.

Most of the events at Munich still happened and the announcements are still planned, but things are obviously a lot more fractured and less "hyped" than before. Perhaps they will try to recover some momentum next week? We will see. However, if you want a taste of the strategy, I highly recommend Murray’s work. It’s the best you’ll have until I drop my piece. (Does that sound a bit too egotistical?)