📰 Feature Highlights

1. PM Carney’s New Defence Directives

• Prime Minister Mark Carney commits to spending 2% of GDP on defence immediately (not by 2035 as originally promised), injecting $62.7B annually.

• $9.3B to be spent before April 2026, focused on personnel pay raises (20%), new equipment, improved infrastructure, recruitment, and cyber capabilities.

• Shift toward European and diversified defence partnerships to reduce dependence on U.S. military procurement.

• Talks underway to join Trump's controversial “Golden Dome” missile defence system.

2. Defence Industry Watch: CANSEC 2025

• Focus on modern technologies and partnerships.

• Articles highlight potential partnerships with countries like Türkiye to fill gaps in Canadian capabilities (UAVs, UGVs, tanks, Arctic defence systems, etc.).

3. Canadian Coast Guard Controversy

• Conflicting reports on whether it will be transferred to DND control.

• Initially denied by officials, but PMO later stated transfer to DND is forthcoming.

🗞️ News & Commentary

Awards & Recognition

• Journalist David Pugliese receives the Charles Bury President’s Award for military journalism.

• Contributor Col. (ret’d) Michel Drapeau receives an honorary doctorate.

Women Veterans & Advocacy

• The “Invisible No More” report marks a turning point for women veterans' recognition.

• A project led by Dr. Maya Eichler aims to implement its 42 recommendations via trauma-informed, inclusive research and policy.

Editorials & Opinions

• Strong criticism of Canada’s warship naming (using rivers instead of heroes or historic battles).

• Push for recognizing Pvt. Jesse Larochelle posthumously with the Canadian Victoria Cross.

• Commentaries on CAF culture, procurement policy, military history, and NATO obligations.

🪖 Historical Features & Veterans’ Voices

War Stories & Reflections

• Profiles of historic Canadian military figures, like WWII sniper Francis Pegahmagabow and Captain Thomas G. Fuller, the “Pirate of the Adriatic.”

• Reflections from a retired sailor on the cultural shift in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Letters to the Editor

• Emotional recollections from veterans about the Netherlands VE Day commemorations.

• Arguments for nuclear disarmament and critiques of changes in military culture and uniforms.