Canada Defense Relations essays

Canada Defense Relations essays Canada-United States Defence Cooperation Since the 1940s when Prime Minister Mackenzie King signed the Ogdensburg Agreement, which acknowledged a joint board on the defence of North America, the Canadian-American cooperation in the defence of the continent has persisted and remained strong regardless of the continuous and evolving challenges. This relationship was tested rigorously over the years, especially during the 1950s. During this period, at the peak of the Cold war, Canadian and American defence relations were quite strong. The security of the entire continent was put at risk by the constant threat of nuclear strike. In September 1957, Canada and the United States agreed to create the North American Air Defence Command, better known as NORAD . Its main purpose was to defend the continent against the ever growing threat of Soviet bombers. On May 12th 1958, NORAD was formed and a strong defence relationship was formed between the two nations; one that would last for years. The formation included 11 principles which would govern the establishment and call for a renewal of the agreement, which was performed in 1968. The NORAD agreement between the two nations has been improved and revised several times since: May 1973; May 1980; March 1981 (change of name: North American Aerospace Defence Command); March 1986; April 1991; March 1996 and June 2000. The strength of the agreement and an indicatio n to the cooperation of U.S. and Canada is the continuous adaptation to the challenges posed by the ever changing threats. The new agreement (March 1996 renewal), included a consultative mechanism for issues concerning aerospace defence cooperation and, a provision for the review and management of environmental practices related to NORAD operations. As part of its aerospace control mission, NORAD also assists civil authorities in the detection and monitoring of aircraft suspected if ille...