| In 2005, the Government of Canada released its long awaited Defence Policy Statement, the first major review of policy since the 1994 White Paper on Defence. This document shifted policy from a pursuit of tactical interoperability with the U.S. to a new strategy interoperability designed at influencing coalitions and acquiring leadership status. Rather than donating troops or military assets to a coalition, Canada will now leverage the quality and quantity of the assets it deploys in order to attain leadership status within the coalition. In short, Canada is looking to get in on the offensive huddle of collective military planning in order to affect the mandate, objectives and rules of engagement of future coalition campaigns.; This new direction is led by General Rick Hillier and involves a highly visible and interoperable ground force contribution; a striking change from the Naval Task Group concept and Air Force contributions of the 1990's. As Canada's Chief of Defence Staff, General Hillier intends to transform the military into a leaner more agile force able to operate alongside the United States. Hillier has used this transformation to gain influence within the government to increase defence expenditures and connect with the Canadian public, but also plans to use the quality and quantity of Canada's assets to move into a strategic interoperability with the United States and NATO. |
