Canada's participation in the continental Ballistic
Missile Defence program (BMD) is a matter of maintaining Canadian
national sovereignty, and non-participation means we will have
little influence in North American defence, according to
Canadian Participation in North American Missile Defence: A Cost-Benefit Analysis, released today by The Fraser Institute.
"The main benefit Canada will derive from joining is the ability
to have a voice in how North America will be protected against
the missile threat," says Barry Cooper, director of the
Institute's Alberta office and co-author of the paper.
In this new paper, the authors present a pragmatic cost/benefit
analysis regarding Canadian participation and conclude the
following:
• Participation in BMD will ensure that information is
shared-both military-to-military information as well as
information to guide policymakers in Ottawa in formulating
Canadian defence and foreign policy;
• It is in Canada's interest to know what American plans are
because the alternative is to remain an uninformed observer able
only to react after the fact;
• Participation in BMD means influence on early warning,
detection, some deployment decisions, and the overall
political-strategic goal of missile defence;
• Participation in BMD does not mean Canada is responsible for
the cost or for the outcome;
• The window of opportunity for the Government of Canada to make
the correct choice, namely to participate in continental BMD, is
closing very quickly; delay or a refusal to participate means
sustaining a considerable reduction in Canadian sovereignty as
well as Canadian self-respect.
Arguments about the program's effectiveness, costs, its impact on
global arms control, and the weaponization of space do not
detract from the fact that the United States has deployed a North
American missile defence system. "For the next several years, it
is the only program there will be and Canada must join it or be
left out. We may be able to influence it from the inside, but not
at all from the outside," said co-author and Institute senior
fellow, Alexander Moens.
The authors of the paper point out that Canada has a choice
between a near free ride in missile defence with our input or
without our input. Canada's decision to participate will not
provoke an arms race or betray our defence or international
security policy, or even our highly questionable position on
weapons in outer space. It will not have an adverse impact on our
friends or trading partners. It will likely afford a small boost
to our defence industry. If we do not participate we will receive
nothing. Ballistic missile defence will create a modest amount of
goodwill in the overall bilateral relationship, and it will
protect Canadian cities.
"In short, the costs-an incremental addition to the NORAD
budget-are low, and the benefits are high," points out
Cooper.