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cacruden
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Note: Looks like partisans that were ripping the Conservatives for this deal, forgot to talk to the party heads -- oh yes, this board is overwelmingly left (NDP territory) :rollin
Commons backs NORAD pact 257-30
Canadian Press
Ottawa — The House of Commons voted late Monday to renew and expand the NORAD pact, a keystone of Canada's defence for half a century.
Both the Conservative government, which signed the latest renewal agreement, and the Liberals, who oversaw the renewal process, support the deal.
The latest version of the Canada-U.S. treaty, which expands its watch over sea approaches as well as air and space, passed 257-30.
It also makes the deal permanent, eliminating the need for five-year renewals, although both countries retain the right of periodic review and can drop out on a year's notice.
The NDP objects to provisions of the treaty, which they say will compromise Canadian sovereignty and draw Canada into the controversial American missile-defence program.
The government denies that sovereignty will be compromised or that Canada will be bound to missile defence — a program the Liberals refused to join.
NORAD began in 1958, during the Cold War, as a joint effort to defend North America from the threat of attack by Soviet bombers over the North Pole. Then, it was known as the North American Air-Defence Command.
It has been renewed nine times since, expanding its role to watch for missile and space-based dangers. Now, it's the North American Aerospace Defence Command.
Its headquarters in a bomb-proof burrow under a mountain at Colorado Springs, Colo., is run by an American commander, with a Canadian as deputy.
It uses far-flung radars and satellites to monitor the skies and space and now will turn its gaze down to sea level.
Commons backs NORAD pact 257-30
Canadian Press
Ottawa — The House of Commons voted late Monday to renew and expand the NORAD pact, a keystone of Canada's defence for half a century.
Both the Conservative government, which signed the latest renewal agreement, and the Liberals, who oversaw the renewal process, support the deal.
The latest version of the Canada-U.S. treaty, which expands its watch over sea approaches as well as air and space, passed 257-30.
It also makes the deal permanent, eliminating the need for five-year renewals, although both countries retain the right of periodic review and can drop out on a year's notice.
The NDP objects to provisions of the treaty, which they say will compromise Canadian sovereignty and draw Canada into the controversial American missile-defence program.
The government denies that sovereignty will be compromised or that Canada will be bound to missile defence — a program the Liberals refused to join.
NORAD began in 1958, during the Cold War, as a joint effort to defend North America from the threat of attack by Soviet bombers over the North Pole. Then, it was known as the North American Air-Defence Command.
It has been renewed nine times since, expanding its role to watch for missile and space-based dangers. Now, it's the North American Aerospace Defence Command.
Its headquarters in a bomb-proof burrow under a mountain at Colorado Springs, Colo., is run by an American commander, with a Canadian as deputy.
It uses far-flung radars and satellites to monitor the skies and space and now will turn its gaze down to sea level.
