By RIchard Lawrence
Last week the Canadian Defence Association Institute (CDAI) hosted the 93rd edition of the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence which I attended on behalf of Esprit de Corps Military Magazine. The conference consists of keynote addresses and panel discussions centering round the spectrum of global security and defence matters, through keynote speaker addresses, presentations, and dialogues led by experts in the fields of security and defence from Canada and across the globe. It’s two days of insight into the world security problems as seen by those who have to defend against them with the overarching theme of taking policy and moving it to action.
If you would like to see pictures of the speakers/presenters, please go to this link:
https://www.richardlawrencephotography.ca/rlpgalleries/2025/cdai2025/
Now, 17 hours of discussion is not something that is going to fit into a simple blog of a couple of paragraphs. Each one of these topics requires more in-depth review than I can give here so this will be an overview of what was presented over the two days and as I listen to the recordings of each presentation in the future, I will present a summary of that specific topic.
So, briefly, speakers/panelists spanned the globe with the keynote address from the Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, panel discussions with the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff – Royal Navy, Chief of the German Navy, Australian Chief of the Army, D/Chief of Defence for International Relations from France, A/D/Minster for Military Force Policy from South Korea, the Chief of the Indonesian Navy, the Canadian CDS and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada as well as a host of civilian experts.
Discussion topics included Challenges to the Laws of War, a chat with NorthCom/Norad Commander, Artificial Intelligence Deployment in Warfare, a chat with the CDS, Protecting NATO’s Northern Flank, Land Readiness, Transatlantic Security, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine to name a few.
Now, one would expect that there would be a lot of talk about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, China’s aggression towards Taiwan and in the Indo-China area of influence, and the United States aggression against just about everyone else. In fact, this was not the case, although those things were mentioned in passing and Russia came more to the forefront when the Ukrainian Ambassador was on stage. Certainly China was mentioned during the Indo-Pacific panel as well. But, on the whole, naming the bad guys was relegated to anonymous references (especially the USA).
I had also heard from several sources, none official, that the Commander of NorthCom/Norad, General Gregory Guillot, had been sent all of his questions in advance with a further list of restricted topics received Wednesday morning by the CDAI and it showed in his presentation. He spoke at the podium and only briefly raised his head from his prepared words, no adlibbing at all. I’m sure the moderator, Gen. (ret’d) Tom Lawson, who was his usual bright and engaging self, wanted to question the Commander on several off-limit topics but did not rock the boat out of respect for his word, the CDAI , and international relations. More on this when I review the session.
The last thing I’d like to mention is the bestowing of the Captain Nichola Goddard Leadership Award to 28 year old Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, Vice-President of Ottawa Operations and a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Nichola Goddard was the first Canadian female soldier killed in action (May 2006).The selection committed noted that Charlotte has demonstrated a deep commitment to shining a light on areas where advances in social justice and equality can lead to better outcomes for the CAF by amplifying marginalized voices and challenges existing societal norms and policies.
Speakers prior to the actual award included Ms. Kate Rusk, sister of Nichola Goddard, and Francis Allen, ex-VCDS. In accepting the award, Charlotte said, “It’s not a personal achievement, it is a testament to what mentorship can do, in particular what the mentorship of men in this community can do to [for] young women”. She went on to name some of the men who mentored her and treated her as an equal despite her young age and being a female. She ended by saying, “I’m beyond honoured to have my name linked to the legacy of Captain Nichola Goddard”.
More to come as reviews are completed.
