Jason Kenney: Canada Should Consider Ballistic Missile Defense Collaboration With U.S.

Former Canadian Defense Minister Jason Kenney has said he believes Canada should participate in a continental ballistic missile defense program if the U.S. requests for it, The Canadian Press reported Wednesday.

Alexander Panetta writes Kenney made his remarks as the Canadian government reviews the country’s military policy.

“This is not about stationing offensive weapons on Canadian soil,” he told the Canadian Press.

“it’s about stationing parts of a defensive system that really bring into the 21st century the [North American Aerospace Defence Command] platform that was conceived of in the 1950s,” he added, according to Panetta’s report.

The U.S. and Canada jointly established NORAD in an effort to track potential aerial threats in the region.

Panetta reports Lt. Gen. Pierre St-Amand, deputy commander of NORAD, said at a parliamentary committee meeting he believes a BMD cooperation between the U.S. and Canada will simplify the command’s structure.