In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the
American media, the United States and Canada signed a military
agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to
support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic
civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border
crisis.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of
USNORTHCOM, signs agreement Feb. 14, 2008, with Canadian
Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada
Command (USNORTHCOM photo)
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The agreement, defined as a Civil Assistance Plan, was not
submitted to Congress for approval, nor did Congress pass any
law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement
to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United
States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil
disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics,
to civil riots or terrorist attacks.
In Canada, the agreement paving the way for the militaries of
the U.S. and Canada to cross each other's borders to fight
domestic emergencies was not announced either by the Harper
government or the Canadian military, prompting sharp protest.
"It's kind of a trend when it comes to issues of Canada-U.S.
relations and contentious issues like military integration,"
Stuart Trew, a researcher with the Council of Canadians told the
Canwest News Service. "We see that this government is
reluctant to disclose information to Canadians that is readily
available on American and Mexican websites."
The military Civil Assistance Plan can be seen as a further
incremental step being taken toward creating a North American
armed forces available to be deployed in domestic North American
emergency situations.
The agreement was signed at U.S. Army North headquarters, Fort
Sam Houston, Texas, by U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart,
commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, and
by Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada
Command.
"This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our
respective national military plans to respond quickly to the
other nation's requests for military support of civil
authorities,"
Renuart
said in a statement published on the USNORTHCOM website.
"In discussing the new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan
established by USNORTHCOM and Canada Command, Renuart stressed,
"Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support
operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes
and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives,
prevent human suffering an mitigate damage to property, is of
the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces
that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making
in a collaborative environment."
Lt. Gen. Dumais seconded Renuart's sentiments, stating, "The
signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already
strong working relationship between Canada Command and U.S.
Northern Command."
"Our commands were created by our respective governments to
respond to the defense and security challenges of the
twenty-first century," he stressed, "and we both realize that
these and other challenges are best met through cooperation
between friends."
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The statement on the USNORTHCOM website emphasized the plan
recognizes the role of each nation's lead federal agency for
emergency preparedness, which in the United States is the
Department of Homeland Security and in Canada is Public Safety
Canada.
The statement then noted the newly signed plan was designed to
facilitate the military-to-military support of civil authorities
once government authorities have agreed on an appropriate
response.
As WND has previously reported, U.S. Northern Command was
established on Oct. 1, 2002, as a military command tasked with
anticipating and conducting homeland defense and civil support
operations where U.S. armed forces are used in domestic
emergencies.
Similarly, Canada Command was established on Feb. 1, 2006, to
focus on domestic operations and offer a single point of contact
for all domestic and continental defense and securities
partners.
In Nov. 2007,
WND published a six-part exclusive series, detailing WND's
on-site presence during the NORAD-USNORTHCOM Vigilant Shield
2008, an exercise which involved Canada Command as a
participant.
In an
exclusive interview with WND during Vigilant Shield 2008,
Gen. Renuart affirmed USNORTHCOM would deploy U.S. troops on
U.S. soil should the president declare a domestic emergency in
which the Department of Defense ordered USNORTHCOM involvement.
In May 2007,
WND reported President Bush, on his own authority, signed
National Security Presidential Directive 51, also known as
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, authorizing the
president to declare a national emergency and take over all
functions of federal, state, local, territorial and tribal
governments, without necessarily obtaining the approval of
Congress to do so.
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