NATO’s Chiefs of Defence meeting and new sanctions against North Korea 

In this episode, NATO’s Chiefs of Defence held their first meeting of year, Canada does not have much room to introduce new sanctions against North Korea and Cascade Aerospace to upgrade C-130 aircraft for the Mexican Air Force. 

NATO Chiefs of Defence  

At the 178th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on the Jan 16th and 17th, the Allied Chiefs of Defence focused political and military priorities. 

At the session, the topics of military contribution to security and stabilization in Europe’s southern neighborhood, the NATO Command Structure (NCS) adaptation, the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and the Global Coalition against ISIS and NATO’s role in Iraq were all discussed.  

New sanctions against North Korea 

Canada may almost be out of options when it comes to developing new sanctions against North Korea. This is something that came out of the recent summit in Vancouver. Delegates from 20 countries left the summit pledging to consider new measures against Kim Jong-un's regime. 

But the way it looks, Canada may not have much room to introduce new sanctions because it already has significant independent measures in place, according to the CBC. 

A government official told CBC News that Ottawa will always evaluate its options, but what is in place now is already very strong. 

Canada has a wide-ranging ban on trade, financial interactions and weapons with North Korea. The plan includes a few exceptions for humanitarian support. 

When new sanctions were put in place last year by the United Nations Security Council, some of those measures were in line with regulations Canada already had in place. 

At the summit, participants agreed to "consider and take steps to impose unilateral sanctions and further diplomatic actions that go beyond those required by UN Security Council resolutions." 

But what those efforts could look like, were not disclosed.  

Cascade Aerospace C-130 Hercules aircraft 

Cascade Aerospace has been contracted to perform avionics modernisation of one (FAM) L-100 (C-130) Hercules aircraft for the Mexican Air Force. 

The program is contracted through the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the governments of Canada and Mexico in November 2013. 

Under the terms of the new contract, the company will be responsible for the installation and integration of Rockwell Collins’ advanced Flight2 digital avionics suite. 

Cascade Aerospace will also be responsible for delivering operational and technical training for the Mexican Air Force personnel at the company’s facility and headquarters in Abbotsford, British Columbia.