No Armed Drones
The campaign to end Canada’s planned purchase of its first armed drones.
The campaign to end Canada’s planned purchase of its first armed drones.
The Canadian government is moving quickly to award a contract for remotely piloted armed drones which would be used by the military both for domestic surveillance and in foreign operations.
In December 2023 the government announced their plan to purchase a fleet of 11 SkyGuardian MQ-9 Reaper drones, built by U.S. defence contractor General Atomics, in a $2.49 billion package. It also plans to spend more than $400 million on 219 Hellfire missiles and assorted other weapons and equipment for the drones.
The initial cost estimates exclude the billions more that would be required to operate the drones over their 25-year lifespan.
Now is the time to stop this planned purchase before it happens. The Canadian military does not need armed drones. Rather than making the world safer, these weapons of terror are used in extrajudicial executions, surveillance of targeted populations and other violations of human rights.
In December 2023, right after adjourning for the holidays, Parliament quietly announced that it intends to spend $2.49 billion on its first fleet of armed military drones, a fleet of Sky Guardian MQ-9 Reapers.
"When it comes to Canada’s plans to acquire its first armed drones, what we do know and what we don’t know both provide cause for alarm."
Watch the webinar here featuring Rinaldo Walcott, Matt Korda, Azeezah Kanji, Maya Garfinkel, and Bianca Mugyenyi
Ottawa Citizen article highlighting the lack of transparency in Defence spending and operations. "The secrecy problem has become so bad that the House of Commons Committee on National Defence has launched hearings into the lack of openness and transparency."
An exploration into the drone wars and domestic surveillance this purchase is intended for.
Watch the webinar here featuring Dr. Samer Abdelnour, Kathy Kelly, and Tim McSorley.
1. Defence, National. “Government of Canada.” Canada.ca, / Gouvernement Du Canada, 15 Feb. 2022, https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/procurement/remotely-piloted-aircraft-system.html.
2. Korda, Matt. “Canada Is Buying a Fleet of Armed Drones. We Should All Be Worried.” Passage, 19 Aug. 2020, https://readpassage.com/canada-is-buying-a-fleet-of-armed-drones-we-should-all-be-worried/.
3. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. “Drone Warfare.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism , https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/drone-war.
4. Acheson, Ray. “Abolishing State Violence” Haymarket Books, July 26, 2022.
