CANADA’S DEFENCES BEING EXTENDED

Grey River Argus, 14 November 1949, Page 5

CANADA’S DEFENCES BEING EXTENDED

OTTAWA, November 12. Canada is developing a radar warning system to cover "ceriam vital approaches,” and other strategic areas. Reporting in a White Paper tabled in the House of Commons the Defence Minister (Mr Brooke Claxton) said it was impracticable to construct a grid of radar stations similar in density and consequent effectiveness to the installations during the last war in Britain and Germany. The best-informed opinion considered that the likeliest kind of attack on Canada would be in the form of diversionary raids designed to panic North America into diverting a disproportionate amount of effrf into passive local defence. Canada, Jo meet this kind ot attack planned a relatively small but highly - trained eflicient mobile ground force to back the radar warning system, jet interceptor aeroplanes ,and anti-aircraft defences. The White Paper stated that among the Commonwealth countries Canada’s per capita expenditure on defence was second only to the United Kingdom. Canada’s active and reserve forces were considerably larger in proportion to the population than those' of Australia New Zealand, and South Africa. Other points in the White Paper were:— i , , The strength of the armed forces is- Navy 5872, Army 19,931, Air Force 19,356. ... New equipment for the forces win cost 124 000,000 dollars in the current financial year. Contracts totalling 40,000,000 dollars have been awarded for the largest peace-time warship building programme in Canada’s history. New jet fighters are to be built in Canada to American design.