Early this week, Canada's Defense Minister Anita Anand announced the government would spend $4.9 billion to upgrade the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The federal government said it will devote $40 billion to NORAD over 20 years, but it may be far more than that noted David Pugliese in a story headlined: "Cost to modernize NORAD set at $40 billion, but will final tally be higher?"

The media and government framed the announcement as strengthening Canada's defenses. According to the Globe and Mail report, "the Canadian government has pledged $4.9 billion over six years to help upgrade North America's air defenses, addressing the growing threat posed by hypersonic missiles and advanced cruise missile technology developed by Russia and China."

But it's absurd to present NORAD as a defensive arrangement. Its lead actor has 1,000 international bases and special forces deployed in 149 countries. Rather than protect Canada and the US, NORAD supports violent missions led by other US commands. In 1965 NORAD's mandate was expanded to include surveillance and assessment sharing for US commands stationed worldwide (United States European Command, United States Pacific Command, United States Africa Command, etc.).

The Pentagon has put satellites into space to enable first strike ballistic missile defense (BMD). While Paul Martin's Liberals claimed to oppose BMD, they granted "full cooperation by NORAD in missile defense work," explained Richard Sanders in a Press for Conversion report on the subject. In 2004 Ottawa formally permitted the US BMD system to use data from NORAD's "Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack Assessment."