Canada's House of Commons has approved a government plan to renew the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD pact, which is to last permanently and expand to include maritime mutual defense from air and space.
Both the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which signed the latest renewal agreement and the main opposition Liberal Party backed the renewal of the agreement in a vote Monday night in the Canadian House of Commons, the main chamber of the Canadian parliament. The NORAD pact was approved by an overwhelming majority of 257 to 30 in the 308-seat parliament.
The new treaty was signed on April 29 in Ottawa by the Canadian Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins. It not only renews the venerable NORAD pact – a key U.S. military agreement through the decades of the Cold War, but significantly upgrades it.
NORAD was previously renewed every five years, but the new agreement eliminates this requirement by making it a permanent alliance. However, both countries still retain the right of periodic review and can drop out with a year's notice, the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto reported Tuesday.
Source: United Press International
