We carry every on-the-record session at the annual meeting of defence and security minds on Canada’s east coast
An aircraft technician from Air Task Force – Iraq inspects the nose landing gear of a CF-188 Hornet aircraft at the Camp Patrice Vincent flight line, in Kuwait during Operation IMPACT on December 11, 2015. (Canadian Forces Combat Camera)
Every year, you’ll find global movers and shakers on security and defence gathering on Canada’s east coast. The Halifax International Security Forum invites world leaders, military brass, academics, think-tank denizens and journalists to confront pressing international issues. Canada is usually in the room, and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is a constant presence. He delivers an opening speech and even leads a 5K run early on the conference’s final day.
Macleans.ca will livestream every on-the-record session; on the full agenda below, we’ve marked which sessions are off the record—and only audible to those in the room. Peruse the three days of sessions and tune in whenever you’d like. All times Atlantic. You’ll hear about Brexit, NATO, climate change, China’s place in the world, and Vladimir Putin’s Russia—all of it in the context of the coming Donald Trump presidency.
15:00-15:30 | INTRODUCTION
Peter Van Praagh, President, Halifax International Security Forum
OPENING
SPEECH
The Hon. Harjit Singh Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of National Defence
15:30-16:15 | The West Block, hosted by Tom Clark
Produced for Global News
MODERATOR: Tom Clark, Chief Political Correspondent, Global News
16:45-17:00 | Britain’s Place in the World
The Right Hon. Sir Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom
17:00-18:00 | Make Democracy Great Again
MODERATOR: Jonathan Tepperman, Managing Editor, Foreign Affairs
19:30-21:30 | GALA DINNER
Presentation of the Builder Award
Senator Tim Kaine, Senator from Virginia, United States Senate
21:45 | NIGHT OWLS
Middle East Mess: Who Should Clean It Up? Who Can? (Off the record)
MODERATOR: Janice Stein, Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and Founding Director, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
Russia: Putin’ the Bloc Back Together (Off the record)
MODERATOR: Josh Rogin, Columnist, Washington Post
Sea, Cyber, Space: The Long Game in Asia (Off the record)
MODERATOR: Randy Scheunemann, President, Orion Strategies
8:30-9:45 | The Superpower’s Enduring Priorities: Trade, Justice and the American Way
MODERATOR: Gideon Rose, Editor, Foreign Affairs
10:15-11:30 | Great Continent, Great Responsibility: Finding China’s Role
MODERATOR: Michael Auslin, Author, The End of the Asian Century
12:00-13:15 | Because Syria: I’m Your Friendly Neighborhood Terrorist
MODERATOR: Yalda Hakim, Presenter, Impact, and Correspondent, BBC World News
14:30-15:00 | HALIFAX CHAT
SPEAKER: Sen. John McCain, Senator from Arizona, United States Senate
MODERATOR: Robin Shepherd, Senior Advisor, Halifax International Security Forum
15:00-16:15 | NATO: Necessary
MODERATOR: Robin Shepherd, Senior Advisor, Halifax International Security Forum
16:45-17:45 | Climate Security, Energy Security and the Politics of Slow Moving Threats
MODERATOR: Jeanne Meserve, Senior Fellow, Homeland Security Policy Institute, George Washington University
19:30-21:30 | DINNER SESSIONS (Off the record)
Beneath the Waves: Submarine Surge
HOSTED BY: Peter MacKay, Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP, Toronto and Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Department of Justice
Can Liberal Institutions Survive Democracy?
HOSTED BY: Robin Shepherd, Senior Advisor, Halifax International Security Forum
Catastrophe in South Sudan
HOSTED BY: Heather Hurlburt, Director, New Models of Policy Advocacy Project, New America Foundation
Colombia’s Peace: Latin Lessons for All
HOSTED BY: Christopher Sabatini, Executive Director, Global Americans and Lecturer of International and Public Policy, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs
Defense, Development, Diplomacy: Difficult
HOSTED BY: John Glenn, Policy Director, US Global Leadership Coalition
Drugs: America’s Addiction, Mexico’s Affliction
HOSTED BY: Luis Rubio, Chairman, Center of Research for Development
The End of Secrecy: The End of Diplomacy?
HOSTED BY: Rosa Brooks, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, Georgetown University Law Center
Energy as a Weapon: An Idea Whose Time Has Passed?
HOSTED BY: Ian Brodie, Associate Director, Centre for Military, Strategic and Security Studies, University of Calgary
India: Last BRIC in the Wall
HOSTED BY: Alyssa Ayres, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations
ISIS in Africa
HOSTED BY: François Lafond, President, Blue Networks and Opportunities
London Calling, Europe Falling
HOSTED BY: Bruce Weinrod, Senior Counsel, Global Impact
Maidan, Crimea and the Obstacles to Democracy in Ukraine
HOSTED BY: David J. Kramer, Senior Director for Human Rights and Democracy, The McCain Institute for International Leadership
Old Enemies, New Friends?: Realignment in the Middle East
HOSTED BY: Paul Salem, Vice President for Policy and Research, Middle East Institute
Power Corrupts, Corruption Corrodes
HOSTED BY: Dixon Osburn, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Accountability
Reconciliation or Escalation: The Korean Conundrum
HOSTED BY: Dean Fealk, Partner and Group Chair, DLA Piper
Securing Afghanistan, Losing Pakistan
HOSTED BY: Jerrold Green, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Council on International Policy
Terror: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
HOSTED BY: Eliot Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Top Cop: Fulfilling the UN’s Eternal Promise
HOSTED BY: Rachel Kleinfeld, Senior Associate, Democracy and Rule of Law Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Turkey’s Failed Coup and the Consequences for the Rest of the World
HOSTED BY: Leslie Campbell, Senior Associate and Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa Programs, National Democratic Institute
9:00-10:15 | BREAKFAST SESSIONS:
Are We All Being Served?: Women and the Importance of Being Inclusive (Off the record)
MODERATOR: Ira Trivedi, Author
The New Battlefield: Where Is It? (Off the record)
MODERATOR: Ambassador Kurt Volker, Executive Director, The McCain Institute for International Leadership
Refugees Passing Borders, Nations Passing the Buck (Off the record)
MODERATOR: Constanze Stelzenmüller, Robert Bosch Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
10:30-11:45 | Spies Love Us: Protecting Information in the Age of Openness
MODERATOR: Steve Clemons, Washington Editor-at-Large, The Atlantic
12:15-13:30 | Return of the Nation State
MODERATOR: Kathleen Koch, Author, Journalist, and Founder, LeadersLink