CANADA AND GERMANY RENEW MILITARY TRAINING AGREEMENT
OTTAWA -- The Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Marcel
Masse, today signed an Exchange of Letters in Brussels, Belgium, on
German Armed Forces training in Canada. The Minister signed the
agreement on behalf of the Government of Canada, and Mr. Volker
Ruehe, Federal Minister of Defence, signed for the Federal Republic
of Germany.
The German Armed Forces began training at CFB Shilo in 1974,
where they annually train about 5,500 soldiers. Germany commenced
flight training at CFB Goose Bay in 1980, where it now sends over
500 aircrew every year to practice their skills. Germany contributes
$30 million annually to support air force training and approximately
$17 million a year towards army training in Canada.
The Minister said, "since we are fortunate to have large areas
suitable for military training, we have encouraged Germany,
as well as our other NATO partners, to train in Canada as one of
our contributions to strengthening the Alliance. We are pleased that
Germany will continue to train its army at Canadian Forces Base Shilo,
Manitoba, and its air force at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, Labrador."
This agreement permits the German military to train in Canada for
another 10 years and replaces the Agreement constituted by the
Exchange of Notes of December 1983.
The flying activity in Goose Bay is currently the subject of the
Federal Environmental Assessment and Review Process, which
should be completed in early 1994.
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