: International defence conference brings protestors, weapons manufacturers to Halifax

Businesses, government agencies and protestors gathered at the Halifax Convention Centre in downtown Halifax for Canada’s second-largest defence conference from Oct. 6-8.
DEFSEC Atlantic was attended by over 3,500 people, including some of the world’s biggest weapons manufacturers and Canadian government and military representatives.
It was the largest year ever for the annual aerospace, security and defence conference, as Canada’s defence industry booms, spurred on by recent increased municipal, provincial and federal support for the defence industry.
Agencies at the conference included the federal Defence Investment Agency and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, among other groups from the Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and federal governments.
Protestors were present outside of the conference. They distributed pamphlets, recited poetry and gave speeches.
Colin Stephenson, executive director of DEFSEC, says he supports the protestors but disagrees that DEFSEC is directly related to geopolitical violence.
“[The protestors] are very respectful, they maintain their lane, they are allowed to say their piece, and it’s important for us to be able to provide them that space,” he says.
“There are companies in a really crooked, twisty, tangential line that could draw back to something that’s happening in Ukraine, or in Palestine, or in Iran … [but] that doesn’t have a lot to do with what we’re talking about here this week,” says Stephenson.
Stephenson says more of the conference focuses more on non-military technology than on
Protests were organized by several anti-war organizations, including the Halifax Raging Grannies. One protester read aloud her poetry while passersby paused to listen.
“I bear witness. I do not want to be complicit,” says Kathrin Winkler, an organizer with Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace who protested outside the conference.
“I have eight grandchildren that I hope can revel in the wonder and magic of this planet. They can’t do it if children in Gaza suffer the way they do,” says Winkler.
Dal students attend DEFSEC
Over 40 Dalhousie University students attended the conference according to Stephenson.
“These companies and these students get together, and that really creates new synergies between the new talent that is coming out of these innovation technical fields that the companies really need,” says Stephenson.
“We look forward to the innovation effort coming out of Dalhousie being a part of the defence industry,” says Stephenson.
At the company GeoSpectrum Technologies. GeoSpectrum is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, the Israeli military’s largest arms supplier. GeoSpectrum, which mainly makes sonar equipment, offers a co-op for Dal students.
Defence spending boom hits “Canada’s defence city”
The exhibition was first hosted in 2004, but grew to a record size this year. Stephenson says a recent increase in defence spending prompted the growth.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to spend $180 billion on defence procurement and another $290 billion on defence-related infrastructure in the next decade.
Much of the funding is expected to go to Nova Scotia and Halifax, the country’s self-proclaimed “defence city,” which houses Canada’s largest military base by population. Halifax is already set to receive $1.2 billion to modernize power and municipal service infrastructure for the military base.
“That’s exactly what all the energy is about,” says Stephenson.
“An attendee can walk up and say ‘hey, this is my company, this is what I’m trying to do,’ and they can find the right person in the government who can help them,” he says.
While the presence of defence officials is exciting for Stephenson, Winkler has a different perspective.
“The people who come here for free come with shopping lists, and they’re from the Department of Defence … it is the future of tomorrow that is being spent for genocide,” says Winkler.