Trudeau, Anand visit Norad headquarters ahead of trip to L.A. for summit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand got a first-hand look Tuesday at North America's first line of continental defence.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand got a first-hand look Tuesday at North America’s first line of continental defence, a system experts and political leaders agree is badly in need of an upgrade.

Trudeau and Anand, flanked by the U.S. and Canadian commanders of Norad, exchanged pleasantries with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as their visit got underway in a boardroom festooned with images of fighter jets and military insignia.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, the current joint commander of Norad and U.S. Northern Command, opened the meeting by professing the importance of his mission.

“I get up every single day, as do all of our other members, knowing that we have the most noble mission on the planet, and that’s defending our homeland,” VanHerck said.

“We need to talk a little bit about the challenges we face in the homeland. We’ll talk about our strategy to address those challenges. And then we’ll talk about some of the capabilities that we’re pursuing.”

Trudeau held up the shared responsibilities of Norad as a prime example of the close nature of the relationship between the two countries.

“The world is changing in many ways – threats are evolving, technologies are changing,” he said.

“But one thing that doesn’t change is the steadfast partnership and friendship that we have between our two countries. And nowhere is that more obvious than the integrated nature of the work we do here at Norad.”