On October 27, 2022, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs (ASD HD/HA) Melissa Dalton co-chaired the 240th meeting of the U.S.-Canada Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD). Established in 1940, the PJBD is a critical forum for U.S.-Canada bilateral defense cooperation, which brings together key leaders to discuss bilateral defense issues and overall defense priorities. ASD Dalton, the U.S. co-chair of the PJBD, and the Honorable John McKay, the Canadian co-chair, convened the first in-person meeting of the PJBD since 2019.
The co-chairs led discussions on North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernization, climate change and Arctic security, global and hemispheric security issues, and continued cooperation on key strategic defense guidance efforts. The PJBD reviewed a framework to guide NORAD modernization efforts to improve capabilities necessary for NORAD to conduct its aerospace and maritime warning and aerospace control missions. The co-chairs re-affirmed the importance of the U.S.-Canada defense relationship and the need to deepen collaboration on areas of mutual defense and security interests.
The U.S. co-chair expressed great appreciation to the Canadian hosts for a successful meeting, and she offered to host the 241st meeting of the PJBD in the United States in 2023.