CDIW00583. 17 February 1955. JIC Brief on "Possible Stages of Action when Indications of Major Russian Aggression are Received in Good Time"

This JIC brief from Ottawa examined the British proposals for a system of alerts procedures (See previous document). The Canadians found Part I acceptable, observing that “unless Canada takes part in some arrangement of the kind suggested, the Canadian Government may not receive the intelligence information on which to base conclusions regarding NATO alerts.” There were some minor quibbles with Part II, however. The Canadians wanted the procedures to operate in “all situations” rather than limiting it to Soviet aggression against the NATO area. The document suggested the British paper should receive “detailed amendment” before being shown to the Americans. It concluded by recommending that Canada “take part in a tripartite scheme of this kind concerning NATO…” but added that final comments and recommendations should await a revised draft of the British paper.