Post by Soha S.

A moment I won’t forget! ✨ 🥇 I placed 1st at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute’s 28th Annual Graduate Student Conference, receiving the Peter Hunter Award in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Military Institute. Yesterday, I presented my paper “The Commercial Reconstitution Gap: Restoration Lag in Canada’s North”, which was built around one question: not whether Canada can detect a threat, but whether it can recover from one. Billions have gone into surveillance, domain awareness, command-and-control, and northern basing, but what happens after disruption remains structurally undefined. Who repairs Arctic communications infrastructure, under what legal authority, from which nodes, and within what timeline? I introduced the commercial reconstitution gap as a concept and proposed a three-pillar framework to close it. To have it received the way it was, by the people in that room, meant more than I expected. Grateful to the judges Erika Coghill, Amber Comisso, CD, Dr. Daniel Derek Eustace, PhD, Mike G. Fejes, CD, PhD, Dr. Meghan Fitzpatrick, Colonel Nicolas Gauthier, Lieutenant-Colonel Shannon Glenney, Martin Green, Major Charles Keita, Rob M. and Dan Doran. Thank you for taking a chance on this emerging matter. To the CDA Institute team: Kawtar Kathi, Emmylou Sergent and Kevin Budning, PhD, thank you for creating a space where emerging defence researchers belong. Thank you to KPMG Canada, Metro Supply Chain, the RCMI, and all partners and sponsors whose support made this opportunity possible. And to the keynote speaker, Jacqueline O'Neill, your closing remarks have stayed with me since; I’m grateful for the conversations after. Lastly, to Mr. Doran, an incredible mentor; thank you for the guidance and for giving your time so generously. I came to present a paper and left with people I am genuinely glad to know. Still processing, but incredibly grateful! 🇨🇦 #CDAInstitute #GraduateResearch #CanadianDefence #ArcticSecurity #NationalSecurity #ForeignPolicy #PeterHunterAward