Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced that Canada will finally meet NATO’s defence-spending target of two per cent of GDP. But, as the man wouldn’t know austerity if it hit him over the head, it will come at a significant cost to Canadian taxpayers.
The defence spending target has been a long-standing bone of contention between Canada and NATO. “Allies currently meeting the NATO guideline to spend a minimum of two per cent of their (GDP) on defence will aim to continue to do so,” the members agreed in a declaration following a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in 2014. Any allies below this level would “aim to move towards the two per cent guideline within a decade with a view to meeting their NATO capability targets and filling NATO’s capability shortfalls.”
The 5% of GDP spending target is just a sham, NATO countries have until 2035 to reach the “goal” giving loads of time for freeloaders like Canada to promise the sun, moon and the stars while contributing little.
Once adopted, all member nations except Spain will have until 2035 to reach the goal of 5%.
The agreement calls for at least 3.5% of national GDP to be spent on core military needs, while an additional 1.5% can be allocated for related expenditures.
Maybe it’s all an EU plot to rid themselves of NATO and US dominance. Carney would go big on that grift.
I advise against ever taking Carney at his word. He wants us out of NATO and with the EU yoke round our neck.
NATO’s 5% benchmark would cost Canada $150B a year, Carney says
Signing on to NATO’s new defence spending target could cost the federal treasury up to $150 billion a year, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday in advance of the Western military alliance’s annual summit.
The prime minister made the comments in an interview with CNN International.
“It is a lot of money,” Carney said.
