OTTAWA — A “secret” memo from the Department of National Defence last year said Canada’s 2005 decision not to join the U.S. ballistic missile defence system harmed the country’s reputation as a security partner and could make it harder to participate in the AUKUS military collaboration between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The memo also raised Canada’s long-standing failure to meet its defence spending commitments with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as “the elephant in the room” that has raised doubts about whether Canada is willing to pull its weight for international security.
