WASHINGTON – Canada will be reassuring allies of its commitment to the western alliance as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travels to Washington, D.C., this week to take part in the NATO leaders’ summit at a critical time for war-ravaged Ukraine.
NATO
Trudeau should expect criticism at NATO summit over defence spending: analysis
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to Washington for the NATO summit early next week with more than $30 billion in recently awarded military equipment contracts and a new defence policy that promises a major cash infusion for the Canadian Forces.
But that spending spree will likely carry little weight and Trudeau can still expect criticism that Canada isn’t doing enough on defence.
Canada is heading for humiliation at the coming NATO summit
Every government minister has a role to play. As Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair’s role seems to be to find new and more creative ways to imply that Canada will live up to its NATO commitments without ever actually committing to do so. Or certainly that it would, if only he were Defence Minister.
Trudeau government rejects warnings of ‘diplomatic isolation’ over defence spending
OTTAWA — The federal government is pushing back against criticism that Canada is becoming a laggard on military spending within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with Treasury Board President Anita Anand stating Tuesday that it is “superficial” to focus on the alliance’s spending target without broader context.
The comments came after NATO published new estimates for how much its 32 member countries are spending on defence. The list placed Canada near the bottom — fifth last — in defence spending in proportion to the size of its economy, with an estimated share of 1.37 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024.
Joe Varner: Canada’s selfish disregard of defence is the Achilles heel of NATO’s northern security
In the face of global adversaries like Russia and China bent on hegemony and conquest, Canada’s hands-off approach to defence and security is no longer tenable. While the country itself has seemingly not woken up to this realization, its NATO and Western allies certainly have.
Canada risks ‘diplomatic isolation’ if it fails to meet NATO spending target, business leaders warn
Canada is the only one of 32 member nations not to publicly release a plan to meet the target
One of the country’s leading business voices is warning that Canada faces “diplomatic isolation” if it’s not prepared to deliver a concrete plan next month to raise defence spending to meet NATO’s benchmark.
The Business Council of Canada — which has been wading more and more into the debate on national security lately — made the assessment in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The letter comes as both NATO defence ministers and G7 leaders prepare to gather at separate meetings in Europe, and as leaders of the NATO alliance nations get ready for a summit in Washington, D.C. next month.
We are a Clown State.
Canada now ‘the outlier’ in NATO on defence spending: U.S. ambassador
The United States’ ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, says Canada is becoming “the outlier” in NATO following a bipartisan letter from 23 American senators calling on Ottawa to meet the two per cent of GDP defence spending target.
“At the end of 2024, the way projections are looking, Canada will be the only country in NATO that is not spending at least two per cent of its GDP on defence and does not have a plan to get there,” Cohen said in an interview with The West Block host Mercedes Stephenson.
“Canada has moved within NATO from being a bit of an outlier to being the outlier in the entire alliance.”
But we have Trannies galore in the pipeline! Don’t we?
Western countries are gearing up for war for the first time in decades
Western nations are taking steps to put their armed forces on a war footing for the first time in decades, according to the boss of defence-technology company QinetiQ.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerns about China’s ambitions in the Pacific, escalations in the Israel-Hamas conflict and Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have spurred Britain, the US, Australia and their allies to invest time and money in testing the readiness of air, sea and land forces, said Steve Wadey, QinetiQ’s chief executive.
Canada is 4th from the bottom in NATO expenditures.
U.S. senators write to Trudeau asking him to meet 2% GDP defence spending commitment
A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. senators have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging his country to live up to its commitment to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence amid concerns that key members of the NATO alliance are not pulling their weight.
“As we approach the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., we are concerned and profoundly disappointed that Canada’s most recent projection indicated that it will not reach its two percent commitment this decade,” the senators wrote. “In 2029, Canada’s defence spending is estimated to rise to just 1.7 percent, five years after the agreed upon deadline of 2024 and still below the spending baseline.”
Trump considering new 3 per cent Nato defence spending target
Donald Trump is considering plans to push Nato members to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP if he wins a second term in the White House, The Telegraph understands.
The former president thinks member states should be asked to contribute more to the alliance’s collective defence in light of threats from Russia and China.
He also believes the accounting rules should be changed so that spending on military assistance for Ukraine is not counted towards the target – a policy that would push several countries below the current target of 2 per cent of GDP.
NATO turns seventy-five… what’s next?
NATO marks its seventy-fifth birthday today, but the alliance is in no mood for celebration.
At its foundation, and for much of its lifetime, NATO worked well. On April 4, 1949, representatives of a dozen countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC “to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.” Although the Cold War was not always cold, and flared into bloodily hot conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia and Angola among other places, there was never a face-to-face showdown between NATO and members of the Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact, let alone a nuclear one.
Denmark Sacks Defense Chief As Red Sea Failures Pile Up For NATO
The Danish government fired Chief of Defense Flemming Lentfer on Wednesday after it was revealed that the top military official failed to report flaws in the HDMS Iver Huitfeldt frigate’s air defense and weapons systems that emerged during an attack last month by the Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea.
h/t Jojodogfacedboy
Russia’s neighbours urge Nato allies to bring back military service
Rain drips down the glasses of new recruit Toivo Saabas, tracing the contours of the green and black face paint that completes his camouflage.
Lying on the saturated ground, and peering through the sight of his gun, the only frailty that threatens to give away his position is the plume of air he breathes out silently into the icy Estonian forest.
Then comes the deafening call to attack.
The 25-year-old springs to his feet. Forming a line with his brothers in arms, he bounds through the trees towards the Russian border.
NATO at 75: Is Canada losing its grip on the world’s greatest military alliance?
Inarguably bigger and more seasoned than it was when it was born from the ashes of the Second World War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — the West’s great military alliance — celebrated a milestone Thursday: three-quarters of a century of keeping the peace in Europe.
NATO formally came into being with the signing of the Washington Treaty in the U.S. capital 75 years ago, when 12 western democracies — including Canada — banded together against what they saw as Soviet Russia’s expansionism in Europe.
Its creation helped to inaugurate the Cold War and, six years later, brought about the creation of the rival Warsaw Pact of communist countries, led by the Soviet Union.
So, what expenditures should Canada cut to meet its NATO obligations?
A few weeks ago, when Donald Trump blathered on about letting Russia invade any NATO country not carrying its weight on military spending, he may have lacked a certain polish and decorum. Yet it’s hard to deny his logic.
A commitment is a commitment. And as most Canadians are becoming awkwardly aware, we are one of the worst laggards in the NATO club on this measure. For Canada to reach its NATO commitment of 2 per cent of GDP spent on the military it would require, roughly, $18-billion in addition to the $30-billion each year we spend on defence. (The figures are approximate and vary depending who you ask, and what you consider “military spending.”)
But how do we find an additional $18-billion? There’re not many sofa cushions to look under.
How could the author miss this?
Federal government business subsidies are huge. And mostly wasteful
Restructuring or eliminating ineffective subsidies could easily save $25 billion a year