EDITORIAL: Meeting NATO's 2% target the right move
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Provided it is done competently, we agree with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement Monday that Canada, at long last, will meet its NATO commitment to increase military spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in this fiscal year.
That’s five years ahead of Carney’s previous promise to meet the 2% target by 2030.
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We’re so far behind — Canada currently spends 1.4% of GDP on defence annually — that NATO is already considering a new target for member nations to spend 5% of GDP on defence.
Canada’s failure to meet the 2% target, set by NATO in 2006, has been a long-standing national embarrassment.
It has eaten away at our credibility and our effectiveness on issues of global security and international conflicts.
It has justifiably upset many of our NATO allies for not pulling our own weight and, most recently, angered U.S. President Donald Trump who, on this issue, has a valid point.
At the end of the Second World War, Canada had the world’s fourth-largest navy after the U.S., U.K and former Soviet Union.
At the end of the Korean War, Canada was spending 7% of GDP on defence.
Today, we have members of our military relying on food donations to make ends meet while being sent into armed conflicts — where they continue to serve honourably — with aging and obsolete equipment.
This is a national disgrace.
Canada’s submarines, ships, aircraft, military vehicles and artillery are all in desperate need of upgrading, as is our military presence in the Arctic, given the growing interest in its mineral resources by hostile countries such as Russia and China.
No country can claim to be a sovereign nation unless it has the ability to monitor and, where necessary, counter incursions into its territory.
Our concern is with Carney’s pledge to “ensure that every dollar is invested wisely, including by prioritizing made-in-Canada manufacturing and supply chains.”
That’s not because of the intent — we agree with it — but because there are so many examples of military spending that have turned into fiascoes and boondoggles by previous governments.
We’re also concerned that Carney is making this major announcement on defence spending in advance of this year’s federal budget and how the increased spending on defence will impact the government’s overall finances.
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