The NATO chief urged Canada to meet the alliance’s defense spending target during his visit to the country’s capital on Wednesday, suggesting that billions of dollars in new investments, while notable, are not enough.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Canada’s updated defense policy, which commits $8 billion over five years and projects the defense budget’s share of GDP will rise to 1.76 per cent by then , is “important” to strengthen NATO and guarantee its collective security.
“At the same time, I still expect all allies to comply with the guideline of spending two percent (of GDP on defense),” he said.
Canada has been facing criticism and pressure to join a growing list of NATO allies to meet the spending target.
At an event at the NATO Association in Ottawa, Stoltenberg said he knows it’s not easy for politicians to meet spending targets, but it’s important for all allies to increase spending right now, given the dangerous global threat environment.
“I know that it is always easier to spend money on health, education, infrastructure and many other important tasks than to invest more in defense,” he said, pointing to reductions in security investments during times of relative peace.
“But when we reduce defense spending when tensions are decreasing, we must also be able to increase spending, security investments, when tensions rise and are as high as they are today.”
Stoltenberg has touted that 23 of 32 NATO allies will meet or exceed the 2 percent target this year, more than triple the number in 2021.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world delivered to your inbox, as it happens.
He has blamed that surge on Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when European allies faced the greatest threat posed by Moscow.
He said Wednesday that Russia’s growing ties with China, Iran and North Korea, along with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, have made the world a more dangerous place.
Stoltenberg visited Ottawa as part of a two-day tour of North America ahead of next month’s NATO Summit in Washington, where allies that have not yet met the 2 percent target are expected to provide roadmaps on how and when they will get there.
Figures published by NATO this week show that Canada is expected to spend 1.37 per cent of its GDP on defense this year.
Defense Minister Bill Blair has repeatedly said he expects Canada to make additional investments beyond those outlined in the defense policy update that will take Canada to two per cent. However, he has not said when that might happen.
“I hope that those allies who can’t reach (two percent) this year will come up with a plan for when they will be there, and I hope to have a plan from Canada,” Stoltenberg told reporters. after the NATO Partnership event.
He said he would raise the issue of defense spending in talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later Wednesday, but stressed it would be one issue among many the two will discuss.
Treasury Board Chair Anita Anand, a former defense minister, told reporters Tuesday that getting Canada to that 2 per cent target requires a solid plan for how to use the money effectively. Investments that will reach 1.76 percent have been properly allocated to specific acquisitions, she explained.
“It makes no rational sense to accumulate money in a department unless they can use it effectively,” he said while addressing a cabinet meeting in Ottawa.
“Why would we continue to fill those books with additional money, if that money can’t go out the door?”
Blair has mentioned the need for a new submarine fleet as an example of a future investment that could take Canada to two per cent. But the government has not yet undertaken the process of determining what type of submarine to buy or how many the military needs, so it was not included in the policy update.
When asked to explain to Canadians the need to meet the 2 per cent target, Stoltenberg said having a strong allied defense force is necessary to ensure that hostile actors like Russia and China are effectively deterred.
“I understand that in Canada you are in a position where you have the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic in the north, the Pacific Ocean and a good friend and ally in the United States in the south,” he said.
“But no nation is protected from threats in an era of rivalry between great global powers, in an era of ballistic missiles, strategic submarines, space militarization, cyber threats and terrorist threats. So this is a challenge for Canada as well, and the best way to preserve peace is to stay united in NATO and invest as we have agreed.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
