NATO has declared that Canada must provide a hard date for meeting the 2-per-cent spending floor, but politicians are shielding voters from that harsh reality
Most Canadians may not appreciate the hard choices that lie ahead as Canada prepares to meet its NATO commitment of devoting 2 per cent of this country’s gross domestic product to defence.“Canada has not conveyed a precise date but I expect Canada to deliver on the pledge to invest 2 per cent of GDP on defence, because this is a promise we all made,” Mr. Stoltenberg told CTV.
No, the $20-billion will have to come from some combination of increased taxes and cuts to spending. And yet the federal government is pursuing the very opposite course.Much of this will need to be scrapped or severely cut back. Or the government will have to cut back on the $100-billionThe other alternative is to substantially increase taxes. Taking the GST from 5 per cent back up to its original level of 7 per cent would fund much of the increase.
There used to be plenty of laggards in NATO. But that was yesterday. Mr. Stoltenberg says that 18 of the 31 NATO members will hit the 2-per-cent target this year., one of the few NATO countries that typically spent even less on defence than Canada, has massively increased its military budget – by 26 per cent in 2023 – and is progressing quickly toward 2 per cent.
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