Re: NATO

by **Accer** Wed 19 Apr 2023, 5:18 pm

U.S. report claims Trudeau told NATO Canada will never meet its military spending target

Alexander Panetta · CBC News · Posted: Apr 19, 2023

CBC News

by Covert Fri 21 Apr 2023, 7:24 am

'A perfect example of what not to do': ex-U. S. envoy on PM's reported NATO comments

Published April 21, 2023

The Canadian Press

by Firefox Fri 30 Jun 2023, 11:24 am

U.K. defence secretary urges Canada to hit NATO military spending target

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Jun 29, 2023

CBC News

by Tracker Fri 15 Sep 2023, 11:27 am

Sep 15, 2023 ĀDAŽI MUNICIPALITY

Every army in NATO has its own field ration, commonly known as MREs (meals-ready-to-eat). While perhaps not the height of culinary expression, these rations give soldiers the calories they need to power through a hard day in the field. From Ally to Ally, their contents differ in small, interesting ways.

Watch a Canadian and Slovenian soldier swap their ration packs at NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Latvia. There’s a lot of beef on the menu, from jerky to goulash and ravioli, with some Tabasco sauce on offer for that extra heat!

The multinational battlegroup in Latvia is led by Canada and has troops from 10 other Allied countries, including Albania, Czechia, Iceland, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Our participants are Canadian Army Master Corporal Michael Vernon and Slovenian Army Private Teja Tropan.

by **Joker** Thu 07 Mar 2024, 6:16 am

State of Canadian Armed Forces' combat readiness growing worse, government report warns

Department of National Defence report also says almost half of military's equipment is 'unserviceable'

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Mar 07, 2024

CBC News

by Jackson Sat 11 May 2024, 6:27 am

Canada could exceed NATO’s defence spending target after approval of planned projects, Blair says

May 10, 2024

Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair said he’s confident Canada will eventually exceed NATO’s defence spending target once planned submarine and missile projects are approved.

Speaking after meeting with the German Defence Minister in Ottawa ahead of the July NATO summit, Mr. Blair said he wanted to assure allies that Canada’s defence spending is on the rise. Just last week, however, he said it has been difficult to convince his cabinet colleagues of the merits of increasing it to 2 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s goal.

The Canadian Global Affairs Institute estimated in April that Canada’s defence spending sits at 1.33 per cent of the country’s GDP. The most recent defence policy shows the government expects that will increase to 1.76 per cent by 2029-30.

Mr. Blair said the country will soon need to replace an aging submarine fleet and improve air defence systems, but these expenses were not included in the defence budget projections released in April.

He added that Canada remains committed to defending the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and being present and effective in the Indo-Pacific.

“All of those things are going to require additional investments,” Mr. Blair said.

In 2014, Canada and other NATO countries committed to spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defence and 20 per cent of their defence budget on equipment. Canada is the only country in the alliance that did not meet either commitment by March 2024, a report by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute shows.

“I want to acknowledge our new defence policy does not quite get us to 2 per cent,” Mr. Blair said, “but it’s a remarkable new investment in defence. Our defence budget next year over this year is going to rise by 27 per cent.”

Germany’s Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, said he has “no reason at all” to complain about Canada’s engagement as a military partner.

“We have all the same challenges in our domestic politics. We need to find money. We need to find personnel. We need to increase our production capacities as industries,” he said. “Everyone is working as hard as possible to face the challenges and to solve the problem.”

Germany reached the NATO target this year – the first time Germany has spent 2 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence since the 1990s, Mr. Pistorius said. “I’m absolutely convinced that 2 per cent can only be the floor but not the ceiling.”

Almost two-thirds of Canadians believe the country should increase its defence spending to meet the 2 per cent target, according to a Nanos Research survey commissioned by The Globe and Mail. (The poll is based on phone surveys of more than 1,000 randomly selected Canadians between Feb. 28 and March 2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.)

The Globe and Mail

by Cool~Way Fri 24 May 2024, 12:27 pm

Trudeau gets an earful on defence spending from nearly one-quarter of the U.S. Senate

Lawmakers from both parties tell PM to come to NATO summit with plan to meet target

Alexander Panetta · CBC News · Posted: May 23, 2024

CBC News

by Caliber Thu 20 Jun 2024, 6:52 am

NATO secretary-general urges Ottawa to meet its defence spending target

Mickey Djuric .The Canadian Press Jun 19, 2024

OTTAWA - Canada needs to meet NATO's minimum defence spending target, and present a plan on how it will reach it as a way to show authoritarian regimes that Western allies are aligned, said the alliance's secretary general on Wednesday.

Numbers NATO released this week show Canada is expected to spend 1.37 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence this year, well below the two per cent target.

"Canada's standing in NATO is strong, but at the same time of course we expect all allies to make good on the promise of investing two per cent," Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, said during an event hosted by the NATO Association of Canada in Ottawa.

Ahead of Stoltenberg's remarks, Defence Minister Bill Blair promised the goal will eventually be reached, as Russia's war in Ukraine raises a threat of expanded conflict in Europe.

Last year, members agreed that two per cent should be a minimum, a reflection of worries over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg acknowledged it's tough for politicians to prioritize defence over social services, but said a precondition of success in any Western country is preserving peace and investing in security.

Canada faces the same challenges as all the allied countries that have budgets, he said.

"They're concerned about the fiscal balance. They want to spend money on health, education and on the other things," he said.

But at the end of the day, if those countries aren't able to prevent war, their efforts on health, education and climate change "will fail" he said.

His remarks on spending received enthusiastic applause from the NATO Association of Canada, including from former defence minister Anita Anand, who snuck in the back to listen to his remarks.

A handful of protesters gathered outside a building in the parliamentary precinct where Stoltenberg spoke.

On the sidewalk in front of the building, "Canada lagging behind our NATO allies" was written in chalk, along with "Trudeau and Blair laughing stocks of the world" and "Canadians are not laughing."

Stoltenberg's visit came the same day Russia and North Korea signed an agreement that pledges mutual aid if either country faces "aggression."

Stoltenberg expressed concern that Russia could be providing support to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, and over China "propping up Russia's war economy" by providing electronics that are being used in weapons and combat against Ukraine.

"So the answer is that when they are more and more aligned, all the authoritarian regimes like North Korea, China, Iran and Russia, then it's even more important that we are aligned as countries believing in freedom and democracy," he said.

Defence spending across European allies and Canada was up nearly 18 per cent this year alone, Stoltenberg said during a speech at the White House on Monday — the biggest increase in decades.

Blair has said Canada's defence spending will climb to at least 1.75 per cent of its GDP by 2029.

Additional spending on a new submarine fleet and integrated air defence and missile systems will probably push the figure past the two per cent mark, Blair said.

"Let me assure you that we've been doing a great deal of work within our Defence Department, with the government of Canada, but also with our NATO allies," Blair said.

Allies were "very encouraged" by a defence policy update Canada released earlier this year, he said.

Defence spending will be among a number of topics Stoltenberg said he would raise with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who he had dinner with on Wednesday.

The secretary general embraced Trudeau and Ottawa warmly, calling Canada like "home" and the prime minister "friend."

Stoltenberg also wants Canada to scale up its contribution in the North and maritime operations.

Both Blair and Anand, now treasury board president, acknowledged this week that defence spending is delayed because of a shortage of procurement workers.

"We have the ability to accelerate spending. It does require an investment in people to get the job done," Blair said.

The Liberal government has set aside $1.8 billion over 20 years to increase the number of workers who can purchase new equipment, recruit, train new soldiers and upgrade infrastructure.

NATO leaders are set to meet in Washington, D.C., next month for an annual summit and mark the alliance's 75th anniversary.

Increasing funding for Ukraine will be an agenda priority, after Stoltenberg came forward with a proposal for all NATO allies to contribute 40 billion euros a year, Blair said.

At the White House on Monday, Stoltenberg said his expectation for next month's meeting is to have allies agree "to step up financial and military support to Ukraine," and reduce the burden on the U.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2024.

-- With files from Sarah Ritchie and The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press

by **Lincoln** Thu 26 Sep 2024, 8:18 am

Thinking the 'unthinkable': NATO wants Canada and allies to gear up for a conventional war

NATO's call for defence industrial strategies pulls Canada into a conversation it has avoided for decades

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Sep 26, 2024

CBC News

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