By Procrustes, 30 March 2022
The recently consummated ‘supply-and-confidence’ agreement in Ottawa has now placed any chance of significantly increased defence spending on hold for another three years. The NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has announced that his party will oppose any increase in Canadian defence spending to what he called an “arbitrary” level of two per cent of Gross Domestic Product.1
Leaving aside the fact that all NATO countries, including Canada, freely agreed to this spending target at the NATO leaders’ summit in Wales in 2014, this new agreement gives the Prime Minister the perfect opportunity to ignore his government’s earlier trial balloons about increasing Canada’s defence effort in response to the demonstrably deteriorating international security situation.
Instead, Canada must mobilize to protect its peoples’ gums,2 and of course save the planet, while the human inhabitants in other countries have to fend for themselves in the face of thugs like Vladimir Putin and others who busily flout the established international order.
Notes:
1. Rachel Aiello, “NDP against Canada increasing defence spending to hit 'arbitrary' NATO target,” CTVNews.ca (27 March 2022). Accessed at: https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/ndp-against-canada-increasing-defence-spending-to-hit-arbitrary-nato-target-1.5835049
2. William Watson, “Gums vs. butter — the Liberals choose both,” Financial Post, 24 March 2022. Accessed at: https://financialpost.com/opinion/william-watson-gums-vs-butter-the-liberals-choose-both
