The U.S. ambassador to Canada is trying to cut some of Ottawa’s leeway to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense spending standards.
During a panel discussion Friday at the Canadian War Museum commemorating NATO’s 75th anniversary, Ambassador David Cohen said the U.S. has a “broader perspective” on member states that goes beyond the alliance’s military spending target of 2% of gross domestic product. He said that product.
“We decided to look at Canada’s overall approach to defense,” Cohen said.
“We take into account defense spending as a percentage of GDP, but we also take into account a wide range of other factors.”
Other factors include the evolution of Canada’s defense spending, its participation in continental defense, and the recent announcement of plans to purchase military equipment totaling $44 billion, he said. Most of these investments include the Air Force’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets and P-8 Orion reconnaissance aircraft from the United States.
Mr. Cohen has previously downplayed the importance of the 2% metric, but Friday’s remarks were among the sharpest he has made publicly on the issue.
Canada, along with other NATO allies, agreed last summer to make the 2% target a “enduring commitment.” Recently, the Alliance Secretary-General and other member states have publicly stated that each country should have a plan to achieve its goals.
Canada’s military budget currently stands at 1.33% of GDP. Neither the ruling Liberal Party nor the opposition Conservative Party has developed a strategy to achieve the 2% pledge.
Cohen’s remarks were made before a panel that included British High Commissioner Susanna Goszko, Finnish Ambassador Jari Willen, Liberal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence, Marie-France Lalonde, and Major General John Cohen, Director of the Military International Security Policy Bureau. It was held in Greg Smith.
“This is what the Minister of Defense thinks.” [Bill] “Prime Minister Blair has made it clear that he knows Canada needs to do more, spend more and do more as we move closer to the 2 per cent target,” Cohen said. Told. It’s the right, most accurate and unbiased way to look at Canada’s national defense efforts from a broader perspective. ”
But Finland takes the view that if an ally commits to achieving a goal like the 2% target, “we have to follow through,” Biren said.
Seventy-five years after helping found the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Canada is under public fire over its defense spending and efforts. CBC’s Murray Brewster looks at how the country lost its alliance advantage and what it will take to regain it.
Goshko agreed.
“I think the world is at a point where it’s very conflicted and we’re having to make some very difficult choices,” Goszko said, adding that the UK has been working hard to get its allies to meet their spending targets, especially since last year’s summit. He added that he is working on it. In Vilnius, Lithuania.
“We are really pleased that all NATO countries agreed to it in Vilnius and we look forward to seeing each country’s plan to get there. We think it’s important to have a plan for this.”
Lalonde said she appreciated Cohen’s comments, adding that the Liberal government is working to meet its obligations.
“Canada has always been involved. We have always responded to the call and have made investments in recent years,” Lalonde said.
Smith, who has spent time at NATO headquarters, described the alliance as a family that argues but ultimately comes together.
“I went to Brussels and sometimes I got some harsh words from other members of my family, but in the end they all still say, ‘We love you,'” Smith said. .
“My family isn’t mad at us. They just want more.”
A recent report from the Canadian Institute of International Affairs argues that efforts to achieve the goal have ramifications beyond the Department of Defense. This would allow the military to better respond to requests for disaster relief from local areas, for example.
This will allow the military to plan more consistently and maintain its presence overseas in a way that is currently not possible.
“Such funding will not solve all problems, but it will make CAF more consistent and reliable.
relevant, modern and competent,” said the report, published online this week.
“Unfortunately, without more serious attention to how our nation’s defense and security agencies are organized, funded, and spent, CAF will face years of debilitating decline. We will have to continue to do our best.”