OTTAWA, ON. (NEWS 1130) – The Trudeau government is about to make the case for billions of dollars in new military spending.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is set to reveal the government’s defence policy review, which is expected to map out Canada’s national defence policy for years.
The announcement will be made against a backdrop of uncertainty in global affairs and an inward-looking United States. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said yesterday Canada can no longer rely on America’s military might for security.
“There are three things that matter in terms of our military — cash, capabilities and contributions,” says Christian Leuprecht, a defence expert at the Royal Military College of Canada. “That’s how much is the government spending, what capabilities can the military provide and to what extent is the government willing to commit those capabilities? We’ve arguably been weak on the cash part but the Prime Minister and previous governments have always made the case that we are strong on capabilities and commitment.”
Leuprecht suggests the current state of Canada’s military allows Ottawa to meet its commitments, but there needs to be some serious investment in the years ahead. “At present, we are doing OK. The challenge is that while the army was re-equipped during the Afghanistan campaign, both the navy and the air force are lagging,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“What allows Canada to punch above its proverbial weight is that in collective defence at NATO, when it comes to what everybody is going to contribute, Canada has real capabilities and is prepared to contribute in a meaningful way. From a US perspective that means kinetic capabilities. That means you ultimately need to show up with real planes, real ships and real assets. The challenge, especially when you talk about things that fly or float, is that they get really expensive, really quickly and what we have is starting to get really old, really quickly.”
Despite that, Leuprecht doesn’t expect the defence policy review announcement to drastically reshape Canada’s military, though he believes it will focus more on the men and women who serve in it.
“Canada’s military has three missions — to defend the country, to defend the continent and to engage in collective defence through expeditionary missions. There will be a commitment to try to re-equip the military but I think we are also going to hear a lot more about the women and men who serve and, in a departure from previous policy reviews, the government’s lifelong commitment to them, not only while they’re in uniform but also after they retire from uniform. That will include standing by them in terms of the health and pension needs as a result of having served.”
Today’s announcement comes almost two weeks after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with NATO nations in Brussels.
Sajjan is expected to address the House of Commons at 9:30am PT.