Â鶹´«Ã½

Politics

    • What the Liberal-NDP deal could mean for 'aggressive options' on defence spending

    Share
    OTTAWA -

    The prospects for a significant increase in Canadian defence spending in the coming federal budget looked a little less likely as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to head to Europe after announcing a stunning political deal with the New Democrats.

    The Liberal government had been hinting that it was looking at aggressive options for injecting more money into the Canadian military in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

    Canada has been under heavy pressure to meet the NATO military alliance's target, set in 2006, of spending at least two per cent of its national gross domestic product on defence, as a growing number of allies have since promised to do.

    Trudeau was largely noncommittal on Tuesday as he announced the new confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, which will see the fourth-place party support the Liberal minority government through to 2025 in exchange for new investments in other areas.

    Those include the creation of a dental-care program for lower-income Canadians, national pharmacare, affordable housing and phasing out subsides for fossil fuels, among others.

    The prime minister instead noted Canada's recent promise to deploy more troops to eastern Europe as he prepared to fly to Brussels, where he will address the European Parliament on Wednesday before attending a NATO leaders' summit on Thursday.

    "I look forward to engaging with our partners at NATO and in Europe over the next couple of days," he said.

    Trudeau later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before his planned departure later in the evening for Brussels. They talked about "further international assistance ahead of the upcoming NATO and G7 meetings," Trudeau's office said in a summary of the call.

    "Both leaders called on Russia to stop targeting civilians, to withdraw its military forces from Ukraine, and to engage in diplomacy with Ukraine."

    Canada currently spends about 1.39 per cent of its GDP on the military, according to NATO estimates. That puts it in the bottom-third of allies. Many other NATO member countries have promised in recent weeks to rapidly ratchet up their spending over fears of Russia.

    Asked whether his party would support an increase in defence spending in the coming budget, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was opposed to the two per cent figure and that any new investment in the military can't come at the expense of his priorities.

    "I don't think that will be the figure, and I don't think that's something we should do," Singh said in French.

    "The priority is to recognize that the Canadian Armed Forces deserve the resources and tools they need to do their work. But what is our priority is that the government not cut health-care measures and other assistance measures to people."

    Two weeks ago in Berlin, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland hinted there might be more money for the military in the coming federal budget.

    Last week, Anand said in an interview with CBC's Power & Politics that she would propose a range of options for military spending to cabinet ahead of the federal budget, expected early next month, including some that could bring Canada in line with the NATO target.

    "I personally am bringing forward aggressive options which would see (Canada), potentially, exceeding the two per cent level, hitting the two per cent level, and below the two per cent level," she said, adding that the "threat environment" had changed quickly.

    Asked about Canada's commitment to NATO during question period in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Anand did not mention the "aggressive options," but noted the Liberals' promise in 2017 to spend billions of dollars on the military over the next 20 years.

    But Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, who has criss-crossed Europe herself in recent weeks, noted again on Tuesday that Germany has made a historic commitment to increase its defence spending to the NATO target of two per cent of GDP.

    The spending commitment marked a radical shift in German military and foreign policy.

    "Times have changed; the world has changed since Feb. 24, the date of the invasion by Russia of Ukraine. Germany decided to take a very important decision by increasing their military spending. And we take stock of that," Joly said.

    David Perry, vice-president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and one of Canada's foremost authorities on defence spending, said the deal between the Liberals and NDP raises serious questions about any major new investments in the military.

    "If they are going to move forward with pharmacare, dental care or whatever manifestation that takes, it's presumably going to involve significant additional spending to make that happen," he said.

    "So where would defence spending fit into the overall fiscal picture? Given the state of the economy, state of the fiscal position, increasing interest rates, it further clouds what is already a reasonably unclear spending picture."

    Perry nonetheless said that actually meeting NATO's two per cent of GDP target in the short term is largely unrealistic as it would require an additional $16 billion in military spending over the roughly $30 billion already spent each year.

    Such an increase would also be virtually impossible to spend, given the long procurement timelines associated with buying new military equipment.

    Perry said one obvious area that the Liberals could direct new funding in the budget would be on modernizing North America's defensive systems, which the government has said is a priority but so far failed to act upon in a substantive manner.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2022.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A team of tornado experts are investigating a path of damage through Wellington County.

    Canada

    • A team of tornado experts are investigating a path of damage through Wellington County.

    • Two nephews of the beloved Harry R. Hamilton share stories about his life and legacy.

    • The federal government is urging both sides in the British Columbia port dispute to return to the table after mediated talks broke off on Saturday, the first of three scheduled days.

    • The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.

    World

    Politics

    • Murray Sinclair’s family members say the late justice and senator has been laid to rest according to his wishes.

    • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced voters in Cloverdale—Langley City will pick their next member of Parliament on Dec. 16.

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • Canada will be without captain Alphonso Davies for its upcoming CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

    • The Edmonton Oilers may have found the break they were looking for.

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    For the second year in a row, the ‘Gift-a-Family’ campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

    Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

    A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

    As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

    A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.

    A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

    Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

    A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.

    • A B.C. teen has a suspected case of H5N1 avian flu — the first known human to acquire the virus in Canada.

    • A suspect was arrested for allegedly brandishing a knife outside a Vancouver elementary school on Friday – just as the young students were heading home for the day.

    • The federal government is urging both sides in the British Columbia port dispute to return to the table after mediated talks broke off on Saturday, the first of three scheduled days.

    • Several hundred people gathered outside the Ontario legislature in Toronto to honour veterans and remember those who died fighting for their country.

    • Toronto is expected to see an economic boost to the tune of nearly $300 million thanks to Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour, which will be making a stop in Canada’s largest city for a six-show run later this month.

    • A man believed to be in his 40s has been rushed to a trauma centre following a stabbing in downtown Toronto.

    • EXTENDED VIDEO

      EXTENDED VIDEO

      Calgarians observed Remembrance Day at a number of different ceremonies across the city on Monday, including at the Hangar Flight Museum.

    • July 2025 may seem like it’s in the distant future, but for the St. Luke playground committee time is ticking to fundraise the $340,000 they still need to build a new playground.

    • Calgary Flames right-winger Anthony Mantha will miss the rest of the NHL season with a knee injury, the team announced Monday.

    • Crowds gathered in Ottawa and eastern Ontario on Monday to honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of Canada.

    • The company confirms it will open the new Chipotle at 5671 Hazeldean Road on Thursday, in the former location of Benny & Co.

    • The Fleet Street Pumping station is Ottawa's oldest water facility. Up to two-thirds of the city's water supply can move through it,

    • A 36-year-old Montreal man who was out on bail after allegedly uttering death threats to a woman is now accused of murdering her on the South Shore.

    • Private Martine Roy was only 20 years old in 1984 when she was arrested, interrogated and dismissed from the Canadian Armed Forces for being what was then termed a "sexual deviant."

    • With fewer interments and rising maintenance fees, the money for Canada's largest military cemetery will run out in three to four years.

    • A member of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton participated in the national Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa on Monday.

    • Canada will be without captain Alphonso Davies for its upcoming CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

    • Thousands of Maritimers turned out in wet weather Monday to remember those who have served, and continue to serve, in Canada's armed forces for Remembrance Day.

    • A Cape Breton senior recalls her life in German-occupied France, and her mother’s death, during the Second World War.

    • Thousand of people gathered at the Menin Gate in the Ypres, Belgium for Monday’s Remembrance Day Ceremony.

    • Thousands gathered at the RBC Convention Centre on Monday to bear witness to a sombre and historic Remembrance Day ceremony.

    • One Manitoba veteran is on a mission to commemorate and honour those who served our country, and not just on Remembrance Day.

    • Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the attack and robbery of a 62-year-old woman.

    • There will be two ceremonies taking place in Regina for Remembrance Day, hosted by the Royal Canadian Legion.

    • Fire crews reported that no one was hurt after flames broke out in a home on Robinson Street in central Regina.

    • Regina author Valerie Crowther is celebrating the release of her book ‘War Letters: Linking Lives in the Second World War.’

    • Saskatchewan RCMP are searching for a suspect after a man was seriously injured in a farm-related incident in Montreal Lake.

    • It was a somber day at Mosaic Stadium as members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders officially cleaned out their stalls and closed the book on the 2024 season.

    • The Regina Rams claimed the Hardy Cup after a hard fought battle against the Saskatoon Huskies 19-14 on Saturday in the first all Saskatchewan U-Sports western conference final since 2002.

    • Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

    • Southampton military historian Bill Streeter was the driving force behind the renaming of Bruce County Road 19 in honour of the brave men who made up the 160th Bruce County Battalion, and fought in the First World War.

    • Emergency crews responded to the scene on Road 68/Highway 2 east of Thamesford around 7 p.m.

    • A team of tornado experts are investigating a path of damage through Wellington County.

    • A Barrie man is at the centre of an alleged $2.2 million stolen used car scheme.

    • The 75th anniversary of the Barrie Santa Claus Parade will feature floats, live entertainment, and new attractions, including Santa’s Fireside Gathering.

    • Environment Canada issued a weather alert for Barrie, Collingwood and surrounding areas, alerting residents about the wicked winds that are expected to pick up to 80 kilometres per hour in the afternoon hours.

    • After a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) worker took their own life while on shift at the Ambassador Bridge Saturday, Â鶹´«Ã½ Public Safety Analyst Chris Lewis highlighted the mental health burdens faced daily by law enforcement.

    • Representatives of the Windsor Veterans Memorial Services Committee, military representatives, wreath bearers, government officials, and members of the public will attend the Cenotaph at City Hall Square for the outdoor service.

    • Windsor Paralympic champion, Danielle Campo, has been crowned the number one Inspirational Speaker of the Year for 2024 at the Inspirational Speaking Finals.

    • A B.C. teen has a suspected case of H5N1 avian flu — the first known human to acquire the virus in Canada.

    • Environment Canada says heavy rain and winds could cause power outages on Vancouver Island as an "intense" storm system is set to hit the B.C. coast Sunday.

    • Six deer were struck by vehicles in six different locations in a six-hour period on B.C. highways on Saturday, according to the transportation ministry.

    • The emergency department at South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, B.C., will be closed for 31 hours this weekend, the second such closure in a week and the third since the start of November.

    • Police in Kamloops, B.C., are reminding parents and guardians to check their children's Halloween candy after receiving a report of a mother finding a razor blade in one of her daughter's treats.

    • More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.

    • The Southern Alberta Recreation Association is officially announcing the Town of Taber as next year’s host for the Southern Alberta Summer Games.

    • The Lethbridge Hurricanes broke open a close game with three goals in the first two minutes of the third period as they defeated the Warriors 7-3 in a game played Friday night in Moose Jaw.

    • There might not a lot snow just yet, but many southern Albertans are still itching to get outdoors.

    • Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

    • It was just days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down when the Shaft Bottom Boys of Sudbury broke a world record for 'Deepest Concert Underground.' Now, more than four years later, a Timmins band is looking to take the title.

    • Police say that a 16-year-old was attacked with a sword Nov. 3 in Cobalt, Ont., in a case of intimate partner violence.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½