War in Ukraine | Canada forced to review its defense budget

(Ottawa) The war in Ukraine is forcing many countries to review their defense spending. Russia’s coup has already led Germany to increase its military spending by an exceptional 100 billion euros this year to modernize its army. Everything indicates that Canada will not be able to escape this trend.

“We will from now on, year after year, invest more than 2% of our gross domestic product (GDP) in our defence,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said two weeks ago.

Like Canada, Germany has often been criticized for being slow to comply with NATO military spending requirements. The harshest criticism came from Washington. Each member of this military alliance must commit to devoting at least 2% of its GDP to defence. The United States devotes almost double to it.

In 2003, John Manley, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Chrétien government, expressed aloud the embarrassment that this sometimes caused Canada with its main allies on the international scene. “We can’t continue to constantly go to the toilet when the G7 bill arrives,” he frankly declared.

Other countries have decided to follow in Germany’s footsteps, notably Denmark and Sweden, and to increase their defense budgets. “There is a Europe before February 24 and a Europe after,” said Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, referring to the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Currently, Canada spends about 1.4% of its GDP on military spending. The National Defense budget was $23 billion in 2020-21. It would have to be close to $32 billion to meet NATO requirements.

The last time Canada spent 2% or more of its GDP on defense was in the 1980s, under the former Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney.

The end of the Cold War and the breakup of the USSR in the early 1990s made military spending cuts fashionable during the Chrétien government’s fight against the deficit. Investments have been canceled or delayed. For example, the contract for the purchase of new helicopters to replace the old Sea Kings was torn up following the victory of the Jean Chrétien Liberals in 1993. These helicopters were finally replaced some twenty years later. by Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclones.

The Trudeau government followed the same recipe after coming to power by rejecting the option chosen by the Conservatives, who had set their sights on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth aircraft to replace the aging CF-18 fleet, on the grounds they were too expensive. He promised to launch a new call for tenders. This promise has caused delays. In all, Canada plans to purchase 88 new fighter jets at an estimated cost of $19 billion to replace the 40-year-old CF-18s. To prevent the CF-18 fleet from becoming virtually unusable, the government must invest $1.3 billion to extend the use of the aircraft until 2032. The Trudeau government also purchased 18 Australian CF-18s, which required important upgrades.

Soon, the federal government must grant a contract for the replacement of the planes. Two devices are in the running: the Gripen from the Swedish company Saab… and the F-35 from Lockheed Martin.

“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his threats to Canada and our NATO allies demonstrate why it is essential for Canada to have a serious defense policy backed by real financial commitments. and a credible acquisition process,” said Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Huss, who served for 22 years as a reservist in the Armed Forces, on Friday.

“If Canada takes two decades to buy and deploy new warships, fighter jets and supply ships, surely we must have the worst procurement program in the world,” the former Liberal MP recently quipped. of Orleans and retired Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie.

Speaking Thursday in Ottawa at the Security and Defense Conference, Canadian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Wayne Eyre expressed concern about the readiness of troops if Canada were to be called upon to participate in the conflict in Ukraine.

“It’s one of the things that keeps me up at night,” he said bluntly.

Freeland, hawk of the Trudeau government

On a tour of Europe this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was questioned a few times about his government’s defense intentions following Germany’s decision. He cautiously opened the door to higher spending, pointing out that spending was already set to jump 70% over the next decade.

“We have to recognize that things are changing rapidly around the world,” Trudeau said after meeting in London with his British counterpart Boris Johnson and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The one who will have her say is Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. She is working on the next federal budget, which will be tabled no later than April. What brand is she staying at?

A flurry of speech she gave in the House of Commons on Canada’s foreign policy on June 6, 2017, when she was Minister of Foreign Affairs, offers a pretty clear indication. She is one of the hawks of the Trudeau government.

“Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the support of hard power. Of course, we only use force as a last resort. However, the principled use of force, in concert with our allies and according to international law, is part of our history and must be part of our future. This capacity requires a considerable investment, which this government is determined to make,” said Mr.^me Freeland.

At the time, she also denounced the illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia. “The most important pillar of this order, which emerged from the carnage of the First and Second World Wars, is the inviolability of borders. Today, this principle is under siege. This is why the democratic world has united to protect Ukraine. Russia’s illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory is the first time since the end of World War II that a European power has annexed the territory of another country by force. We cannot accept or ignore this act,” she said.

The new Russian offensive in Ukraine will undoubtedly influence the content of its next budget.