Canada's defence minister says the federal government is on a "positive, upward trajectory" in defence spending. However, he stopped short of saying when the government would reach its NATO commitment of spending two per cent of its GDP on defence.
Minister Bill Blair spoke to Vassy Kapelos on Power Play Thursday and faced questions on defence spending, U.S. intelligence reports, and the Ukraine war.
鈥淭imelines will be determined by our ability to not only acquire the funds, but also spend the funds,鈥� said Blair. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e spending Canadian tax payer dollars, it鈥檚 important that we spend them well and wisely.鈥�
鈥淭he prime minister, in June of last year, said that Canada was committed to working towards the (2 per cent) target, and we are,鈥� he said.
The full interview will air at 5 p.m. EST on 麻豆影视 Channel.
NATO defence spending has come under increased scrutiny in recent days following comments from former U.S. president Donald Trump, which called into question the alliance鈥檚 durability should he win another term.
During a Saturday rally in South Carolina, Trump said a president of 鈥渁 big country鈥� asked him if they would still be protected if they didn鈥檛 pay their way as a NATO member. Trump claims that he told them, 鈥淚 would not protect you, in fact I would encourage them (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want.鈥�
The White House denounced those comments, and Blair told reporters he didn鈥檛 think there was a need to 鈥�overreact.鈥�
In 2014, NATO leaders committed to move toward spending two per cent of their gross domestic product on defence within a decade. It has mostly been slow going, but Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine turned the spotlight back to defence preparedness. The two per cent figure is now considered a minimum requirement.
鈥淲e need to shift from the slow pace of peace time to the high tempo production demanded by conflict,鈥� NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a Thursday morning news conference. 鈥淲e can never take peace for granted.鈥�
Stoltenberg celebrated 鈥渉istoric progress鈥� in defence spending among member nations. He said earlier this week he expects 18 NATO allies to reach the two per cent benchmark. While he hailed increased spending in Europe and Canada, it鈥檚 unclear if the latter would be among those 18.
Also on Thursday, Blair announced Canada is spending more than $273 million on new military equipment for its battle group in Latvia, which includes $227.5 million for a short-range air defence system and another $46 million for anti-drone equipment.
With files from CTV鈥檚 Adrian Ghobrial, The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
