Trudeau unveils new Russia sanctions amid growing NATO pressure over defence spending
CTV
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau levied sanctions against dozens more Russian officials for their role in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but offered only vague promises in the face of growing pressure to increase Canadian defence spending. The prime minister announced the new sanctions against 160 members of the Russian Federation Council as well as a coming ban on the export of certain goods and technologies to Russia on Thursday, wrapping up a whirlwind trip to Brussels.
The prime minister announced the new sanctions against 160 members of the Russian Federation Council as well as a coming ban on the export of certain goods and technologies to Russia on Thursday, wrapping up a whirlwind trip to Brussels.
That trip included an address to the European Parliament as well as meetings with leaders from the G7 and the NATO military alliance, members of which pledged to draw up plans by June for boosting spending on their respective militaries.
Yet while Trudeau said Canada agreed to that commitment, he repeatedly sidestepped questions during a closing news conference about whether his government will in fact inject substantial new money into the Canadian Armed Forces.
The prime minister instead referred back to the Liberal government's previous promises through its 2017 defence policy to invest billions of dollars in the military in the form of new equipment and personnel.
