'We have to do more': Foreign affairs minister on Canada’s defence spending
CTV
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says she thinks that Canada’s military needs to be 'better equipped' and that the government has to 'do more' when it comes to stepping up the defence budget.
In an interview on CTV’s Your Morning Friday about the ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine, Joly said she is “extremely proud” of the Canadian Armed Forces after seeing for herself earlier this year the Canadians training Ukrainians and leading the NATO mission in Latvia. But, she also thinks “that they need to be better equipped, better tooled, and quickly.”
“I'm very much aware also that other countries have stepped up the defense budget, such as Germany, to face these challenging times, and I think that we have to do more,” Joly said.
She made this comment in response to a question about her comments earlier in the week on CTV News Channel’s Power Play in which she said that Canada was not a military power, rather a “middle-size power" that is "good at convening."
Asked if Canada needs to increase its defence spending—given it is currently spending approximately 1.39 per cent of its GDP and the NATO request is to be spending two per cent—Joly said she thinks Canada needs to “adapt to the times.” In order to reach NATO’s two per cent of GDP spending target, Canada would have to commit to spend billions more annually.
