New Democrats say no to Carney’s NATO 5 per cent commitment

Canada’s NDP Leader Don Davies issued the following statement:

“Canadians want our military to be well-trained, well-equipped and well-prepared. The men and women we count on to protect, defend and serve us deserve to be treated with respect, paid fairly and properly housed.
Over decades, successive Liberal and Conservative governments have failed to make sure these goals were met. Despite repeated promises, they have been unable to meet Canada’s NATO commitments.
New Democrats are committed to ensuring this changes. We know that targeted investments in the Canadian Armed Forces can boost our domestic economy and provide our personnel with the ability to perform many socially useful tasks that Canadians need and support, such as peacekeeping, coastal protection, search and rescue and disaster relief.
In this context, Prime Minister Carney’s unilateral announcement to commit Canada to spend 5% of our GDP on defense is extremely concerning.

Mr. Carney made no mention of this during the recent election and has no mandate for such a radical increase in military spending.It amounts to a tripling of current spending on defense and would add $150 billion to Canada’s annual budget within 10 years. It represents a dramatic shift in spending priorities, three times what the federal government spends on health transfers.
There is no plan to pay for such a dramatic increase, and would necessitate deep cuts to the services Canadians rely on. It would take billions of dollars away from fixing healthcare, building affordable housing, training young people and helping families make ends meet.
This is a clear attempt to appease Donald Trump – another betrayal of Mr. Carney’s promise to Canadians that he would pursue an “elbows up” approach to dealing with inappropriate US pressure.
New Democrats believe in a Canada that can defend its borders and play a constructive role on the world stage as an honest broker and force for peace.
At they same time, we reject any move toward joining an offensive war machine that takes money away from necessary investments in essential programs for Canadians and genuine peacebuilding.
Accordingly, New Democrats reject this irresponsible announcement and call for full parliamentary scrutiny of the fiscal, social and military implications of this measure.”