Senate report urges billions in defence spending
Committee sets ambitious vision for Canadian forces and the funding it requires
OTTAWA— The Liberal government must scrap its “political” decision to buy an interim fleet of Super Hornet fighter jets but should embark on a dramatic expansion of Canada’s military with new submarines, armed drones, warships, attack helicopters and armoured vehicles, the Senate defence committee says.
In a report released Monday, the committee sets out an ambitious vision for Canada’s armed forces to address what it called an “urgent capability gap.”
“The world has changed. The day of the free ride is over,” Sen. Daniel Lang, the committee chair, told a news conference.
The Senate report comes just as the Liberal government prepares to unveil its own defence policy review, a new vision for the armed forces and what it says will be “significant” funding to pay for it.
And it comes as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is facing renewed Conservative calls for him to quit his post. Sajjan has faced criticism for describing himself as the “architect” of Operation Medusa, a 2006 offensive by Canadian forces against the Taliban. Sajjan, a major deployed to Afghanistan at the time, has since apologized for that description.
But that hasn’t stopped opposition MPs. On Monday, Conservative MP James Bezan tabled a non-binding motion for debate that the Commons has “lost confidence” in Sajjan.
Later in question period, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced support for Sajjan, praising his “exceptional record of service,” a signal that he’s safe in the defence portfolio for now. But the controversy is a distraction as the Liberals prepare to roll out their defence policy review in the coming weeks.
Trudeau hinted that more money is coming, saying that “after 10 years of underinvestments by the previous government, we are about to give the valorous women and men who serve the tools and the support they need.”
But that may not be enough to pay for the Senate’s ambitions for the armed forces laid out in 30 recommendations that would dramatically upgrade the capabilities of the army, air force and navy. The senate report offers no details on what all that would cost, though Sen. Jean-Guy Dagenais conceded the price tag would be in the “billions.”
The report also takes aim at the Liberal decision to buy18 Super Hornet fighters as a stopgap to augment the existing fleet of aging CF-18s. That decision could ultimately cost taxpayers up to $7 billion and saddle the air force with the costly proposition of operating two types of fighters, the report said.
Instead, the senators urge the government to move ahead quickly with a competition to pick a new fighter to replace the CF-18 fleet.