Defence course needs correction
Canadians should be alarmed by influence of U.S.
The latest defence policy update and federal budget recklessly put Canada on a warpath.
They prioritize investments in weapons production over peacekeeping and the use of armed force over diplomacy.
On April 8, at the Canadian Armed Forces base in Trenton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair released Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence. It is a major update to the Liberal government’s 2017 Strong Secure Engaged defence policy.
Our North, Strong and Free is driven by Canada’s close defence partnership with the United States and membership in the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
On the same day the update was released, David Cohen, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, issued a statement “welcoming” the update with its “significant investments in defence spending to meet NATO’s two per cent GDP target.”
A week later, the ambassador hosted NORAD’s new commander, U.S. Gen. Gregory Guillot, in Ottawa. Over the past year, they have both publicly pressured the Trudeau government to boost military spending.
Under the new federal budget, Canada’s military spending will increase by an additional $8.1 billion over the next five years and $73 billion over the next 20 years. Annual defence expenditures will rise from $34 billion in 2024 to $50 billion in 2030.
At this high level of military spending, Canada is currently ranked sixth among NATO members and is 16th highest in the world, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
With an increased budget, the Department of National Defence will acquire more ammunition, artillery, attack drones, armoured vehicles and tanks. Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said in his testimony to the Standing Committee on National Defence that the military needs new ammunition with a larger “kill” radius. No one on the committee asked who the Canadian military is going to kill with these weapons.
While Guillot was in the capital, he said he wanted the U.S. to have greater freedom of movement in Canada’s North. For NORAD modernization, the Canadian government will spend $38.6 billion. The Defence Department will establish new forward operating bases in Inuvik, Yellowknife, Iqaluit and Goose Bay, and build new infrastructure for F-35 fighter jets, air weapons and radar systems, and naval vessels across the Arctic.
Guillot stated that more American soldiers will be stationed in Canada’s northern territories and there will be closer co-ordination with NATO in its “northern flank.”
The militarization of the Arctic will lead to greater consumption of fossil fuel, exacerbating the climate crisis in the fastest warming region of Canada. It also threatens armed confrontation with Russia in a fragile oceanic environment that should be co-operatively protected.
Worryingly, in January, Admiral Rob Bauer, the NATO military committee chief, said that allies must prepare for conflict with Russia. As well, U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan asserted that allies should plan for war with China in 2025. Eyre recently and irresponsibly claimed that “Russia and China are at war with Canada.”
Yet, these generals fail to acknowledge how U.S. and Canadian military operations are provoking conflict against these nucleararmed powers. Ottawa is following the aggressive lead of Washington and ramping up more soldiers and weapons systems in eastern Europe, moving more warships into the Indo-Pacific region and militarizing the Arctic.
Moreover, the defence policy update and federal budget disregard peacekeeping, disarmament and diplomacy. The United Nations reports that Canada has only 43 peacekeepers on UN peace support operations, the lowest level in 20 years. By contrast, Canada will increase the number of soldiers in Latvia to 2,200 for a NATO-led battlegroup by 2026.
Canadians should be alarmed by the troubling and disproportionate influence that the U.S., which dominates NATO and NORAD, has over Canada’s defence policy, procurement and budgeting. This accelerating militarization does not align with Canadian values, makes us less secure and dangerously risks a global war.
To urgently put on the brake and change course, Canadian peace groups and concerned citizens are launching the On to Ottawa peace caravan this month. From coast to coast, Canadians will converge on the capital at the end of May and call on Parliament to demilitarize and work diplomatically with all countries to end wars and build peace in the world. Find out more at wilpfcanada.ca.