Last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Soltenberg called on members of the group to “do more” to contribute to the military alliance as members struggle to help Ukraine following the Russian invasion last month. “We have an agreement and I expect all allies, including Canada, to continue – that we need to aim for 2% of GDP because we live in a more dangerous world,” Stoltenberg told Rosemary Barton on Sunday. of the CBC. Live. Canada currently spends 1.39 percent of its GDP on the military, according to the latest NATO figures. The government is expected to present its budget next month. Defense Secretary Anita Anand highlighted ongoing defense spending in an interview with As It Happens guest Gillian Findlay on Friday. Here is part of their conversation. Secretary Anand, how much pressure have you received this week as you have been meeting in Europe to improve and accelerate Canada’s military contributions to NATO? NATO is a unified alliance and we work very cooperatively. NATO is very well aligned in terms of our collective support for Ukraine and our continued collective support for the defense and deterrence that underpins the NATO alliance. And we are all very much in line with the short-term and long-term goal of this alliance, in terms of spending and other elements. Two percent of GDP is the long-term demand and commitment to NATO. Yesterday the Secretary General of NATO [Jens] Stoltenberg described a minimum of two percent as the price of peace and freedom. And indeed, many smaller countries than Canada in NATO have surpassed it. So can you commit that your government is now ready to make that minimal commitment to NATO? One of my most important responsibilities is to ensure that the Canadian Forces have the resources and equipment they need to deal with current and future threats. We increase defense spending by more than 70 percent over a nine-year period ending in 2026. And our prime minister [Justin Trudeau] said yesterday to NATO that we will increase defense spending. We are ready to do even more in the field of NORAD modernization by making new investments of $ 252 million to raise awareness of the situation and [to] the modernization of the management and control systems and the presentation of a strong package for the modernization of NORAD, which would be directed towards 2%. But would it be two percent? The budget process is currently under way. Details of what is included in the budget will be announced when the budget is released. A man passes in front of a bomb-damaged building on Mira Avenue (Peace Avenue) in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 13. (Evgeniy Maloletka / The Associated Press)
Earlier this month, we spoke with the former lieutenant general and [former] Liberal MP Andrew Leslie said a few things. He said the Russian invasion had caught NATO unprepared. NATO was not able to fight Russia today, even if it wanted to. And he said the solution to that was … an accumulation on the scale of what happened in the late 1930s. He said, “We have to invest fast. We have to build capacity quickly. We have to make our troops move fast.” “I do not see any of this happening in Canada right now,” he said. What would you say to your former colleague, General Leslie? Well, I would argue that since 2017, Canada’s contribution to NATO has been extensive. We have led the NATO Enhanced Forward Combat Task Force in Latvia with over 540 people on the ground. We are doubling our contribution to the NATO Navy in the region by adding a second frigate. On land, we are adding new military capabilities and personnel to this battle group. And in the air, we also have an Aurora Maritime Patrol aircraft that has been transferred to NATO command, and we have 3,400 Canadian Armed Forces personnel on high alert in the event of being called in by NATO. The short answer is that we continue to act in accordance with NATO’s request and we are ready at any time to increase our support as requested. CLOCKS Retired lieutenant general says NATO’s additional steps “absolutely inadequate”

Additional NATO steps “absolutely inadequate”, says the expert

Retired Canadian Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie said NATO’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine was “insufficient to act as a viable deterrent to Russia.” 6:35
One of the other things that emerged from the meetings in Europe this week, in particular, was the warning of the United States of a Russian chemical biological attack as a real possibility. Like you said at those meetings, and you were obviously aware of some information… how scary was that? How real is the threat? Let me tell you, the debate over the escalation of this war to include nuclear, biological or chemical weapons concerns us all, and this is a possibility we have seen discussed in the open source media. Our job is not to provoke, to be reasonable and to be ready for anything. Putin’s rhetoric and actions are dangerous and irresponsible. Canada condemns them in the strongest terms and as a government, our job is to make sure we are ready for any eventuality, any threat, and that is exactly what we are doing. But the President of the United States [Joe Biden] says he’m particularly worried about it, so i’m curious to know what the facts are? What are the concerns they share with you? I am in frequent contact with the Secretary of Defense in the United States, as well as with the Secretary [Ben] Wallace in the UK, and I spoke yesterday [Defence] Minister [Oleksii] Reznikov in Ukraine. And the reality is that we are discussing a number of very worrying situations, of course all related to Russia’s illegal invasion and occupation of Ukraine. And we have vowed to work together to prepare for any eventuality. We are concerned about Putin’s escalating rhetoric and he must step down and step back. Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand, left, arrives in Kyiv earlier this year. The visit came after the federal government announced the renewal and expansion of the Canadian military training mission in Ukraine. (Ukrainian Ministry of Defense)
What will be NATO’s response if that happens? We are all very concerned about what is happening in Ukraine, and in particular about whether it could be equated with war crimes and crimes against humanity. As a former lawyer, I would say that the test in international law is whether there is a deliberate attempt to target civilians in any kind of war. And in our view, any attack on civilians is unacceptable. And that is why our country led to the referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court. We stand with Ukraine and our allies in this. But if it used chemical, biological, nuclear weapons, would there be a military response? This is an issue we will continue to discuss with our allies. Canada will not take unilateral action – – Of course. – without consulting and discussing with our NATO partners – – I do not suggest it, I ask what would be NATO’s response to this situation, if that happened? The reality is that NATO is strong, united and coordinated, and we meet regularly to make sure we are ready for any threat and to act in concert. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty states that an attack on one is an attack on all, and we as allies will defend every inch of NATO territory while continuing to assist Ukraine and provide comprehensive military assistance. The answer to your question is that this is an issue that we will continue to discuss as allies in the context I have just described. Written by Andrea Bellemare with archives by Christian Paas-Lang. Interview with Anita Anand produced by Kevin Robertson. The questions and answers were processed for greater scope and clarity.