[Epoch Times, March 25, 2022]Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced sanctions against the Russian Federation at an emergency NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday (March 24). 160 members of parliament.
Trudeau will also announce a ban on exports of certain goods and technology to Russia, but has repeatedly sidestepped the question of whether the Canadian government will inject significant new funding into the Canadian Armed Forces.
Trudeau only recalled the federal government’s 2017 Defence Policy commitment to pour billions of dollars into the Canadian military with new equipment and personnel.
“The good news is that over the past few years, as a government, we’ve been stepping up our efforts,” Trudeau said. “We’ve increased our investment in defense, and we’ve increased our contribution to NATO. We’ll continue to work out how to continue strengthen.”
Currently, the Canadian government’s defense budget falls far short of NATO’s target of 2 percent of gross national product (GDP), only approaching 1.4 percent.
David Perry, a defense analyst at the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs, estimates that Canada needs to spend about $16 billion more on defense a year to meet NATO goals. It currently spends about 30 billion yuan a year.
Responsible editor: Yue Yi