NATO

3:30AM
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NATO spending pledge—federal government faces lose-lose situation

For Ottawa to meet the target and maintain it through 2026/27, it must increase defence spending by $57.1 billion.


2:30AM
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Ottawa’s red ink leaves little room for defence spending commitments

The federal government wants Canada’s military to cut $1 billion from its budget.


9:15AM
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Canada can’t meet NATO spending target without serious fiscal consequences

After recording eight consecutive budget deficits, the Trudeau government plans to run at least five more.


3:55PM
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Canada’s defence spending has been below 2 per cent of GDP since 1989.


10:00AM
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As Russian military assets continue to pick apart Ukraine, we should be thankful the transatlantic community didn’t cash in its Cold War-era insurance policy.


10:00AM
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International talks often become forums of mutual incomprehension as the world again breaks into two opposing camps with two incompatible worldviews: “the democracies” and “the rest.”

2:00AM
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"If North Korea would be ready to attack the United States," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in 2006, "that would be a risk for Canada's national security as well not only because of our common values, but because of our geographical proximity." Much has happened in the intervening years apparently enough, if media reports are accurate, to force Canada to revisit its noncommittal position on missile defence. The case for participating in missile defence can be boiled down to four words: threats, technology, allies and cost.


2:00AM
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Reports that Ottawa and Washington have resumed their delicate missile-defense discussions suggest that Canada may be ready to join the global missile-defense coalition. If so, it would be a welcome development.

The operative word here is 'global.' The missile shield now taking shape is a truly international missile defense (IMD) enfolding some of Canada's closest allies and oldest friends.


2:00AM
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The recent operation by NATO forces to free the crew of Italian ship MV Montecristo from pirates serves as a reminder that this ancient plague of the seas remains a threat to global commerce—and that the West’s response to date is simply not adequate.

The International Maritime Organization reports that Somali pirates have attacked 199 ships this year and currently hold 10 ships and 251 hostages. Yet the anti-piracy effort off the Horn of Africa, led by the most powerful navies on earth, is stymied by self-defeating rules of engagement.