The U.S. Ambassador to NATO says the alliance expects Canada and other member countries to have a clear plan of how they will meet their defence spending targets when they meet this summer to renegotiate their spending goals.
The United States is one of only seven NATO member countries that hit and exceeded the spending target of two per cent of GDP on defence in 2021 — the agreed-upon goal as part of the Wales Summit Declaration in 2014 — according to the NATO secretary general’s last annual report.
With that 10-year commitment set to expire next year, members of the alliance are set to meet in Lithuania this July, with renegotiations of the spending target on the itinerary.
“Negotiations are still underway,” Julianne Smith told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. “I can’t say with certainty exactly what shape it’s going to take, but my prediction is that will focus on making the two per cent target an enduring commitment.”
Smith echoed the sentiment of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has said it’s likely the two per cent target will become the floor, as opposed to a ceiling.
Canada has long faced calls to increase its commitments as well, spending about 1.3 per cent of its GDP on defence in 2021, according to the Secretary General report, but the Washington Post reported last month that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau privately told NATO Canada will never meet the target.
Smith said that is not a conversation she has had with her Canadian counterpart.
“If we have a group of countries that cannot announce that they have hit the two per cent target by 2024, it is the expectation that countries will have a plan in place to meet the two per cent target,” she said. “And we say that because collective security is obviously something that requires resourcing.”
Smith said Canada is among other allies that have “made a major increase” in their defence spending, namely by boosting defence spending by $8 billion over five years, as announced in the 2022 federal budget.
That commitment will bring the country’s defence spending to 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, according to the federal government. The government has also announced plans to purchase new fighter jets, and to modernize Norad.
“We applaud those increases,” Smith said. “But of course, again, the expectation is that all allies will have plans in place to meet the two per cent target.”
“Canada is making major contributions across multiple fronts,” Smith also said, citing the country’s efforts in Ukraine and in the Baltic states, and adding she doesn’t want anyone to “underestimate the importance of that type of leadership.”
But, she said, NATO evaluates the commitments from member countries along three lines: its capabilities, its contributions to NATO missions and operations, and cash.
“So yes, Canada is making important contributions to NATO missions, and it’s investing in its capabilities, but we do believe that the two per cent target is where countries should land in order to realize the plans that we’re about to roll out,” Smith said. “So the two per cent is as important as the contributions to NATO missions and the new capabilities that countries are purchasing.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
