News
Trudeau defends military spending ahead of NATO summit – CTV News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face tough questions at a major NATO summit this week as a new report released by the alliance ahead of the meeting shows Canada heading in the wrong direction when it comes to military spending.
Members of the 30-member military alliance agreed in 2014 to increase their defence spending to two per cent of their national gross domestic product, and the target is expected to be front and centre when the summit begins on Wednesday.
Trudeau met with NATO leaders Tuesday evening at a dinner hosted at the royal palace in Madrid by King Felipe VI, and will begin formal talks in the morning.
The new report released by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg estimates Canadian defence spending will instead decline as a share of GDP to 1.27 per cent this year, down from 1.32 per cent last year and 1.42 per cent in 2020.
The report did not specify the reason for the expected decline, or whether it includes $8 billion in new military spending that was promised in April’s federal budget and whose purpose has not been clearly defined.
Asked about the report during a news conference at the end of this year’s G7 meeting in Germany, as he prepared to head to Madrid for the NATO leaders’ summit, Trudeau said the government has announced several “significant” new investments.
Those include $4.9 billion to upgrade Norad, the shared U.S.-Canadian system used to detect incoming airborne and maritime threats to North America, as well as plans to buy new fighter jets to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s.
The prime minister also said Canada has repeatedly proven its commitment to the NATO alliance by deploying troops and equipment on a variety of missions, including by leading a multinational NATO force in Latvia.
“Canada is always part of NATO missions and continues to step up significantly,” Trudeau said.
“We know how important it is to step up and we will continue to do so to make sure that the world knows that it can count on Canada to be part of advancing the cause of democracy, the rule of law and opportunities for everyone,” he added.
Successive Canadian governments have shown little appetite for meeting the two per cent spending target, which the parliamentary budget officer has estimated would require an extra $75 billion over the next five years.
They have instead emphasized Canada’s numerous other commitments to the alliance, including the provision of 700 Canadian troops to Latvia along with several naval warships to assist with NATO patrols in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.
That is despite Canada having agreed to the target, as well as repeated exhortations from Stoltenberg and criticism from American officials in Washington calling on Ottawa to invest more in its military and collective defence.
The continuing decline in Canadian defence spending as a share of GDP will almost certainly lead to even more pointed questions for Trudeau in Madrid than was already expected, said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
This is particularly true given confusion surrounding the government’s announcement last week that it plans to invest in Norad modernization, with uncertainty around where the money is actually coming from, when it will be spent and on what.
“I would assume that they were hoping to send a message with the continental defence piece that irrespective of what’s happening in Europe, Canada’s got other defence commitments and that contributes to overall alliance security,” Perry said.
“But the mechanics of how the continental defence piece rolled out would take away from some of that.”
That defence spending is on a downward track when Canada is facing pressure to contribute more overseas and struggling with significant military personnel and equipment shortfalls is also a concern, said Robert Baines of the NATO Association of Canada.
“I’ve always been amazed that Prime Minister Trudeau has facility for dancing over the very serious situation Canada is facing when it comes to defence,” Baines said. “Trying to do so much, and then having so many resource issues and challenges.”
To that end, Trudeau sidestepped a question over whether Canada is prepared to send more troops to Latvia, as NATO seeks to double the size of its forces throughout eastern Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Latvia’s ambassador to Canada told The Canadian Press earlier this week that Canada is talking with allies about reinforcing the Canadian-led battlegroup in his country.
The battlegroup in Latvia is one of four established by NATO in 2017, with Germany leading another such unit in Lithuania and Britain and the United States responsible for forces in Estonia and Poland, respectively.
Germany and Britain have both said in recent weeks that they are ready to lead larger combat units in Lithuania and Estonia, but Canada has so far remained silent about its plans in Latvia.
Trudeau also wouldn’t say whether Canada is prepared to put more of the military on high readiness, as Stoltenberg announced on Monday that the alliance plans to increase the number of troops on standby from 40,000 to 300,000.
“We have been working closely with NATO partners, with the secretary-general of NATO, and especially with the Latvians, where Canada leads the (battlegroup) and is committed to making sure we continue to stand up against Russian,” Trudeau said.
“We, like others, are developing plans to be able to scale up rapidly,” he added. “And those are conversations that I very much look forward to having over the next couple of days in NATO.”
Baines predicted whatever additional troops and equipment are added to the Canadian-led battlegroup in Latvia will predominantly come from other NATO members as Canada only recently deployed more troops to the region.
The government announced in February that it was sending an artillery unit and 100 additional soldiers to bolster the 600 Canadian troops already in the Baltic state. It also recently deployed two additional warships to the region.
Perry said it remains unclear how much more the Canadian military, which is short about 10,000 service members, has to spare.
“Maybe there’s an ability to find some more at the back of the cupboard,” he said.
“But if the alliance is going to collectively be stepping up with some additional ΓǪ troop and equipment commitments, then I’m sure there’d be lots of pressure on us to be part of that as well.”
— With files from Lee Berthiaume in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2022.
The head of one of Canada’s largest police forces met with a Sri Lankan inspector general of police who two weeks earlier had been found by the South Asian country’s highest court to have “participated in the torture” of an arrested man.
Photos published by Sri Lankan media, including the Ceylon Today, an English-language daily newspaper, show Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah in uniform posing alongside senior Sri Lankan officers on Dec. 29, 2023 at police headquarters in the capital Colombo – a visit a Peel police spokesperson says Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP had been made aware of ahead of time.
One of the law enforcement officials in the photos was the inspector-general of Sri Lankan police, Deshabandu Tennakoon, who earlier that month was ordered to pay compensation for taking part in “mercilessly” beating a man.
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah signs a guestbook at Sri Lankan police headquarters in Colombo, as the country’s inspector general Deshabandu Tennakoon stands behind him. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court found he took part in the torture of an arrested man. (Credit: Ceylon Today).
Ceylon Today
On Dec. 14, 2023, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled Tennakoon was involved in the brutal arrest of a man suspected of theft, holding him in what the court called the “torture chamber” of the police station for more than 24 hours, striking and suffocating him, and rubbing chili powder on his genitals.
Dr. Thusiyan Nandakumar, a physician who also runs the London, U.K.-based outlet the Tamil Guardian, called it a “stain on Canada’s reputation.”
“To see someone of (Duraiappah’s) stature receive a guard of honour from that very same institution that’s responsible for so many abuses was shocking, to say the least,” Nandakumar said.
Duraiappah declined Global News’ request for an interview. In a statement, a Peel Regional Police spokesperson called his trip to Sri Lanka “personal” and said there is “no ongoing initiative or collaboration between Peel Regional Police and any organization in Sri Lanka.”
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah wears his uniform and walks by Sri Lankan soldiers in a visit Peel police describe as a “personal” trip. (Credit: Ceylon Today).
Ceylon Today
Duraippah was photographed multiple times during his visit wearing his Peel police uniform.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan – a former NDP MP and Canada’s first Tamil member of Parliament – says when someone wears a uniform, “you’re representing the organization for which you are the chief.”
Duraippah is the only police chief of Sri Lankan descent outside the South Asian nation, according to Peel police, which operates in Mississauga and Brampton, Ont.
“(It’s) very harmful to me as a Canadian, as someone who grew up in the region of Peel, and all the people who continue to live in Peel and who identify as Tamil, in my opinion,” Sitsabaiesan said.
The Peel spokesperson said Duraiappah accepted an invitation from Sri Lankan police officers while he was on a family vacation to the country of his birth.
More on Canada
The spokesperson would not confirm when asked if Duraiappah had met directly with Tennakoon beyond the photos, which show them holding a plaque together and Tennakoon standing behind Duraiappah while he signed a guestbook.
It’s not clear whether the event photographed was the only meeting or whether any additional ones were held, including whether Duraiappah and Tennakoon met outside of the moment they were photographed together.
Another Peel spokesperson added that “the Chief discussed the requests for meetings received with Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP.”
The RCMP says the force provided information to Duraiappah about Tennakoon, including about the recent court ruling, ahead of time.
“The Government of Canada did not organize the visit, which was considered a personal visit. However, given the RCMP’s close working relationship with Peel Regional Police, the RCMP Liaison Officer for Sri Lanka offered to facilitate Chief Duraiappah with arrangements involving police agencies in Sri Lanka,” an RCMP spokesperson said in response to questions from Global News.
“Information was provided to Chief Duraiappah for his situational awareness about recent developments in Sri Lanka, including the Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s ruling on Chief Tennakoon.”
Global Affairs Canada also said the visit was “personal.”
“The Government of Canada did not organize the visit” and “as is customary for meetings with high-level officials, staff from the High Commission of Canada to Sri Lanka accompanied the Chief as a courtesy,” Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Marilyn Guèvremont said.
Sitsabaiesan says “alarm bells should have gone off” given the country’s human rights record.
In October 2022, Canada adopted a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling on Sri Lanka to address the “human rights, economic and political crises” in the country.
The following year it sanctioned four government officials for “human rights violations on the island” and commemorated the Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day for the first time – marking the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamils during the country’s 26-year civil war.
“Canada is well-versed in the crimes that took place. It’s not something that Ottawa is blind to,” Nandakumar said.
While it’s not unusual for western officers to visit, collaborate or train police forces in developing countries, some have recently distanced themselves from Sri Lankan authorities.
In 2021, Scotland ended its training program for officers in the country over allegations of human rights abuses.
In January of this year, the United Nations criticized Sri Lankan police for their “heavy handed” anti-drug crackdown, with reports of arbitrary arrests, torture and public strip searches.
Tennakoon’s recent appointment as police chief shows “much about how law enforcement authorities in the island operate with impunity,” Neil DeVotta, an expert on South Asia and politics professor at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, said in an e-mail to Global News.
Nandakumar says the Peel chief’s visit to the Sri Lankan police headquarters raises questions about judgement.
“When a senior Canadian official goes to meet with forces accused of such egregious crimes … to see something like that take place, it was very disconcerting.”
“I think an apology is needed,” he said.
The RCMP say a body that was recovered by authorities in Washington state is believed to be one of two kayakers reported missing off Vancouver Island on Saturday.
Const. Alex Bérubé said the identity of the body found on San Juan Island, just south of the border, is still to be confirmed by the coroner.
A search has been underway in the waters off Sidney, B.C., about 25 kilometres north of Victoria, since the two kayakers were reported missing.
RCMP previously said Daniel MacAlpine, 36, and Nicolas West, 26, went missing while kayaking from D’Arcy Island to View Beach on Saturday afternoon. They were in a teal blue, fibreglass, two-person kayak.
Police said members of the Central Saanich Police Department and Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization search and rescue were involved in the search, and the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and Canadian Coast Guard were also assisting.
Digital WritersThe Weather Network
Updated on Apr. 23, 2024, 1:30 PM
Prepare for multiple rounds of April snowfall this week, as Labrador braces for wintry conditions. This onslaught of snow is expected to blanket the region, potentially leading to hazardous travel conditions and disruptions throughout the week
As we march even deeper into the heart of the spring season, many parts of Canada are finding it tough to find any consistent signs of warming weather. Add to the mix periods of snow and wintry precipitation, and it’s safe to say the winter season is certainly not going out without a strong fight.
This week, parts of the East Coast will bear the brunt of the winter weather, with multiple rounds of April snowfall stacking up in Labrador. The chances for snow flurries will stick around all week long, bringing as much as 25 cm for some.
MUST SEE: Extreme pattern over Arctic produces 50+ degree temperature spread
Although 25+ cm of snow in April may seem extreme, for this part of the country, it’s definitely nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the month as a whole brings about 40-50 cm of snow to Labrador on average.
Some communities, including Nain, even have snowfall chances stretch all the way into June!
“This week will be a little bit different however, as some regions could reach about half of Labrador’s monthly averages alone,” says Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. “The first round on Tuesday will pack quite the punch, with heavy snow and gusty winds stretching from Labrador city to the coast.”
Winds will be gusting between 70-90 km/h at times, and travel conditions will likely deteriorate quickly due to potential whiteouts and reduced visibility.
How Michael Cohen and Trump went from friends to foes – CNN
This Toronto home is a ’90s decor trip but a steal at only $600K
Blending Function and Style: The Best Garage Door Designs for Contemporary Homes
Silver investment demand jumped 12% in 2019
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Global Media Markets, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F – TV and Radio Broadcasting, Film and Music, Information Services, Web Content, Search Portals And Social Media, Print Media, & Cable – GlobeNewswire
-
Health2 hours agoRemnants of bird flu virus found in pasteurized milk, FDA says
-
Art8 hours ago
Mayor's youth advisory council seeks submissions for art gala – SooToday
-
Science16 hours ago
"Hi, It's Me": NASA's Voyager 1 Phones Home From 15 Billion Miles Away – NDTV
-
Art20 hours ago
Made Right Here: Woodworking art – CTV News Kitchener
-
News14 hours ago
Some Canadians will be digging out of 25+ cm of snow by Friday – The Weather Network
-
Real eState19 hours ago
Caution about Canada's private real estate sector abounds as valuations slow to adjust – The Globe and Mail
-
Sports18 hours ago
Auston Matthews turns it up with three-point night as Maple Leafs slay Bruins in Game 2 – Toronto Sun
-
Media13 hours ago
Jon Stewart Slams the Media for Coverage of Trump Trial – The New York Times
