A former U.S. envoy to Ottawa says he’s concerned about what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly said about Canadian defence spending.
David Jacobson, who served as Barack Obama’s ambassador from 2009 to 2013, says a recent Washington Post report could prove to be a setback for future U.S.-Canada relations.
The Post says Trudeau privately told NATO officials that Canada would never meet the military alliance’s spending target of two per cent of GDP.
Jacobson says the comments, if true, risk making it harder for the two countries to resolve future bilateral irritants.
And they could also undermine the faith of the American public in NATO by fuelling the perception that the U.S. shoulders the bulk of the military burden around the world.
Jacobson, who says he doesn’t know if the story is accurate, was speaking at the annual conference of the Canada-U. S. Law Institute.
“It’s one of those things that causes governments to lose confidence,” Jacobson told an audience of lawyers, trade experts and former diplomats at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
“It’s a perfect example of what not to do in order to help solve some of the bilateral issues in both directions that are … legitimately very important to segments of the Canadian public and the American public.”
The report, published online Wednesday and then Thursday on the newspaper’s front page, was based on a document from a trove of Pentagon secrets leaked in recent weeks in an online chat forum for gamers.
Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old IT specialist and member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested last week and faces charges of violating the U.S. Espionage Act.
The Post said the unsigned, undated document, which The Canadian Press has not seen, mentions “widespread” military deficiencies in Canada that are causing friction with security partners and allies.
Jacobson acknowledged a long-standing truth in the politically polarized U.S.: that public support for military missions abroad is fragile, especially when American taxpayers are footing the bulk of the bill.
While NATO has long struggled to get many of its members to meet its two per cent spending target, military spending in the U.S. is about 3.3 per cent of a GDP 13 times that of Canada’s.
By comparison, the federal government in Ottawa currently spends about 1.4 per cent of GDP on defence.
“What will happen is that the American public is going to decide, ‘Why should we do this? Why should we defend the world?”’ Jacobson said. It’s in the best interests of the U.S. to do it, he added.
“But at some point, people are going to say, ‘Well, we’ve got all these freeloaders’ _ I hate to use that term _ ‘we’ve got all these freeloaders and we’re not going to do it anymore.”’
It’s a turn of phrase that brings to mind former president Donald Trump, who frequently berated NATO allies for shortchanging the alliance _ and who is running for president again next year.
The Post story did not elaborate nor detail Trudeau’s comments. But it does describe complaints from a number of allies about perceived shortfalls within the Canadian military.
NATO, for instance, is “concerned” that Canada hasn’t added to the ranks of its battle group in Latvia, part of a multinational deterrence mission in eastern Europe known as Operation Reassurance.
Turkey was “disappointed” by Canada’s apparent “refusal” to help transport aid after an earthquake earlier this year, while Haiti is “frustrated” by Canada’s reluctance to mount a security mission there, the Post reported.
“Widespread defence shortfalls hinder Canadian capabilities,” the Post quoted the document as saying, “while straining partner relationships and alliance contributions.”
Defence Minister Anita Anand rejected the premise of the Post story outright in an interview Wednesday, after a meeting with current U.S. ambassador David Cohen.
“We … discussed the upward trajectory of our defence spending,” Anand said, “and in fact how Canada continues to make foundational investments for the Canadian Armed Forces.”
The Liberal government has committed to nearly $40 billion on Norad modernization and North American defence, along with $8 billion in military spending announced in the 2022 budget, she added.
As for Latvia, Canada has launched an urgent, competitive procurement process to equip troops there with anti-tank, anti-drone and anti-air defence systems, Anand said.
The Post said the Forces warned in February that a major military operation was currently impossible, given the Latvia deployment and Canada’s ongoing military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The U.S. has also been anxious to find someone to lead a multinational support mission in gang-ravaged Haiti, and officials have even name-checked Canada as a worthy option.
But Jacobson said his sense is that the question of Canada’s role in Haiti is less a bilateral disagreement than a serious question about capacity.
“One of the things I learned about military engagement is you can’t do everything. You never have enough bullets, you never have enough tanks, you never have enough soldiers to do all the things you want to do,” he said.
“You have even fewer tanks and soldiers and bullets if you’re spending 1.4 per cent of your GDP.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
