House Committee Calls on Ottawa to Meet 2 Percent NATO Defence Spending Target

Canada needs to “honour” its commitment to NATO and increase military spending, the House of Commons national defence committee says. The call comes after Defence Minister Bill Blair and the government have sent mixed messages in recent weeks about meeting the 2 percent of GDP spending target established by the military alliance. The committee offered 36 recommendations to the government to help fix defence procurement woes in a report presented to the House June 19, the last sitting day of the session. Along with calling on Ottawa to meet the 2 percent target, the committee also said the government should “increase defence funding to match planned defence priorities articulated in Canada’s defence policies.”...