Matt Gurney: The good, and bad, news about Canadian defence spending
America put men on the moon less than seven years after JFK made his famous pledge. We need one year more than that to spend an extra $18 billion on defence.
By: Matt Gurney
I’ve been thinking today of a scene from The Naked Gun, a cop spoof movie from 1988, starring the incredible Leslie Nielsen as Det. Lt. Frank Drebbin, of Police Squad. He’s been picked up from the airport by his captain, played completely straight by George Kennedy, and they’re driving to the hospital to visit a colleague (awkwardly, with hindsight, played by O.J. Simpson) who has been wounded in the line of duty. As the men are driving along, Drebbin asks how the fallen officer is, and the captain says to him solemnly, "Doctors say he’s got a 50-50 chance of living." There’s a pause, and then the captain adds: “Though there’s only a 10-per-cent chance of that.”
It’s a typically nonsensical line from one of my favourite movies, but it actually came to mind for a serious reason on Thursday when Canada announced that it had a plan to hit NATO's two-per-cent-of-GDP spending target. That’s true, technically. We have a plan … but it’s really more of a plan to eventually have plans. The whole thing really is something perhaps better announced by a late, great Canadian comedy icon than our prime minister, but here we are.
It’s easy to be cynical about Canadian defence policy. I am cynical about our defence policy. But it’s healthy to every once in a while take a moment to reflect on what good news there has been. So let’s start with that. Over the last few years, this government has made a series of defence spending announcements, and some of those procurements have been completed. We finally replaced the goddamned 9mm pistols. We have begun construction of our next generation of major surface warships. We have replaced the prime minister's jet with something a little bit less decrepit, and ordered some extra transport jets and refuellers, too, though those will enter service later. There have been announcements for naval patrol planes and drones and more. These procurements, if realized, would be good news, long overdue, and I do/would welcome them.
And in a similar spirit of praise, it is important to note that even though Canada has lagged behind the NATO spending target, we have increased defence spending, albeit gradually. This government has responded to the declining state of global security by spending more on defence. Not enough, not fast enough, but progress has been made and we should acknowledge that.
So yeah. That’s the good news, and the expression of gratitude. We have acquired new equipment and say we’ll acquire yet more. Good!
And now, alas, the bad.