Canada to rely less on US defense in major policy shift

[Drumboy44]

Canada will increase defense spending and rely less on the United States, the country's foreign minister said Tuesday, in a major foreign policy shift toward a bigger role on the world stage.

The change will cost billions of dollars in investment, top diplomat Chrystia Freeland told lawmakers in a speech that did not mention US President Donald Trump by name but left little doubt of her concerns.

"International relationships that had seemed immutable for 70 years are being called into question," Freeland said, adding that Trump supporters had voted "to shrug off the burden of world leadership."

As a consequence, Canada will have to develop its own "hard power" military capabilities to support diplomatic and development efforts abroad.

Canada currently spends less than one percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, about half the two percent level demanded by Washington of NATO allies.

Freeland stressed that NATO and the alliance's collective defense principle (Article 5) would remain "at the heart of Canada's national security policy."

http://www.spacewar.com/m/reports/C...nse_in_major_policy_shift_999.html :twisted:

 

[rudemarine]

So Canada admits its been a mooch and will do something about it, other than bitch about Trumps call to own up to their agreements. Imagine that, then again our northern brothers are not snowflakes, for the most part.