Security at what cost? Peace advocates warn Canada is rushing into a military buildup without a real debate about the merits — and trade-offs




 




Canada has committed to spending five per cent of GDP on defence and security by 2035. Is that a good or bad thing? And if it’s a good thing, is five per cent the right number? Is more spending on defence the best way to ensure Canadian security? And what about peacekeeping? 

Those are questions being asked by some Canadian peace group leaders, including Paul Heidebrecht, director of Project Ploughshares, a Canadian peace research institute. 

“It feels arbitrary to me,” he said of the defence spending goal, noting the five per cent figure is not official NATO policy. 

“It’s mostly because of “the bully in the south,” he said. “I was surprised there weren’t more furrowed brows questioning that figure.” 

Read more about this issue in in my recent article in Canadian Affairs.

Photo above: Chris Young, The Canadian Press


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