Budget watchdog raises questions about Carney's defence spending promises
Parliament's spending watchdog can't get specific information about the recently announced military spending boost to verify whether the Liberal government's new initiative will meet NATO targets.
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The office of Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux has requested specific details about the massive funding increase, but has so far received little data.
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'Since the NATO 2% target is based on actual expenditures — not just plans — and, given DND's historical record of lapses, it is difficult to assess whether Canada will reach the target this fiscal year,' Giroux said Wednesday in a statement to the Ottawa Citizen.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney announced June 9 that his government would provide $9 billion in new funding for the Department of National Defence over the next 10 months. Combined with defence-related spending from other federal departments, Carney said Canada will reach the NATO goal of spending two per cent of GDP by April 2026. In total, $62.7 billion will be spent on defence and security.
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But in a June 16 update Giroux's office noted its concerns about the government's initiative.
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'A detailed mapping of planned defence spending by both DND and OGDs (Other Government Departments) is necessary to verify the Government's plans,' the office noted. 'PBO is actively seeking related information from the Government, such as whether previous timelines were accelerated, if amounts were newly added to existing projects, or if new projects were created.'
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Without such basic information, the PBO noted that it was not able to confirm whether the spending would allow Canada to meet NATO's two per cent target in 2025-2026.
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DND spokesperson Kened Sadiku noted the department regularly exchanged information with the PBO, including last week, when that office was briefed on the details of the June 9 announcement. 'PBO has since requested additional information from the department, which we are now preparing,' Sadiku added in an email.
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The government has provided some information on the new spending, but few specifics. The funding will go towards pay increases, retention bonuses, support programs, equipment and 'strengthening Canada's relationship with the defence industry,' according to a DND backgrounder.
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