Canada’s generals shouldn’t be cheerleaders for governments who consistently fail to live up to their defence responsibilities, a new report from the Senate concludes. The report, released Thursday by the Senate’s defence committee, determined that Canada’s military spending is now 0.88 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, falling far short of NATO’s target of 2 per cent. But Canada’s top soldier, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance, has defended the government’s decision, stating the military has more than enough money. When it comes to providing leadership, military commanders should not serve as cheerleaders for the government“When it comes to providing leadership, military commanders should not serve as cheerleaders for the government,” the senators wrote. The Senate report recommends boosting the country’s military spending to 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2023 and to 2 per cent by 2028.

Source: National Post April 13, 2017 16:41 UTC