G7 sees Canada as ‘a freeloader’ for its foreign policy, says former minister | Canada Tonight

major economic group warns Canada could soon face diplomatic isolation if it doesn't increase defense spending to meet NATO benchmark goal cbc's Murray Brewster has more, including how much Ottawa would have to spend to get there, talks about an awkward moment that Canada spends 1.4% of its GDP on defence. He believes there are only five countries in NATO 32 that spend less, including Belgium and Luxembourg. How can Canada be a serious partner to the US in every way if it is not a serious military power? Well, Matthew, do you have it? Have you carefully read our latest defense

policy

update?

Yes, of course, the Liberal government has been getting a lot of that when it comes to defense spending from its allies and now at home one of the country's leading economic voices, the Business Council of Canada. Prime Minister warns that failure to put together a plan to meet NATO's defense spending target of 2% of GDP before next month's Summit in Washington will have consequences including diplomatic isolation in economic partnerships and of security; This is an area where we've been called It used to be called quietly, uh, in Washington, now it's being done very publicly. The call included a recent bipartisan letter from US lawmakers demanding that Canada fulfill its promise to meet the NATO goal and whether we can see a path to 2% that is credible. that will go a long way to strengthening our defense relationship.

Ottawa is investing in defense saying its latest defense

policy

will take Canada to 1.76% of GDP by the end of the decade and that more money will come once projects are assessed and approved. I am convinced that we can be on the 1% path to meeting NATO's spending target. However, Ottawa would have to spend about $64 billion a year on defense, double what was planned for this year's budget, apart from the fiscal aspect of doubling the defense budget. deep political skepticism Defense Minister Bill Blair recently said it's difficult to convince Cabinet and Canadians that meeting the commitment is a worthy goal Marie Brewster CBC News Ottawa For more on this, we're joined now by Pin Bey, who wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister urging Canada to step forward internationally.

He is the president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the

former

Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Defence. We'll catch up with him

tonight

in Vancouver. Mr. Bey, thank you for being here. I'm glad to be with you. Where do you think Canada? is in the eyes of the G7 at the moment, well, we are seen as a preloader, unfortunately we are seen as a country that is not serious, where we talk about a good fight but we are not prepared to carry out our fair share of the burden and then why do you think Canada has fallen so far in

foreign

policy?

Is it simply defense spending? It is not simply defense spending. We need to identify where Canada's critical interests lie internationally and this could be Canada's moment if we look at how the world changed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine the three applications food fuel fertilizers Canada has an abundance that the rest of the The world needs it and we should have an intensive program in Canada to bring those resources to the world to give, for example, an alternative to the Germans, the Koreans, the Japanese and others to having to subsidize Putin's war or having to buy energy from dictatorships, food, we have tremendous potential and it is both an opportunity for Canada and an obligation for us to do what we can to contribute to the rest of the world's security, including National Security, tell me a little about this open letter who wrote to the Prime Minister, what he said in it and why he believes that advice is not being followed.

I wrote to the Prime Minister late last year to point out that this very point could be Canada's moment, but that we are increasingly seen as not serious in the world, that we are more interested in good feelings than in ourselves. themselves. in terms of our contribution to the world and that it is essential for us if we are to be taken seriously to demonstrate by our actions and not just our words that we are willing to act, which includes in defending Canada when you make your defense for another person you are no longer a sovereign country you are a protectorate.

I don't have to tell you that you know when you are in government, as you have been. I have to balance external issues with internal issues. The Prime Minister is under a lot of pressure here at home, both from his opponents and his supporters. How much do you have to do to balance what you need to address internally and also look globally? It's all about making decisions and looking at where the national interest lies and certainly the government needs to set priorities in terms of where it spends, what we have been doing is, although we still use the word invest, it means spending money. that goes away the day the check is written and what we need to do is put the money in places where there is a genuine return, whether it's economically or in terms of our impact on the world and Canada's positioning, we can do that. and we must also focus instead of taxing and spending instead of over-regulating the economy, we need to have a strategy for growth in Canada, we cannot borrow our way to prosperity, we have to have genuine growth and we have to set priorities , etc.

Should one of those priorities meet NATO's spending target? Do you think that will ever happen? You know, for the foreseeable future. If it happens, yes, of course, it should happen. Will it happen in the immediate future? No, it won't happen. and I think everyone understands, including our NATO allies, that you can't achieve that overnight, but even when you listen to the government, the words they use, like for example, on a path to is not the same What to say we are going to follow through on our commitment what people are looking for is a firm commitment to Canada to do what we said we were going to do otherwise we will not be considered serious and Bey appreciates your experience as always.

I appreciate you being here

tonight

. is Haron Bey, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and

former

Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Defense in Vancouver.