Blacklock's Reporter says with the Dec. 31 deadline now passed, the Department of National Defence has declined to say whether Canada reached the benchmark or to release its own internal estimates of military spending. Access to Information requests seeking those figures were rejected, and the department offered no public explanation for missing the Prime Minister’s timeline.Carney had pledged on June 9 that Canada would finally meet NATO’s long-standing defence spending target, calling it a fundamental duty of government. “Aspiration without effort is just empty rhetoric,” he said at the time, insisting Ottawa would hit the 2% threshold before year’s end and accelerate defence spending in subsequent years.“Canada will achieve NATO’s 2% of GDP target this year, half a decade ahead of schedule,” Carney said. “And we will further accelerate our spending in years to come consistent with meeting these new security imperatives.”.Those assurances have not been borne out. Parliamentary data indicate the federal government was still roughly $9.4 billion short of the NATO target when Parliament adjourned for the Christmas recess on Dec. 11. Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques told a Senate finance committee on Nov. 25 that reaching the goal on time would be difficult. “It’s going to be close,” he testified.Despite repeated media inquiries, Defence Minister David McGuinty’s office has issued no statement explaining whether the target was met or why the government failed to publicly account for its defence spending levels.Carney previously dismissed concerns about the political and fiscal costs of a major military buildup, arguing Canadians would support higher defence budgets without sacrifices elsewhere. .Asked what trade-offs would be required, he said the burden had already been borne by members of the Canadian Armed Forces and that economic growth would cover the costs.“The investments we’re making in defence and security, we’re not at a trade-off,” Carney said. “We will grow this economy.”Cabinet has also promised to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2030, a commitment defence finance officials have openly questioned. Jacques told senators there was no credible plan to reach that level. For NATO allies who have long criticized Canada for lagging on defence, the missed deadline is likely to reinforce doubts about Ottawa’s credibility on military commitments.
