The Canadian government is thinking about cutting almost $1 billion from the annual budget of the Department of National Defence (DND) — a demand the country’s top military commander said is prompting tough conversations within upper ranks. .“There's no way that you can take almost a billion dollars out of the defence budget and not have an impact,” said Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre at a Thursday hearing covered by CBC News..“This is something that we're wrestling with now.”.Eyre and Defence Deputy Minister Bill Matthews testified before the House of Commons Defence Committee, where they explained in more detail the ramifications of the Canadian government’s spending reduction plan. .They released a joint internal statement in September that the DND would be expected to contribute to the Canadian government’s overall plan to reduce spending. .DND’s main estimates for 2023-2024 determined its budget for this year is expected to be $26.5 billion. .Eyre described how he had a tough session with the commanders of the various services earlier in the day. He said the meeting was intended to explain this to his team at a time when the international situation is becoming more precarious — partly over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. .Word of the planned cuts, which have not been specified, come weeks after the Canadian government agreed with other NATO allies on a pledge to make its defence spending benchmark of 2% of GDP an enduring plan. .Living up to that pledge would require a substantial increase in the defence appropriation. .NATO said in its annual report Canada spent an estimated 1.3% of its GDP on the military in 2022. Coming out of its summit in Vilnius, the Canadian government faced a storm of bad press and increased pressure from allies to step up its financial commitment. .How the planned cuts will affect Canada’s commitment to NATO is unclear. Germany walked back its pledge to meet the 2% target. .Matthews said the process of identifying proposed cuts is underway and will lead to a spending reduction. .“Nearly, I think $900 million and change, which will ramp up over four years,” said Matthews. .While the cuts will be prioritized so they have the least amount of impact possible, he said there will be repercussions. He said the spending reductions will be aimed at “minimizing impact on military readiness.”.Conservative MP James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman, MB) demanded assurances on that point. .“What's going to give here on a billion dollars this year?” said Bezan. .“And how are we going to deal with the threat environment that we're in if we're going to continue to cut rather than invest in our Canadian Armed Forces?”.Defence Minister Bill Blair acknowledged the cuts during an appearance in front of the Commons Defence Committee before Eyre and Matthews testified. .“The fiscal environment in Canada right now requires that when we are spending Canadian taxpayers dollars, that we do it carefully and thoughtfully,” said Blair..“I've always looked upon the expenditure of tax dollars as an investment in creating public value for Canadians.”.The Canadian government announced on September 22 an extra $650 million in military support over the coming years to Ukraine..READ MORE: UPDATED: Trudeau announces $650 million in additional funding to Ukraine.To support Ukraine, the Canadian government will provide more Leopard 2 tanks as part of the funds, which is linked to a promise made in June to help with the upkeep of military tanks given by allies in Poland. It will put new sanctions on Russia..“We're making a longer term, multi-year commitment that provides predictable, steady support to Ukraine,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
