OTTAWA | Treasury Secretary Chrystia Freeland’s budget will leave many dissatisfied with the Trudeau government’s repeated pledges to strengthen Canada’s armed forces.
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Virtually no new measures or spending for Canada’s armed forces were announced Tuesday amid heightened global tensions.
Even in her speech in the House of Commons at the presentation of the budget, Secretary Freeland did not mention a single word on the defense issue.
At best, she spoke about the consequences of the war in Ukraine for global supply chains, without mentioning defense.
Tuesday’s budget essentially repeated announcements from the past year, including the long-awaited $19 billion purchase of F-35 fighters and a $39 billion investment in NORAD over the next 20 years.
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These investments were urgently needed due to the age of our fighter jets and the NORAD radars that monitor North American airspace.
At a press conference, Secretary Freeland explained that certain announcements are not in the budget because they have been brought forward “when the President [américain Joe Biden] was here” last week in Ottawa.
Minister Freeland’s budget is more forward-looking. The budget documents recall that the Trudeau administration made a commitment last year to update its defense policy.
“This review, which includes public consultations, is ongoing and will focus on the roles, responsibilities and capabilities of the Canadian Forces,” the documents said. The result of the exam will be announced at a later date.
$4 billion for indigenous housing over the next seven years
Despite Canada’s housing crisis, the federal government on Tuesday announced no new public housing measures in its budget, with the exception of housing for indigenous people.
Ottawa will invest $4 billion over the next seven years for the Aboriginal people who live on the reserve. Their status deprived them of housing benefits previously available only to the Reserves.
Since 2015, Ottawa has allocated $6.5 billion to improve reserve housing.
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