Bill Blair has been busy in the 10 months since he became Minister of Defence. In April, he released the latest update on Canada’s defence policy. He has promised to expand and upgrade Canada’s NATO contingent in Latvia. He regularly makes announcements about new spending priorities, including Wednesday’s multibillion-dollar training commitment.
But whether he is able to turn goals into action will determine the minister’s legacy and that of this government in the area of defence.
The Canadian Armed Forces struggle to carry out their mandate. With boomers retiring in droves, the army, navy and air force are short 16,000 bodies – a figure that reaches 30,000 once future defence commitments are factored in.
And yet the Forces have a terrible track record of approving applications. Last year, 70,000 people applied to join the military, yet only 4,000 applications were approved. “That’s just not good enough,” Mr. Blair declared in a speech last month. This is an understatement.
People are being forced to wait 14 to 16 months until their application has been screened and approved. By then, many have already moved on. The Forces’ human-resources department appears to have adopted a mindset of approving an application only after all opportunities to reject it have failed.
Addressing bottlenecks in recruitment should be the highest priority of the new chief of the defence staff, who will be announced shortly. The military’s HR department needs a thorough house-cleaning. Medical and security screening should be conducted while recruits undergo basic training on a probationary basis, an approach Mr. Blair supports.
The modern military involves more than sailing ships, flying aircraft and firing shells. It can involve cyber warfare and advanced detection systems.
Canada’s military must present itself as an attractive profession for highly skilled workers.
In his speech to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute conference, Mr. Blair stressed the importance of modernizing North American defences to protect against Chinese and Russian challenges, especially in the Far North, and especially through the acquisition of submarines.
“We’re going to buy submarines,” he stated flatly. “We have to buy submarines. The Victoria Class submarine is aging and is no longer fit for purpose.” We applaud this pledge.
A new and expanded fleet of submarines would detect and deter challengers in our Arctic waters, while also contributing to Canada’s commitment to collective security in the Indo-Pacific region. They would also support and protect the military’s surface combatants. Submarines should be the highest acquisition priority at National Defence.
That acquisition would answer the greatest challenge facing the minister and the government: their failure to meet the joint NATO commitment to spend at least 2 per cent of gross domestic product on defence. Only Canada has failed to live up to that commitment – and the United States is taking increasing notice, from Ambassador David Cohen to a bipartisan contingent of senators.
“We are concerned and profoundly disappointed that Canada’s most recent projection indicated that it will not reach its two-per-cent commitment this decade,” 23 Democratic and Republican senators declared in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dated May 23.
“Canada will fail to meet its obligations to the Alliance, to the detriment of all NATO Allies and the free world, without immediate and meaningful action to increase defence spending,” the letter warned.
The challenge to the Western democracies is greater than at any time since the end of the Cold War. China threatens Taiwan, Russia has invaded Ukraine, Iran makes mischief in the Middle East, while North Korea continues to expand its missile capability. NATO has responded by rearming. Only Canada lags behind.
Mr. Trudeau will be under tremendous pressure to step up when he meets other leaders in July at the historic 75th anniversary NATO summit.
He could relieve that pressure by announcing a path to Canada reaching the two-per-cent target quickly, and a commitment to acquire a new fleet of submarines.
And Mr. Blair must ensure that those submarines and every other element of Canada’s military are fully staffed by Canadians who wish to serve.