Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands in front of his newly sworn-in cabinet following a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on July 26, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Replacing Anita Anand with Bill Blair as Defence Minister reveals the hypocrisy of Justin Trudeau’s promise at the recent NATO meeting in Vilnius to invest in Canada’s military.
Wednesday’s cabinet shuffle revealed the true worth – that is, no worth at all – of that promise.
Confronted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Chinese sabre-rattling in the Pacific, NATO members pledged an “enduring commitment” to spend at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence. Canada is one of the worst laggards, with defence spending representing only about 1.3 per cent of GDP.
There was reason to hope that this time the country’s promise to pull more of its weight in the alliance would really mean something. After all, Canada has formally committed to work with the United States to modernize NORAD’s air defences, and has pledged to double the permanent strength of its battle group in Latvia.
Canada’s Armed Forces face a plethora of urgent challenges that must be confronted now, from procurement to recruitment to cultural reform. The pledge in Vilnius suggested those challenges might become a government priority.
Ms. Anand had proven to be an effective defence minister. A much-promised defence review, now expected early next year, is supposed lay out a road map for attracting new recruits, improving the procurement process and replacing obsolete equipment.
Those hopes were dashed Wednesday when Mr. Trudeau shuffled Ms. Anand out of Defence, replacing her with former emergency preparedness minister Bill Blair, who was once Toronto’s police chief. It’s hard to imagine a more disappointing choice for the post.
First off, the forces need stem-to-stern reform of their culture, in which both sexism and racism are far too entrenched.
But as Stephanie Carvin, a professor of international relations at Carleton University, told me, “replacing Anand with, let’s face it, a white former police officer who failed at reforming the RCMP in any meaningful way while he was at Public Safety, is going to be a terrible disappointment to all of those, especially women and racialized groups, who have been fighting for cultural reform in the forces.”
Mr. Blair, at 69, is one of the oldest members of this new cabinet.
Prof. Carvin also pointed out that in his previous portfolio, Mr. Blair appeared indifferent to growing concerns of Chinese interference in Canadian elections and politics. “And now you are putting him in charge of the Canadian Security Establishment and Canadian Forces Intelligence Command at a time of increased tension with China and pressure on foreign interference?” she wondered.
At a news conference Wednesday, Mr. Blair said that on his watch the Toronto police had become the most diverse in the country. “So I have had that experience working through a significant cultural change in a uniformed organization.” But I share Prof. Carvin’s skepticism.
Canada needs to honour its pledge to NATO
Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, does not believe the federal government would have moved seriously toward fulfilling its military spending commitment, regardless of who was minister. But “cabinet is partly about signalling stuff,” and Mr. Blair’s arrival, he says, signals this government has no serious plans to reform and expand Canada’s military.
The appointment “is not an indictment of Blair,” opined Peter Loewen, director of the Munk School at the University of Toronto, “it’s an indictment of what the Prime Minister said he wanted to be doing in defence spending.”
At Wednesday’s news conference, Mr. Trudeau said he had confidence in Mr. Blair to continue the work of ensuring the Armed Forces had “the right tools, the right abilities but also the right culture change.” That’s the sort of thing the Prime Minister says when he’s determined not to say anything at all.
Mr. Trudeau’s reluctance to spend on defence is understandable. With its cabinet megashuffle, this increasingly unpopular government is trying to convince Canadians that the Liberals understand and are responding to worries over interest rates, inflation and housing costs. Those are real concerns.
But the world is less safe than at any time since the early 1980s. Foreign powers are confronting our allies, challenging our borders and seeking to undermine us from within.
We need to spend on defence. But we can safely assume, with the substitution of Mr. Blair for Ms. Anand, that we won’t.
Shuffling the deck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau executed a cabinet shuffle on Wednesday that left his top few ministers in their jobs, but switched things up for 23 members of the 38-person cabinet. Seven new ministers came in, while seven former ministers got bounced from cabinet. Here are the people now getting briefed up on new portfolios.
MINISTER
NEW ROLE
PREVIOUS ROLE
Anita
Anand
President of the Treasury Board
National Defence
Marie-Claude
Bibeau
National Revenue
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Bill
Blair
National Defence
Emergency Preparedness
Employment, Workforce Development
and Official Languages
Randy
Boissonnault
Tourism
Jean-Yves
Duclos
Public Services and Procurement
Health
Sean
Fraser
Housing, Infrastructure
and Communities
Immigration, Refugees
and Citizenship
Karina
Gould
Leader of the Government in the
House of Commons
Families, Children
and Social Development
Mark
Holland
Leader of the Government in the
House of Commons
Health
Ahmed
Hussen
Housing and Diversity
and Inclusion
International Development
Rural Economic Development
and Minister responsible for the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency
Rural Economic
Development
Gudie
Hutchings
Kamal
Khera
Diversity, Inclusion and Persons
with Disabilities
Seniors
Intergovernmental
Affairs, Infrastructure and
Communities
Dominic
LeBlanc
Public Safety, Democratic Institutions
and Intergovernmental Affairs
Diane
Lebouthillier
Fisheries, Oceans and
the Canadian Coast Guard
National Revenue
Lawrence
MacAulay
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Veterans Affairs
Marc
Miller
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Crown–Indigenous Relations
International Trade, Export Promotion,
Small Business and Economic
Development
Mary
Ng
Export Promotion,
International Trade and Economic
Development
Seamus
O’Regan Jr.
Labour and Seniors
Labour
Ginette Petitpas
Taylor
Veterans Affairs and
Associate Minister of National Defence
Official Languages
Employment, Workforce
Development and
Disability Inclusion
Carla
Qualtrough
Sport and Physical Activity
Pablo
Rodriguez
Transport and will continue
to serve as Quebec Lieutenant
Canadian Heritage
King’s Privy Council for Canada/Emergency
Preparedness/responsible for the Pacific
Economic Development Agency of Canada
Harjit S.
Sajjan
International Development
Pascale
St-Onge
Canadian Heritage
Sport
Jonathan
Wilkinson
Energy and Natural Resources
Natural Resources
john sopinski/THE GLOBE AND MAIl, SOURCE: government of canada
photos: the canadian press
Shuffling the deck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau executed a cabinet shuffle on Wednesday that left his top few ministers in their jobs, but switched things up for 23 members of the 38-person cabinet. Seven new ministers came in, while seven former ministers got bounced from cabinet. Here are the people now getting briefed up on new portfolios.
MINISTER
NEW ROLE
PREVIOUS ROLE
Anita
Anand
President of the Treasury Board
National Defence
Marie-Claude
Bibeau
National Revenue
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Bill
Blair
National Defence
Emergency Preparedness
Employment, Workforce Development
and Official Languages
Randy
Boissonnault
Tourism
Jean-Yves
Duclos
Public Services and Procurement
Health
Sean
Fraser
Housing, Infrastructure
and Communities
Immigration, Refugees
and Citizenship
Karina
Gould
Leader of the Government in the
House of Commons
Families, Children
and Social Development
Mark
Holland
Leader of the Government in the
House of Commons
Health
Ahmed
Hussen
Housing and Diversity
and Inclusion
International Development
Rural Economic Development
and Minister responsible for the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency
Rural Economic
Development
Gudie
Hutchings
Kamal
Khera
Diversity, Inclusion and Persons
with Disabilities
Seniors
Intergovernmental
Affairs, Infrastructure and
Communities
Dominic
LeBlanc
Public Safety, Democratic Institutions
and Intergovernmental Affairs
Diane
Lebouthillier
Fisheries, Oceans and
the Canadian Coast Guard
National Revenue
Lawrence
MacAulay
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Veterans Affairs
Marc
Miller
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Crown–Indigenous Relations
International Trade, Export Promotion,
Small Business and Economic
Development
Mary
Ng
Export Promotion,
International Trade and Economic
Development
Seamus
O’Regan Jr.
Labour and Seniors
Labour
Ginette Petitpas
Taylor
Veterans Affairs and
Associate Minister of National Defence
Official Languages
Employment, Workforce
Development and
Disability Inclusion
Carla
Qualtrough
Sport and Physical Activity
Pablo
Rodriguez
Transport and will continue
to serve as Quebec Lieutenant
Canadian Heritage
King’s Privy Council for Canada/Emergency
Preparedness/responsible for the Pacific
Economic Development Agency of Canada
Harjit S.
Sajjan
International Development
Pascale
St-Onge
Canadian Heritage
Sport
Jonathan
Wilkinson
Energy and Natural Resources
Natural Resources
john sopinski/THE GLOBE AND MAIl, SOURCE: government of canada
photos: the canadian press
Shuffling the deck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau executed a cabinet shuffle on Wednesday that left his top few ministers in their jobs, but switched things up for 23 members of the 38-person cabinet. Seven new ministers came in, while seven former ministers got bounced from cabinet. Here are the people now getting briefed up on new portfolios.
MINISTER
NEW ROLE
PREVIOUS ROLE
Anita
Anand
President of the Treasury Board
National Defence
Marie-Claude
Bibeau
National Revenue
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Bill
Blair
National Defence
Emergency Preparedness
Employment, Workforce Development
and Official Languages
Randy
Boissonnault
Tourism
Jean-Yves
Duclos
Public Services and Procurement
Health
Sean
Fraser
Housing, Infrastructure
and Communities
Immigration, Refugees
and Citizenship
Karina
Gould
Leader of the Government in the
House of Commons
Families, Children
and Social Development
Mark
Holland
Leader of the Government in the
House of Commons
Health
Ahmed
Hussen
Housing and Diversity
and Inclusion
International Development
Rural Economic Development
and Minister responsible for the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency
Rural Economic
Development
Gudie
Hutchings
Kamal
Khera
Diversity, Inclusion and Persons
with Disabilities
Seniors
Intergovernmental
Affairs, Infrastructure and
Communities
Dominic
LeBlanc
Public Safety, Democratic Institutions
and Intergovernmental Affairs
Diane
Lebouthillier
Fisheries, Oceans and
the Canadian Coast Guard
National Revenue
Lawrence
MacAulay
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Veterans Affairs
Marc
Miller
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Crown–Indigenous Relations
International Trade, Export Promotion,
Small Business and Economic
Development
Mary
Ng
Export Promotion,
International Trade and Economic
Development
Seamus
O’Regan Jr.
Labour and Seniors
Labour
Ginette Petitpas
Taylor
Veterans Affairs and
Associate Minister of National Defence
Official Languages
Employment, Workforce
Development and
Disability Inclusion
Carla
Qualtrough
Sport and Physical Activity
Pablo
Rodriguez
Transport and will continue
to serve as Quebec Lieutenant
Canadian Heritage
King’s Privy Council for Canada/Emergency
Preparedness/responsible for the Pacific
Economic Development Agency of Canada
Harjit S.
Sajjan
International Development
Pascale
St-Onge
Canadian Heritage
Sport
Jonathan
Wilkinson
Energy and Natural Resources
Natural Resources
john sopinski/THE GLOBE AND MAIl, SOURCE: government of canada photos: the canadian press