Conservative MP says Carney should appoint a labour minister and pay more than 'lip service' to workers
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OTTAWA — A Conservative MP is calling on the federal government to dedicate a full cabinet position to the issue of labour, saying Prime Minister Mark Carney must pay more than 'lip service' to workers in his region affected by General Motors' planned shift cuts.
Jamil Jivani, the recently reelected MP for Bowmanville—Oshawa North, released a letter through his office on Wednesday, the day after Carney unveiled his new cabinet.
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Great new military spending, Canada. Where's the money going to come from?
Todd Hirsch is a Calgary-based economist, author and public speaker. He is also the director of the Energy Transition Centre. Canada will reach NATO's defence spending benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP this fiscal year – five years earlier than planned. That's according to an announcement on Monday by Prime Minister Mark Carney. The move is timely and necessary in an unstable world. Ottawa is upping this year's budget for the Department of National Defence by $9.3-billion. That and existing spending from other departments will push defence-related expenditure to $62.7-billion for 2025-26 – 2 per cent of GDP, as per the requirements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Never mind that the rest of NATO now wants to meet U.S. President Donald Trump's demand of 5 per cent. The fact that we, the laggard, finally got our act together and came up with such a bold plan to get to 2 per cent is good news. Now for the unglamorous part: There's no magic money tree. Defence can't surge to $62.7-billion and leave everything else untouched. The reality is, unless there is something Mr. Carney is not telling us, getting to the 2-per-cent target is going to be hard and uncomfortable. The problem isn't the size of Ottawa's $490-billion budget – it's where that money is already going. Most of it is locked up in transfers to individuals and other governments, and almost none of it is politically or legally touchable. I wrote about this issue in The Globe and Mail more than a year ago. Pardon me if I'm repeating myself a little, but the situation hasn't changed and will never change. Roughly a quarter of federal spending flows directly to Canadians through programs such as Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Employment Insurance and the Canada Child Benefit. Another 20 per cent heads straight to the provinces through the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer to fund health care and social services. Then there's equalization: $26.2-billion this year, constitutionally enshrined. And let's not forget interest on the national debt, which rings in at $49-billion. No wiggle room there. After those are accounted for – along with other assorted transfers and programs such as money to the territories and Indigenous peoples – Ottawa is left with about $130-billion in 'Operating Spending.' Out of that, almost $40-billion is already committed to the military. Which leaves us with an uncomfortable fact: Out of nearly half a trillion dollars in federal spending, just $90-billion is truly discretionary – available for cuts, trims or efficiencies. And now, the Prime Minister wants to boost military spending by $9.3-billion. Easy, right? Cut the entire CBC? That covers a fraction of the target. Shutter every national park? Axe the federal justice system? Pull funding from Olympic athletes and sports? Abandon every federal dollar of scientific and medical research? How is this extra military spending to be accomplished? Mr. Carney did suggest some creative accounting on Monday, moving the coast guard to the defence department, presumably to redefine some non-defence budget as defence. So, sure, some of the $9.3-billion could come out of existing spending. But Mr. Carney didn't exactly elaborate on the accounting on Monday, and let's remember, this government hasn't put out a budget. Call me cynical and uncreative, but from where I'm standing and given what we know right now, we're looking at some combination of ugly options. The first is to raise taxes. Set aside for a moment the promised tax cut coming for middle-income households. The Liberal Party will have a hard time convincing Canadians that higher taxes are necessary – especially when they campaigned on the opposite. The second option is to borrow more and pile it onto an already ballooning national debt, erasing any realistic hope of a balanced budget for the foreseeable future. This option also drives up total debt-servicing costs. The third is to cut from existing spending in other areas. None of these is good. These options might not manifest visibly. We might not see a new 'weapons tax.' We might not see war bonds. We might not hear Mr. Carney announce one day that, say, this agency or Crown corporation could have gotten a $100-million budget increase instead of $50-million if not for the defence spending. But make no mistake: The number of dollars the government has is finite, and every one has to come out of somewhere. It's not easy for a leader to up defence spending. It's never been a popular thing in this country. So, kudos to Mr. Carney for stepping up. But now he has an even harder task. Mr. Carney needs to have an honest conversation with this country about where all the money is going to come from.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Former Conservative defence minister ‘cautiously optimistic' about new NATO commitment
Canada is pledging to spend two per cent of its GDP on NATO this fiscal year. Canada is vowing to meet NATO's defence spending commitment this year – five years ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney's campaign promise – but critics say they're waiting to see how it's rolled out. Carney made the announcement in Toronto Monday morning, saying his government will rapidly advance its military spending timeline to hit the NATO target of two per cent of national GDP by adding $9 billion in spending to the fiscal framework this year. 'Canada will achieve NATO's two per cent target this year, half a decade ahead of schedule,' the prime minister said, stating the country is confronting an alarming new world of threats, and depends too much on an increasingly unreliable United States for its defence. Carney added he plans to accelerate that timeline again within the next few years. The federal government currently spends about 1.45 per cent of real GDP on defence and has not hit the two per cent target since 1990 — despite having promised its biggest allies for years that it would. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said his government welcomes Carney's commitment to invest in the Canadian Armed Forces, saying it will better protect the country. 'Nova Scotia is ready to step up to help protect Canada while creating good-paying jobs through manufacturing, technology and the development of the critical minerals and raw materials needed to rebuild our military right here,' said Houston in a news release following the announcement. 'We have a proud history of military service, with the most military members per capita across Canada.' However, Carney's spending announcement isn't without its critics. Peter MacKay, former Conservative federal defence minister and Nova Scotia MP, says the money is long overdue and he's heard similar promises before. 'This last 10 years has not been particularly optimistic for the Canadian Armed Forces, so this is a lifeline,' MacKay told CTV News. 'Colour me as cautiously optimistic but somewhat cynical. I'm stunned, quite frankly, that the government has made this type of announcement and yet isn't tabling a budget until the fall. It is very much words, not deeds, that people are a bit cynical about. 'To his credit, I think Prime Minister is Carney is reading the mood of the country and looking out at the geopolitical scene.' MacKay noted that recruitment to the Canadian Armed Forces must be one of the top priorities. 'Members who are ready to serve, to deploy, to prepare for what may come, these are our finest citizens, but they're hard to recruit at this time,' he said. 'We need to see that actual effort take place.' Robert Huish, associate professor of international development studies at Dalhousie University, said the NATO commitment could represent a shift in Canada's defence priorities. 'I think that's a huge step for Mr. Carney to say that Canada has to go its own way now,' Huish said. 'We can't be relying on the United States to cover our defence ends any further. We're not just going to sit back and wait for the Americans to bail us out in a crisis. This is now going to be Canada-driven, down its own path, and its own future when it comes to defence spending. 'It probably speaks to the fact that we did not meet our NATO commitments in the past to the levels that we should of and, honestly, it has left us vulnerable.' With files from and CTV Atlantic's Callum Smith
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Wildfire evacuees from northwestern Ontario arrive in Cornwall, Ont.
The outside the DEV Hotel and Conference Centre is shown in this picture. July 11, 2024 (Sam Houpt/CTV News Ottawa) The City of Cornwall says it is providing support to members of the Sandy Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario, who have been evacuated due to wildfires. The first 155 residents of the first nation more than 1,600 kilometres northwest of Cornwall arrived early Monday morning, with more expected to arrive through the day, the city said in a news release. Cornwall expects to harbour up to 450 people who have been forced out of their homes because of the fires. 'The safety and well-being of evacuees is our top priority, and we are committed to providing them with the care and compassion they deserve,' said Leighton Woods, Deputy Fire Chief and emergency management coordinator in a news release. 'Cornwall has a long history of rallying in moments of need and today is no exception.' The city says the Dev Centre will be the key site for accommodations and services. The Canadian Red Cross will be on site leading logistics and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit is providing medical support. 'The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne is also playing a vital role in the response, with staff on-site acting as key liaisons to ensure culturally informed support and effective communication with evacuees,' the city said. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday that the federal government would be sending military aid to assist in the evacuation of the remote community. A major wildfire near the Sandy Lake First Nation is still not under control, according to the Ontario government. The Dev Centre in Cornwall has a history of housing people in need of shelter. For several years, it was used to house asylum seekers through a program with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In 2021, evacuees from Deer Lake First Nation — about 75 km southwest of Sandy Lake First Nation — were housed in Cornwall when wildfires threatened their community. With files from The Canadian Press
