By John Paul Tasker, CBC News, April 27, 2016
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says meeting NATO spending targets is under consideration
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump doesn’t hesitate to shoot from the hip on a host of public policy issues, but his comments Wednesday about the efficacy of NATO have reverberated throughout defence circles and could have consequences for Canada.
At the core of his criticism of the multilateral alliance is that the United States foots the bill for far too much of the alliance’s defence capacity, and other member nations — including Canada — are “freeloaders” for failing to contribute their fair share of domestic military spending.
“It’s obsolete and too many people are getting a free ride,” Trump said Tuesday night after racking up lopsided victories in five presidential primaries.
“Frankly, they have to put up more money. We are paying disproportionately. It’s too much. It’s a different world than it was when we originally conceived of the idea.”
