Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled he hopes Canada will be able to sign on to a major European defence rearmament plan by July 1, a step toward reducing the country's dependency on the United States for weapons and munitions.
He made the remarks on CBC's Power & Politics following the speech from the throne, which committed his government to joining ReArm Europe.
The speech did not set out a timeline, but Carney said he wants to move aggressively.
"Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart," Carney told host David Cochrane.
Canada has been engaged in talks with the European Union since Carney took office — before the spring federal election — about joining the plan which foresees the nations on the continent spending $1.25 trillion on defence over the next five years.
"We're making great progress on that, and by Canada Day we'd like to see something concrete there," Carney said.
The prime minister said there's no question Canada is going to increase its defence spending, but cautioned it's going to be done in a manner that benefits the country.
Posted by John3262005