MP Kram Returns From Brussels NATO Summit
Michael Kram, MP for Regina-Wascana, recently returned from the Joint Committee Meetings of Defence Security Committee (DSC), Economics and Security Committee (ESC), and the Political Committee (PC) in Brussels, Belgium attended by elected officials from all 32 NATO countries. A key point of discussion at the summit was the commitment by all alliance members, not merely to reach the current defense spending target of 2% of GDP, but to increase this to 5% by 2035. "Obviously, if we are going to be spending that much more on defense in a short period of time, we need to be smart about it. We must do it in a way that benefits Canada and Canadian workers. We cannot simply write cheques to the United States, but must focus more on producing our defense needs domestically," Kram said. Kram also noted the urgency of improving the federal government's approach to procurement. "Canada has been talking about and mulling about purchasing new fighter jets f...