Hon. Larry W. Smith: Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold.

Senator Gold, the recent aggression and invasion of sovereign Ukraine by the Russian Federation has highlighted a critical need for Canada to bolster its defence spending. Successive governments have failed to take seriously the very real threat posed not only to our sovereignty but the sovereignty of our NATO allies from adversaries abroad. Canada continues to fall short of its NATO spending obligations, becoming more isolated in a changing global environment. Even the most pacifistic of countries, such as Germany, are beginning to reverse their long‑standing policies, recognizing the need to meet their NATO obligations and bolster their militaries.

Senator Gold, a simple question: When will the government commit to spending the full 2% of GDP on national defence, as is our current obligation under NATO?

Senator Smith: Senator Gold, the question here is that Canada spends 1.39% of GDP on defence and we have been asked to spend 2% because we’re not meeting our obligations within NATO.

Continuing the question, Guy Thibault, a retired Vice Chief of Defence Staff, was quoted this past week in a Toronto Star article, saying about the Arctic:

Clearly it’s going to become a new frontier . . . And we should be very worried about what Russia is doing, not only in Eastern Europe but around the world, and China’s interest up there.

Russia’s militarization and encroachment in the North coupled with Canada’s persistent patchwork of failed promises and policies have left the Arctic vulnerable for far too long. Senator Gold, will this government finally put in place a concrete action plan that reaffirms Canada’s claim to the Arctic?