OTTAWA | Justin Trudeau again defended Canada’s ability to protect its skies, despite the fact that it was American fighter pilots who shot down the four balloons that entered our airspace without permission in recent days.
• Also read: Balloon similar to Chinese objects shot down, which was sighted in New Brunswick in July 2022
• Also read: Washington denies sending balloons into Chinese airspace
“There were Canadian and American warplanes there, and the order was that whoever has the best option (of fire), be the fastest, shoot down that object,” the prime minister said on his trip to Whitehorse, Yukon.
He pointed out that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a joint US-Canadian organization tasked with policing and protecting all of North American airspace, not just Canada or the US.
Canadian weakness
Although Mr. Trudeau pointed out that this episode “is a very good example of how (NORAD) works well”, for Conservative leader Pierre Poilièvre it is more of a further demonstration that “Canada cannot defend itself”.
“Due to national defense mismanagement, Canada does not have an effective early warning system to detect this type of intrusion into our airspace,” he said.
The object shot down over Lake Huron was actually only spotted in southern Alberta, said Major General Paul Prévost, director of the Strategic Joint Staff. This intruder therefore flew incognito over our skies for a long time.
National Defense Minister Anita Anand announced in June a $4.9 billion investment in our radar system, which has not been updated since the 1980s. Its stated purpose is to detect new Chinese and Russian military technologies and missiles.
American impatience
But meanwhile, Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan last May criticized Canada for “exploiting” the American umbrella to protect itself without honoring its defense spending commitments even though “a brutal dictator is at our door.” , he cursed.
In 2006, NATO members pledged to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense each year. But in 2021, Canada spent 1.4% of its GDP on defense. If forecasts don’t change, that figure will rise to 1.59% in 2026, still very far from target.
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