As for the spending target, what Trump and Rutte are pushing for is 5% of GDP, as opposed to Canada’s current 1.37%. That’s almost quadrupling our defense budget.

This is no small potatoes. Canada’s total government spending is around 40% of GDP. This would make military spending move to a whopping 12.5% of government expenditures instead of around the current 3.5%. That is no small potatoes. That would require a massive tax increases, massive debt or massive austerity. And as I said, I think we should have much more important priorities for things upon which to increase our spending.