Can You Spend $9 Billion on Defense Without Lighting It on Fire?

Описание: With Joseph Lavoie and Andrew Percy

This week, we crack open a UK import—Hawkstone Lager from Jeremy Clarkson’s farm—and break down Canada’s biggest defence spending announcement in decades.

PM Mark Carney has committed to meeting NATO’s 2% target this year, nearly a decade ahead of Trudeau’s original pledge. That’s over $9 billion in new spending—including raises for CAF members, $2B in military aid to Ukraine, and major procurement commitments. But can it all be spent wisely?

In this episode:
• 🇨🇦 Why this announcement matters—and why it hits close to home for Joseph
• 💸 The risks of rushing defence procurement (and why it’s rarely done well)
• 🇬🇧 What the UK’s new Strategic Defence Review signals for joint defence priorities
• 🤝 Why now might be the right time for a Canada–UK security compact

Plus:
• 🧨 Labour’s massive U-turn on winter fuel benefits: smart politics or panic move?
• 🎯 Is there still room in politics for a sensible, fiscally responsible conservative party?
• 🇺🇸 Trump sends the Marines to California—why it may be a turning point in the US election
• 📉 Canada’s jobless rate rises—are we seeing the limits of the Carney honeymoon?

And don’t miss:
• 🍺 Beer of the week: Hawkstone Lager
 • Andrew tastes a biscuit-forward Italian Pilsner with a crisp finish
 • Joseph declares it “a Helles lager met an Italian Pilsner and the two had a baby”