Anita Anand ousted as Defence Minister because proposed policy update too costly, say sources

Published Jul 28, 2023 • Last updated 8 minutes ago • 4 minute read

Then-defence minister Anita Anand, left, meets the Canada-led multinational NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group at the Adazi military base in Riga, Latvia, on July 10. Photo by Gints Ivuskans /AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A reworking of the Liberal government’s defence policy update is underway after the document proposed by National Defence and Anita Anand was deemed to be unrealistic, according to multiple defence sources.

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The Prime Minister’s Office is taking more of a hand in reworking the defence policy update, the sources noted. Defence Minister Anand tried at least twice to get the update approved but the document was rejected as unrealistic and too costly.

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Anand had pushed the Canadian military’s position of a significant rearmament and reequipment plan at a time when the Liberal government is trying to get spending under control and finance major initiatives such as affordable housing and a national dental care program.

But PMO spokesperson Ann-Clara Vaillancourt said the information from sources about the Defence Policy Update is false. “Minister Anand was appointed as President of the Treasury Board to serve in an economic portfolio,” she added.

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Vaillancourt did not provide information on why the Defence Policy Update has not been released. The documents release was expected shortly before the NATO summit earlier this month. Vaillancourt did not provide information on when the update would be made public.

In a letter to Canadian Forces personnel issued Thursday, new Defence Minister Bill Blair pointed out that he is focused on modernizing the capabilities of the joint U.S.-Canada North American Aerospace Defence Command as well as acquiring new equipment for the military. He noted the Defence Policy Update will be released “in the coming months.”

In March, Anand’s office released a statement to this newspaper that the policy update would be released in “the coming months.”

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The defence policy update or DPU was announced on April 7, 2022. National Defence has already consulted with allied nations, the defence industry and defence experts who are closely aligned with the Canadian Forces and supportive of the military.

National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Thursday that the department launched an online platform in March to gather feedback about the policy. That has resulted in over 1,500 submissions, he added. “This feedback has been key to ensuring that Defence’s long-term vision meets the expectations of Canadians, and we are taking these submissions into account in the crafting our defence policy update. We look forward to releasing it in due course.”

It remains to be seen if some of the ambitious Canadian Forces spending proposals will survive the rewrite of the defence policy update. Key among those was a plan by the Royal Canadian Navy to purchase up to 12 new submarines at a cost of $60 billion. In March, at a defence conference in Ottawa, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre acknowledged he was advocating on behalf of the navy for the submarines.

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But defence insiders acknowledged the plan faces an uphill battle to get approval from the Liberals in the policy update, considering that Canadians are more concerned about the lack of affordable housing, inflation and increasing costs for basic necessities such as food.

Anand’s timing on pushing the navy submarine program in the defence policy update couldn’t be worse. National Defence confirmed to this newspaper that it plans to release this fall new cost figures for the project to build 15 new warships for the navy. The original approved budget was $26 billion but the project, plagued by concerns about a lack of oversight and cost overruns, is expected to be saddled with a new price tag of more than $80 billion.

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Another area of tension between Anand and the Prime Minister’s Office, say defence sources, was her decision to back Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Eyre’s position that Canada could not provide troops for a security mission to Haiti.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden was pushing Canada to take the lead in a mission to support Haiti police in their struggle against gangs in the country. Biden had planned to continue discussions with Trudeau during his visit to Ottawa in late March.

But just weeks before Biden’s visit, Eyre gave an interview with Reuters stating the military didn’t have the capacity for a Haiti mission.

During his visit to Ottawa on March 24, Biden told journalists he wasn’t disappointed with the Canadian decision not to become involved in a military mission in Haiti. But defence insiders privately say the Americans were furious their request had been turned down.

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Anand has dismissed claims that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to shuffle her from the defence portfolio to Treasury Board was a demotion. In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, she portrayed her new job as key to reining in federal government spending.

“I am going to have to speak with my colleagues about the need for prudent spending and I’m looking forward to those conversations as well,” she explained. “We need to continue to have our eye on how we can help Canadians during this economic time.”

Anand’s focus is no longer trying to convince the Liberal government to spend tens of billions of dollars for new submarines and tanks. She told CBC her new role is one of ensuring the government is spending public funds wisely while delivering on key platform promises like dental and child care. “I’ve just come out of my first briefing and I can tell you that that’s exactly what I’m focused on,” she said.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe