Slow Procurement Keeps Pushing Defence Spending Down the Line, PBO Report Finds

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Senate Committee on National Finance, in Ottawa on Oct. 17, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The parliamentary budget officer says the Defence Department is planning unprecedented capital spending in the coming years, raising concerns about the effect of inflation.

In a new report, Yves Giroux assessed 20 years of planned capital spending under Canada’s 2017 defence policy, billed “Strong, Secure, Engaged.”