Cabinet includes millions spent on the Canadian Coast Guard as part of its NATO commitment for national defence, figures confirm. Costs were among $6.5 billion in non-military spending included in Canada’s NATO arithmetic.

“The Department of National Defence follows the guidelines established by NATO and agreed to by allies regarding a common approach to defining defence expenditures,” cabinet wrote in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons. “Canada is committed to allocating 2 percent of its GDP to defence by 2032,” it said.

Calculations on “defence spending” include $3.7 billion in yearly pensions and benefits for ex-military, $489.1 million spent by the federal IT department Shared Services, $343.5 million spent on diplomatic arrangements for peacekeeping by the Department of Foreign Affairs and $337.1 million a year for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Another $1.2 billion in “defe