Minister urges Canadians not to apply for passports during PSAC strike and former top generals raise concerns about defence spending

With more than 100,000 federal workers are on strike across the country, Canadians are facing major disruptions to accessing services on everything from tax returns to passports. ‘The West Block’ guest host Eric Sorensen speaks with Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould about the impact of the strike. Plus, new information from the Pentagon highly-classified intelligence leak is raising concerns about Canada’s military spending. The Washington Post reports that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told NATO officials privately that Canada will “never meet” NATO’s defence spending target of two per cent of GDP. The latest report comes just days after an open letter from former top defence and national security officials urged the government to take this issue more seriously. Sorensen speaks with Retired Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, former Canadian army commander, and Retired Gen. Raymond Henault, former chief of the defence staff, about what’s at stake for Canada if we don’t address military shortfalls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices