Given the increased saber-rattling with respect to Russia, I expect that NATO will be calling for members to step up to the plate. I don't object.
I do hope the focus is on spending that enhances Canada's capabilities at the things we need to be good at. Transport and logistics should be a major consideration, because it has applications beyond just fighting wars. I felt distressed and embarrassed during the Indonesia tsunami crisis when Canada had to rent a Russian transport to get our emergency response equipment and personnel to the site because our own aircraft weren't suitable for the task. The purchase of C-17 transports during the Harper years should go a long way towards addressing that deficiency., but it illustrates my complaint: we need to have capabilities in things like disaster response, humanitarian aid, maritime patrol, arctic patrol, search-and-rescue, and things of that nature. We have to have equipment that meets those tasks. The C-17s are a good start. The long-awaited Sea-King replacement is a start.
As far as stuff that translates directly to shooting wars, I think that increasing pay and training and benefits for our armed forces personnel might be a good idea. In terms of equipment and technology, it would of course be nice if as much of that money as possible could be spent in Canada. Small arms manufactured in Canada by Diemaco, for example. Some stuff-- ie, jet fighters and helicopters-- it's just not realistic to design and build in Canada. But there's a lot of stuff-- ships, transport aircraft, communications technology, unmanned aircraft, sensor equipment, communications equipment, etc etc etc, that should be well within our technological grasp.
-k