Britain in talks with Canada about joining defence bank

Britain in talks with Canada about joining defence bank STEVEN CHASE SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER PIPPA NORMAN INNOVATION REPORTER PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the General Dynamics defence manufacturing facility in London, Ont., in July. Canada has so far signed up eight other countries for the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank. CARLOS OSORIO/REUTERS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Britain is in talks with Canada about joining the Canadian-led defence financing bank, according to a Canadian government source. The subject is expected to come up during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Britain this week, which will include Wednesday meetings with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and a stop in Liverpool where the pair will watch an Everton Football Club match. Both men are fans of the club. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Canada has so far signed up eight other countries for the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), a financial institution that aims to provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence projects by its member countries. However, the list lacks a second Group of Seven member. Members so far include Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine, which is fending off a Russian invasion. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will also discuss the subject with his British counterpart, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey, when the pair meet in London this week, the source said. Open this photo in gallery: John Healey walks to attend Andy Burnham's first cabinet meeting at 10 Downing St. in London on July 21. CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/REUTERS British media first reported that London was in talks with Canada to join the bank. The source said there is appetite from Britain to join the bank and what remains is discussion of what form participation would take. Britain’s interest in joining the Canadian-led defence bank comes as it works on a separate initiative, the Multilateral Defence Mechanism. This is a joint financing scheme being set up by Britain, the Netherlands, Finland and Poland to pool money for buying weapons together, and speed up defence spending among allied countries. Both efforts are pooled-financing vehicles for allied defence…