http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/02/23/pf-940131.html

February 23, 2005

OTTAWA (CP) - After years of skimping on the military, the federal government is breaking open the bank with a promise of $13 billion for defence over five years in what some say is Canada's largest military investment in a generation.

Initial spending will go to badly needed upkeep, while there are commitments later on of troop helicopters, Arctic aircraft and a new home for Canada's special forces.

The money includes $8 billion in funding that had already been announced.

"This is the best news the armed forces has had from the government in probably two decades," said David Charters, director of the Centre for Conflict Studies at the University of New Brunswick.

"I think our allies . . . will see this as a commitment Canada is really re-engaging in the world, and beginning to pull its weight again among its allies."

However, with the military cancelling programs, docking ships and grounding aircraft, this year's one-time increase is only $500 million, with another $600 million coming next year on a base budget of $13.5 billion.

That's far less than the $1.5-billion flat budget increase called for by lobby groups and some senators and members of Parliament, but enough to get recovery and modernization going, say defence officials.

The Conservative defence critic, retired general Gordon O'Connor, suggested the Liberals are playing politics, noting that the big money doesn't start to appear until Year 3.

"They could eat up all the money just maintaining the current equipment," said O'Connor. "They've also got problems with infrastructure.

"I think they're anticipating an election in '06. They're only spending $1.1 billion in two years on defence. They're playing games. This is a short-term plan to make it look like they're doing a lot of things."

The government did promise major new expenditures as its long-anticipated defence policy statement kicks in, with total military spending rising to about $20 billion a year by 2009-2010 - if Paul Martin's government lasts that long.

The promises over five years include:

-$3 billion to recruit, train and integrate 5,000 additional full-time soldiers and 3,000 reservists on top of the 53,000 soldiers, sailors and aircrew now serving. Only $80 million of those funds will come this year.

-$3.2 billion to enhance specialized medical services for returning troops, to address critical supply and repair shortages, and to fix ragged infrastructure like runways and jetties.

-$2.7 billion for transport helicopters, logistics trucks, light utility aircraft and a new base or expansion of the old one for the growing number of Joint Task Force 2 commandos.

-$3.8 billion, starting in 2007-08, for unannounced initiatives that could include a new amphibious assault ship or the like and revamped emergency response capabilities like those provided by the Disaster Assistance Response Team.

There is no mention of big-ticket items like warships or transport aircraft to replace the aging C-130 Hercules, but there are promises to allocate funds "as needed" to coincide with priorities set by the policy statement.

The new chief of defence staff took the rare step of showing up at the budget lockup to tell reporters that it was "a very good day for the Canadian Forces."

"We've got an investment and a commitment from our government to rebuild the Canadian Forces . . . into something more relevant, something more responsive and something that is tangibly valuable for all Canadians," Gen. Rick Hillier said.

The country's largest military lobby group, the Conference of Defence Associations, said it is "encouraged by the commitment to defence" shown in the budget's long-term promises.

"The prime minister has shown Canadians and the Canadian Forces the money," said conference director Alain Pellerin.

The promise of big new military spending comes a day after word that Martin has decided against signing on to the controversial U.S. missile defence plan. No new money is earmarked for the plan, said Defence Minister Bill Graham.

U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci has repeatedly called for Canada to increase its military spending, recently itemizing a shopping list of goods the federal government should buy for its ailing Forces.

On Wednesday, Cellucci said Washington is encouraged by what he described as a "substantial increase" in proposed military spending.

"This is something we've been respectfully suggesting," he said.

"The Canadian Forces are quite good and it's important that they have the resources they need to continue to do the job both here in North America and around the globe."

But initial outlays are limited to mundane housekeeping items.

The spending blueprint dovetails with Hillier's stated priority of upgrading supply and infrastructure - work he says is necessary before policy initiatives like expansion and integration can take place.

The document sets aside $420 million in this year's budget and another $500 million next year to address those basic ailments, where woes mounted in recent years as the military focused on post-9/11 overseas deployments.

Officials said staff at Defence Headquarters were walking on air Wednesday afternoon. While initial investments are conservative and the minority government's future is uncertain, insiders said there was a feeling the budget sets out a minimum the military can expect from any government.

There seemed to be little concern about the delayed commitments.

"We just can't spend that much money right away," said one senior source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We've got to figure out what all this means."

The defence budget had already factored in this year's nine per cent raises for the enlisted corps as well as the costs of new joint supply ships, maritime helicopters and mobile gun systems.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Calgary/Roy_Clancy/2005/02/23/939241.html

Wed, February 23, 2005

There he goes again. Over in Brussels, Prime Minister Paul Martin was talking tough -- really tough yesterday.

At a meeting with other NATO leaders, Martin warned Iran to quit building nukes and correct its human- rights wrongs.

If it does not, "we must be prepared to stand behind our words with stronger measures, if necessary."

Of course, he refused to elaborate. "I'd like those words to stand for themselves, he said later.

Not that it really matters what he meant. Most of his fellow- national leaders were likely laughing into the back of their hands anyway.

Just as they likely were when Martin talked about Canada backing a move that could send 10,000 UN troops into the capital of Sudan to bring peace to the region where 70,000 have died and two million left homeless.

Of course, he didn't mean our troops -- other than a token contingent to offer communication, logistics and military support.

Not that our troops aren't willing and able. It's just that they've been stretched to the breaking point by similar promises from Liberal politicians, who then make their endeavours nearly mission-impossible by starving the forces of funds.

So, while Martin is summoning up a tone of false bravado in Brussels, there are signals his finance minister will again deprive our Armed Forces of the cash it needs to do its job.

Senior defence officials told The Canadian Press today's budget will not contain a large, immediate infusion of cash for defence.

Instead, the government will wait until a defence policy review is completed before spreading out badly needed funding over five years.

It is a scenario already warned about by Senator Colin Kenny, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.

Kenny warned that Martin's election promise to beef up the forces by 5,000 regulars and 3,000 reservists counts for nothing if the funding needed to do it is spread out over five years.

"You can discount a promise from a minority government that goes out five years to zero."

Instead, Kenny said, this is the "usual slicing and dicing" that "lets the government reannounce it every year and when you examine it, it's spread out to never, neverland."

Keep in mind the funds he refers to aren't for expanding the role our military plays around the world, merely to live up to commitments politicians such as Martin and Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew have already made.

"Either the government walks the walk, because it's certainly talking the talk, or it pulls its horns in," warned Kenny, a Liberal senator who has fought tirelessly for increased spending on the military and national security.

"Let's stop going to these fancy meetings, let's stop making commitments that we're a middle-sized, serious player and let's tell Canadians that we're going to be inward-looking, isolationist and that relations with our neighbour to the south aren't important to us."

Kenny said the only way Canada will become a respectable middle power again is to boost military spending from $13 billion a year to $18 or $19 billion.

"Along with that, "we need to double our foreign aid if we expect to have a capable foreign policy," he said.

Speaking of foreign aid, Liberal ministers have always professed that what Canada lacks in military might, we make up for in our readiness, as the nice guys of the world, to help out when there's a need.

Trouble is, that's not true.

We witnessed this two-faced strategy as Martin toured tsumani ravaged Asia, looking sombre and compassionate even though we couldn't get our military's Disaster Assistance Response Team on the scene for more that two weeks.

It took outgoing U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci, in a parting shot, to point out our country needs a strong military to fulfil the Canadian public's appetite for a potent humanitarian role in the world.

"We're getting a free ride off our allies," Kenny said.

While few will likely be startled by Martin's hypocritical stance on the world stage, what is more surprising is the lack-lustre defence of the military by the federal Conservatives.

It's not certain if the Tories are trying to play to the sentiments of Ontario voters, but they need to be reminded, as Kenny pointed out, that "health care, education, all the nice things, don't count a damn if you don't have a secure country.'

If as predicted, the Forces are shortchanged in today's budget, we expect the Opposition to raise a blistering objection.

After all, if they don't come to the defence of the exhausted, beleaguered men and women of our Armed Forces, who will?

Politicians in your country are making a lot of promises to you and your peers in uniform that they have no intention of keeping PC... so don't get your hopes up.

"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."

Thorax

http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2005/03/09/fNovaScotia163.raw.html

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

The Halifax Herald Limited

MPs pan military buying
Procurements for military 'very political'

By STEPHEN THORNE / The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - A Commons committee will make sweeping recommendations aimed at taking politics out of the military procurement process after studying the acquisition of ill-fated HMCS Chicoutimi and her sister submarines, the panel's Liberal chairman said Tuesday.

Pat O'Brien said the Commons defence committee may also recommend more regular updates of the federal government's defence policy - there is one being done now, the first since 1994.

And the panel will criticize the erosion of training among Canada's submariners, a direct result of political delays imposed on the 1990s acquisition, committee members say.

The committee's Bloc Quebecois members will file a dissenting report over delays in the translation process that will help hold up tabling of the panel's conclusions and recommendations until next month.

"There's no doubt about it - it was a very political process," O'Brien said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "We all understand that.

"We're going to have specific recommendations in the report on how we think things can be improved in terms of major procurements in general."

O'Brien also said defence policy needs more frequent review than every 10 years or more.

"Many countries do more regular updates of their defence policy," he said. "It's quite likely the committee might want to address itself to that."

The all-party committee decided to look into the submarine procurement after the last of the boats, Chicoutimi, caught fire during its first transatlantic crossing under Canadian command. One officer died.

The panel's investigation is unrelated to a navy board of inquiry looking into what caused the tragedy. The inquiry report is expected by March 31.

The MPs considered the submarine procurements specifically, and how problems like those faced by the navy during the 1990s can be avoided in the future, said O'Brien.

"We're going to have constructively critical things to say about the timeline, how long it took and the need to keep the Parliament of Canada better informed on major purchases."

Former defence minister David Collenette told the committee before Christmas that execution of the $800-million lease-to-purchase of four used British submarines was delayed four years after cabinet approved the plan.

Collenette said the subs languished in British docks while then-prime minister Jean Chretien refused to go ahead with the purchase because he considered it politically unpalatable amid 1990s government cost-cutting.

MPs were told the boats were in bad shape when Canada finally bought them in 1998. Witnesses described leaks, electrical problems and equipment malfunctions - largely, they said, attributable to years of neglect.