Posted on 12/05/2003 7:53:03 AM PST by knighthawk
For years, our Liberal government has sat on its hands as the federal Auditor-General, the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, the Conference of Defence Associations, Jane's Defence Weekly and the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century have all warned that our desperately underfunded military is headed toward irrelevance. This week, a new report came out with a similarly bleak message. But is anyone in Ottawa listening?
In Canada Without Armed Forces?, Queen's University professor Douglas Bland and his co-authors warn that in every category -- equipment, personnel and logistical support -- the Canadian Forces are suffering from underfunding and policy neglect. If a massive infusion of cash does not come soon, they warn, several branches of the military may disappear entirely, and we will be headed "for a long period when [our] governments will be without effective military resources, even for domestic defence and territorial surveillance."
The basic problem can be summarized in a single number: 1.1%. That is the percentage of our gross domestic product we spend on our military, down from double that two decades ago and now one of the lowest rates of any developed nation on Earth. Because its budgets are insufficient to properly fund ongoing operations in Central Asia, the Balkans and elsewhere, our military has had to effectively cannibalize its capital budget to keep soldiers fed, clothed and combat-ready in messy, logistically complex Third World environments. Even with such budgetary tricks, the military is still in the red: When the final cost of Afghan operations is added to 2003/2004 expenditures, the total shortfall in our military's operations budget will likely be as much as $2-billion.
As a general rule, most planners estimate that about 23% of defence spending should be directed to capital improvements -- that is, the acquisition and modernization of weapon and transport systems. In Canada, that figure has now sunk to a mere 11.5%. As a result, since spending was first ratcheted down in 1989, our military bases have gradually been turned into museums of wars past. Our 40-year-old fleet of CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft and Sea King helicopters are a particular embarrassment. In coming years, trucks, self-propelled howitzers and destroyers will need replacing as well.
By Mr. Bland's analysis, it will cost $24-billion over the next five years to properly equip our forces -- $15-billion more than will be available under current budget projections. All in all, as part of his plan to modernize the Canadian Armed Forces and bring staffing levels up from 60,000 to 85,000, Mr. Bland recommends the annual budget be increased from the current level of $13.5-billion to at least $18.5-billion -- or about 1.5% of our GDP.
Does that sound extravagant? It doesn't if you compare Canada to other NATO members, which spend an average of about 2% of GDP on their militaries. Australia, which is similarly situated to Canada in terms of wealth and political orientation, recently approved a $47-billion program to fund equipment acquisitions over the next decade. Canada is increasingly becoming distinguished among wealthy nations by the toothless state of its Armed Forces.
The reaction of Defence Minister John McCallum to Canada Without Armed Forces? was not encouraging. "I find it difficult to square these [pronouncements] of doom and gloom with the actual achievements we've had in recent years," he said yesterday. Fortunately, Mr. McCallum will likely be out of his job in a week, when Paul Martin takes over as prime minister.
Indeed, we learned yesterday that Mr. Martin met with Mr. Bland on Wednesday to discuss his report. That is good news. Mr. Martin has already indicated he will increase support for the military once he takes power. The shocking analysis contained in Canada Without Armed Forces?, we hope and expect, will only increase his resolve. Under Jean Chrétien, our military has been left to rust. Mr. Martin must begin the long and expensive process of rehabilitation as soon as possible.
Go figure!
That's because your people are damn good, Mr. McCallum, and are making do in the absence of public credit, priority, and funding. There will come a point when even they throw up their hands. Deal with it.
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