There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By Shempatolla (registered) - website | Posted December 03, 2010 at 21:00:04
Ryan. Pure dollars is the most misleading form of representation of defence spending. The more telling figure is a percentage of GDP. In Gross dollars in 2009 Canada spent 20,564,000 on national defence which placed us 13th overall in spending. But as a percentage of GDP we only spend 1.3 per cent which puts us well down the list both in NATO and globally. These figures are from SIPRI the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
While the defence budget grew by 50% since 2003 that was out of necessity after decades of neglect by successive Liberal governments which cancelled program after program and allowed are Air Force, Army and Navy to approach rust out and suffer a huge degradation of capability. The bulk of those increases in spending were covered by only a few major programs. C-17 airlifters, C-130 J tactical airlifters, CH-147 Chinook heavy lift helicopters. Immediate operational requirement purchases for Afghanistan were necessitated by the fact that another Liberal government committed our army to a combat mission on the ground without the proper equipment to do the job. In eight years that equipment is now mostly worn out and needs to be replace again.
The figures you cite are also scewed by the fact that Canada occupies the second largest national land mass in the world. It costs more money for us to ensure and enforce our sovereignty and security simply because of scale. Our aircraft and ships burn more fuel, have to travel farther, and in more inhospitable conditions than most other nations.
Until we reach and sustain 2% of GDP on defence spending, arrive at a more rational, timely and efficient procurement system and recruit, train and retain personnel at sufficient numbers to do the jobs we require of them, we will not be in a position as a country to pass judgement on the country that provides us with the security we enjoy.
I will be the first one to criticize elements of US diplomacy and foreign policy when we do so. But I am not going to suck and blow at the same time when I know full well our neighbour is watching out for us.
Cheers
Greg Galante
Hamilton
Permalink | Context