A new Nanos research poll conducted for the Globe and Mail indicates that Canadians think peacekeeping is more important than combat missions (Campbell Clark, ”Canadians pick peacekeeping over combat,” Globe and Mail, 25 October 2010). According to the poll, Canadians are strongly opposed to sending troops on any future missions reminiscent of Canada’s role in […]
Tag Archives: Military spending
Ceasefire.ca speaks out against Tory "Flying Cadillacs" deal
Quoted in the Canadian Press, Staples argued that, “These are ‘Flying Cadillacs’ that are not needed for the defence of Canada, and are unaffordable. The government should wait until national finances are in better shape, and use resources for other priorities, such as fixed wing search and rescue.”
Navy faces budget crunch?
Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Vice-Admiral Dean McFadden, the commander of the Canadian Navy, are contradicting each other on the state of the Navy’s budget (David Pugliese, “Cash-strapped navy being cut to bone, analysts say,” Montreal Gazette, 12 May 2010; see also David Pugliese, “MacKay says no decision made on fleet reductions; Admiral and sailors […]
Hard power, fuzzy logic
Prime Minister Stephen Harper used the occasion of a visit to Canada’s aid efforts in Haiti on Tuesday to praise the virtues of his government’s spending on “hard power” items like the C-17 transport aircraft: “This fleet of new aircraft, the C-17 fleet, is a big part of making this response possible. I single out […]
Army "readjusts" reserve budget
The Canadian Army has reallocated $5 million to pay for Reserve training that it cancelled earlier this year as a cost-cutting measure. In a press release last week (“Class A Reserves receive $5 million for training,” 3 February 2010), Army commander Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie acknowledged that “Obviously the situation is not ideal, as this funding […]
Military budget facing more “adjustments”
David Pugliese reports (Canadian military seeking another $233 million in savings, Vancouver Sun, 19 January 2010) that the Department of National Defence is facing another $233 million in budget “adjustments” by the end of March. However, like the $190 million in “adjustments” reported earlier, the money DND plans to save will not be removed from […]