Back in January 2006, I was invited by the Halifax Peace Coalition to go down to Halifax to give a few lectures, talk to the media, and generally promote the good work of the group and further its cause.

One of the presentations they had arranged was co-sponsored by Dalhousie University’s Centre for Foreign Policy Studies,  and it was held on campus during the afternoon of January 26th, 2007.

I spoke to a full house with many academics, students, and the general public in the audience – including more than a few people in military uniforms. Even local NDP Member of Parliament Peter Stoffer was there.

My topic was “The Americanization of the Canadian Forces” and it was based on research that we had been producing on the rapid increase in Canada’s military spending, our abandonment of UNpeacekeeping, the war in Afghanistan (back then troops were just taking up position in Kandahar under the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom), and the alarming direction that both General Hillier and the new Harper Conservatives were steering our defence policy.

Here is a photo taken during the presentation that appeared in the Halifax Daily News , and here is a copy of my Halifax presentation on the Americanization of the Canadian Forces (Powerpoint, 4Mb) that the military was so interested in hearing.

Steve