Courtesy of the Toronto Sun, 19 Dec 05
When it comes to fixing the military, why trust Martin?
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Even before the first debate, when Stephen Harper promised to boost military spending if he's the next PM, Paul Martin responded that Harper was copying the Liberal plan.
What bullroar!
Martin had his chance to enhance the military, as have the Liberal governments for a dozen years.
Martin's support for the military is rhetoric, not action. Judging from his record in Parliament, dating back to when he was first elected, he's shown neither empathy for nor interest in the military.
His concern now is phony. A ploy for votes. Put simply, the military is just not his shtick.
So Harper's assurances have to be taken more seriously than either Martin's proposals or his criticisms.
It's pretty obvious what Canada needs to do about its military -- updated equipment, priority changes, what's needed and not needed for our own defence, for reinforcing sovereignty, for on-going and future roles in UN missions, NATO peacemaking, or in operations with the Americans. A lot of ground has to be made up.
Of significance is Harper's pledge to revive, restore, rehabilitate, reinvent -- call it what you will -- the Airborne Regiment in battalion strength.
When it was disbanded by then PM Jean Chretien in 1994, it robbed Canada of a unit that would have been ideal for Afghanistan, for Darfur, for any assignment where the going is rough.
It was foolish and unnecessary to disband the Airborne because, by the time it was disbanded, whatever problems existed in the gung-ho regiment had been solved by a competent commander (Col. Peter Kenward) and was up to par.
All Canada's infantry battalions today are well trained. We just don't have enough soldiers for roles that need to be filled. Assuring sufficient personnel is a "duty" the next PM shouldn't shirk.
Harper proposes a defence budget of around $20 billion by 2010, which is encouraging. But he should also pledge to look at how the existing budget is spent. The military is not noted for being cost-conscious.
State-of-the-art helicopters for a huge, rich country like Canada are not a luxury but essential. We need helicopters that can carry heavy loads or lots of soldiers for crises in our north, or for operations in remote lands.
A few attack helicopters might also round out the slate. This isn't a quest for the cheapest but the best.
Military trucks should be acquired from General Motors -- not from an Italian firm located in B.C.
To economize, a Harper government might consider mothballing submarines, which have been a costly mistake. Fighter aircraft are sexy -- but are they as important as transport planes to get troops and equipment to where they have to go, rather than rent Russian planes to carry them?
The same with transport ships. Maybe Harper could persuade Mr. Martin to bring his Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) back to Canadian registry and pay appropriate taxes rather than register them in Liberia to avoid taxes and to pay low wages.
In 1981 Martin's group paid $180 million to purchase CSL. It took Liberian (and other) registry in 1992, a year before Martin became finance minister in 1963.
Now Martin's sons own the company. No conflict of interest there, eh?
It's hard to tell how keen Harper is about the military. But he's headed in the right direction. We know Martin isn't keen and only expresses concern when there's an election in the air -- or when a soldier gets killed in a traffic accident in Afghanistan. A bit different from a firefight.
Most of our military suspects and resents the Liberal government. Understandable. Soldiers would likely give Harper's Conservatives a chance to do better. Me too.
Let's do it. It's the right thing.