Money: that's what I want
Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier would also urgently like a Hercules replacement.
... ideas the outspoken defence chief tossed out in a major speech to a largely military audience yesterday [Conference of Defence Associations], in which he also said that despite some big spending promises by successive governments, the Canadian Forces are running a $750-million yearly shortfall and also need additional "billions with a capital B" to replace rusting-out equipment and to bring on new recruits.
"We need money to sustain ourselves, then to increase our numbers to flesh out the skeletal units that we have in some places across the CF," Gen. Hillier said...
Despite a promise to increase spending by $13 billion over five years in the last Liberal budget, the Forces received only $500 million in new funds, $150 million of which was clawed back by the government for other spending.
Gen. Hillier said current defence spending remains at the 1991 level. "We remain short about three quarters of a billion dollars just to sustain the present Canadian Forces ... to march, fly or sail," including shortages of everything from bullets to housing, spare parts and gas for vehicles.
The Force's top new equipment priority, said Gen. Hillier, is a fleet of transport aircraft to replace the aging C130 Hercules transports. The Liberals announced a $5-billion plan to fast-track 16 new planes to replace the Hercules shortly before the election call last November.
The Conservatives have not said whether they will pursue the Hercules replacement, through their campaign platform suggested they would...
Then there's the need for other aircraft, yet more money, and reduced spending on bases (the Conservatives in their election platform promised, in a vote-buying exercise, to create a number of new bases, including one for an Army battalion in Goose Bay).
[Gen. Hillier] also laid out the need for new search and rescue aircraft to fly "life and death" operations, new heavy-lift helicopters to move troops and gear and the guarantee of long-range transport aircraft.
While Conservatives and the Liberals before them have together pledged almost $20 billion in new military funding, Hillier said yesterday he wasn't sure whether it would be enough.
But he hinted there is the potential for savings, noting that one-quarter of the military infrastructure — old hangars and base buildings — isn't required for operations. "We really need to be ruthless about how we parse that down," he said. Asked whether that spelled big cuts to military bases, Hillier said it's too soon to know.
Let us see how much money the Conservatives deliver and how soon (no more back-loading like the Liberals), and how fast equipment gets purchased.
Cross-posted to Daimnation!
... ideas the outspoken defence chief tossed out in a major speech to a largely military audience yesterday [Conference of Defence Associations], in which he also said that despite some big spending promises by successive governments, the Canadian Forces are running a $750-million yearly shortfall and also need additional "billions with a capital B" to replace rusting-out equipment and to bring on new recruits.
"We need money to sustain ourselves, then to increase our numbers to flesh out the skeletal units that we have in some places across the CF," Gen. Hillier said...
Despite a promise to increase spending by $13 billion over five years in the last Liberal budget, the Forces received only $500 million in new funds, $150 million of which was clawed back by the government for other spending.
Gen. Hillier said current defence spending remains at the 1991 level. "We remain short about three quarters of a billion dollars just to sustain the present Canadian Forces ... to march, fly or sail," including shortages of everything from bullets to housing, spare parts and gas for vehicles.
The Force's top new equipment priority, said Gen. Hillier, is a fleet of transport aircraft to replace the aging C130 Hercules transports. The Liberals announced a $5-billion plan to fast-track 16 new planes to replace the Hercules shortly before the election call last November.
The Conservatives have not said whether they will pursue the Hercules replacement, through their campaign platform suggested they would...
Then there's the need for other aircraft, yet more money, and reduced spending on bases (the Conservatives in their election platform promised, in a vote-buying exercise, to create a number of new bases, including one for an Army battalion in Goose Bay).
[Gen. Hillier] also laid out the need for new search and rescue aircraft to fly "life and death" operations, new heavy-lift helicopters to move troops and gear and the guarantee of long-range transport aircraft.
While Conservatives and the Liberals before them have together pledged almost $20 billion in new military funding, Hillier said yesterday he wasn't sure whether it would be enough.
But he hinted there is the potential for savings, noting that one-quarter of the military infrastructure — old hangars and base buildings — isn't required for operations. "We really need to be ruthless about how we parse that down," he said. Asked whether that spelled big cuts to military bases, Hillier said it's too soon to know.
Let us see how much money the Conservatives deliver and how soon (no more back-loading like the Liberals), and how fast equipment gets purchased.
Cross-posted to Daimnation!
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 10:12 a.m.
3 Comments:
Let us see how much money the Conservatives deliver
Yes, let us see how much money the Conservatives start shovelling into the military industrial complex black hole.
"Military industrial black hole" - why not be brief and just say Bombardier.
Shovel money?? No need to, at least in the beginning stages.
For moving personnel there are excellent, late model aircraft sitting on the tarmac car lot / plane lot in Arizona.
They are well made Canadian planes made by bombardiere.
They are a bargain because the owners are one of the recently failed airlines now in chapter 11 so the planes are still very new.
This makes good sense just opposite to the way the UK submarines did not make good sense. TG
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