How to use the federal surplus

That $14.2 billion might go a bit of the way towards meeting to last October's goals of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence:

We conclude that, while the current federal government has promised to purchase several pieces of military equipment, neither the scope or the pace of its military program are adequate to meet the threats Canadians are likely to face in the coming decade. The projected budget of $20 billion by 2012 will come up at least $5 billion short, and more probably $15 billion short...

Use some of the shudder-making surplus to fund some things the Canadian Forces need. Just to mention aircraft: maritime patrol; UAVs; fixed-wing search and rescue.

Besides which the Army's LAV IIIs, Bisons and M113s in Afstan are being used up much more rapidly than otherwise. Naval thought: the Big Honking Ship. One dreams on. Then there are new icebreakers the Canadian Coast Guard desperately needs (think Northwest Passage).

More here--note the comparative defence spendings per capita. Take this Steve Staples.

And what will happen to the defence budget if the government loses the next election, and in any event once the Afghan mission is basically over?

The points here on Army equipment and future budget matters were inspired by attending today "Beyond Afghanistan: Canadian security and defence priorities in light of – and in spite of – the Afghan commitment", the annual conference of the Security and Defence Forum (SDF) Centres.