Conservative defence platform: Pathetic boilerplate

Good grief. Three really short paragraphs (p. 31, PDF), shorter even than the Liberals' platform (more on theirs here). With about as much detail; that is to say almost no real detail at all. There's nothing on what the Conservatives think the missions of the CF should be--in what priority, conducted by which forces of what size, and with what types of equipment. It's all just money, overall size of forces, vague pledges on equipment, and promises of pork.

Building on the Canada First Defence Strategy

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue rebuilding the Canadian Forces and providing the equipment that our Navy, Army and Air Force require. We are committed to a Canada First Defence Strategy [more here--and, for comparison, a useful defence statement from a country similar to ours] that will provide predictable growth for Canada's defence budget, increase the size of our forces to 70,000 regular and 30,000 reserves. The Strategy will also invest $45 to $50 billion over the next 20 years in the purchase of major equipment, including replacements for our destroyers and frigates, maritime patrol, search and rescue, fighter aircraft and land vehicle fleets.

We will ensure that we acquire the ships, aircraft, vehicles and other equipment our Forces need in a manner that ensures our troops have the best possible equipment and that taxpayers' dollars are prudently spent. A re-elected Conservative Government will leverage these dramatic increases in defence procurement to ensure that new high technology jobs are created in Canada through a combination of buying Canadian-made defence equipment and securing high-value industrial benefits when equipment is purchased abroad.

Supporting Canada's Mission in Afghanistan

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to support Canada's military and development mission in Afghanistan and will respect the terms of the Parliamentary resolution passed in March, 2008. Under this resolution, Canada's military mission in Kandahar will continue until July, 2011 now that that NATO and allied forces have agreed to provide additional troops and resources in Kandahar. Canada's military mission in Afghanistan will cease by the end of 2011.

This platform though is slightly better than that of the NDP.