No wall flowers here

If we're talking tens of billions of dollars in stimulus spending, it's worthwhile to get your pitch in early. Leslie's making sure he's in the hunt.

New vehicles for army could boost economy, top soldier says
Rush orders for trucks, LAVs could help automotive sector, chief of land staff says

CAMPBELL CLARK

Globe and Mail Update

December 23, 2008 at 4:15 AM EST

Gen. Leslie also said that the government should probably think hard "in the very near future" about whether it wants to invest money to upgrade its fleet of light armoured vehicles.

The LAVs, which have suffered the wear and tear of service in Afghanistan, could see their life extended for 15 years through work done at plants in London, Ont., and Edmonton.

"We're probably going to want to spend some taxpayers' dollars - which by the way translates to jobs for Canadians because these things are built in Canada," he said.

"Am I making a pitch?" he said. "Absolutely."