Dear Mr. Harper...

Has it dawned on you - or your advisors - that policy is a lot more than merely standing up making spending announcements every time you turn around?

Every time we turn around, Conservatives are talking about more spending on the military.

Consider the following record:

Harper Calls for Boost to Canadian Forces - Increasing spending $1.8 Billion over estimated 2010 expenditures (of course, the estimate ignores the capital cost of new air fleets and other points of raised in this release.

Arctic Sovereignty, in which Harper thinks it will cost a mere couple of billion to build military bases and new ice breaker craft to patrol the arctic. (I don't know who is doing the cost estimating for the CPC, but I can guarantee that a base and fleet for the arctic is a little bit more than a couple of billion dollars to purchase - much less operate)

Urban Bases, in which Harper promises to restore a military presence in the larger Canadian cities. Frankly, I don't think that urban centers need military bases. Although Canada's military is uniquely well trained to deal with civilian populations, the monies that would be required to restore and operate the bases we had in Calgary and other urban centers would be far better spent beefing up our police forces and other emergency services.

- and this is just from a brief perusal of news releases in the last few weeks - hardly an exhaustive examination of the CPC's spending announcements. (Yes - I know the Liberals haven't been much different - that's another topic)

The Canadian Military has suffered from a significant funding shortfall since the Federal Government started to slash at the deficit and debt that had been accumulated during the Mulroney years. I think most Canadians recognize this, but I don't think that the CPC has the foggiest idea how expensive it is to grow a military organization. It's not just a matter of capital spending on bases and ships, but you need to train and maintain crews for those pieces. Yes, bases look good - people can see and touch them, but that doesn't make them good military policy.

Also, given the CPC's proclivity for wanting deeper integration with the United States, adding military bases to urban centers is a very worrisome prospect. Much of what has been coming out of the Bush Administration lately - illegal wiretapping for example, shows a distinct disrespect for the privacy and civil rights of people. An urban military presence raises some serious questions about the intentions for such a presence.