The Conservative government's pledge for a stable funding program for the Canadian military will actually result in less money for the cash-strapped Forces because of inflation, a Senate committee report says.
The report by the Senate security and defence committee, which was slammed by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, criticizes the Tories' planned annual defence budget increase of 1.5 per cent until 2011 and two per cent until 2031.
"A two per cent increase is ludicrous as any government accountant must be well aware," says the report released Wednesday.
Oh, it gets better:
But in terms of military spending as a percentage of GDP, Canada spends almost 1.2 per cent of its GDP on defence, while the average for most NATO countries is two per cent.
However, both the Senate committee and the Conference of Defence Associations have estimated that under this spending plan, the defence budget in 10 years could fall to as low as 0.89 per cent of GDP.
"A two per cent increase over and above inflation would at least be an honest gesture. But even that won't come close to meeting the NATO target," the report states
My - wasn't it Mr. Harper who was oh-so-concerned about Canada meeting it's NATO commitments last election?
And, in classic HarperCon form, Mackay's response is "but...but...the Liberals!":
But the Tory government shot back at the report. MacKay called it "both disingenuous and inflammatory," saying it serves only to "highlight Senator Kenny's hypocrisy."
"After years of Liberal neglect of the Canadian Forces, Senator Kenny's only argument against the Conservative government is that it isn't cleaning up his party's mess fast enough," MacKay said in an e-mail statement.
No, Peter - that doesn't wash any more.
2 comments:
Senator Kenny’s report calling for massive increases to military spending is further evidence that committees and groups and that comprise the defence lobby are increasingly at odds with the Canadian public.
A government survey this year confirmed that Canadians want the budget to put the highest priority on promoting energy security, manufacturing jobs, healthcare and the environment. More military spending was the lowest priority.
The defence lobby’s growing frustration with the public was demonstrated last month when the president of the DND-funded think tank, the Conference of Defence Associations, said that reporters covering public opinion on defence issues “stick microphones under the noses of whatever slack-jawed gum-chewing vagrants they can find on the street.”
The truth is that even the military’s own figures show that defence spending has increased 30% since 2004 and we are the sixth highest spender in NATO, dollar for dollar. Where will it end?
Rather than bleating about the budget, Senator Kenny and others should spend more time focusing on solutions to the ever-worsening war in Afghanistan. Now that’s a priority that everyone shares.
I think Senator Kenny's report tells us more about the HarperCon$ lack of comprehension about anything that looks or sounds like a budget - short term or long term.
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