The Harper Plan for unilateral Canadian disarmament
Stephen Harper could find himself in unexpected company this autumn, as a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Other Canadians have found themselves in this position: Lester Pearson became a Nobel laureate in 1957 for pioneering UN peacekeeping, an activity for which Roméo Dallaire must later have come close to winning the prize. Stephen Lewis would have been shortlisted for his work on HIV/AIDS, as would have Lloyd Axworthy for the Landmines Convention.
Unexpected company, indeed, for this Conservative prime minister. But consider this: Despite his tough talk about supporting the troops, Stephen Harper has reduced defence spending to just 1% of GDP — the lowest level in Canadian history.
For decades, Canada’s level of defence spending was comparable to that of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway (all currently at 1.4%). After the Cold War ended, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin reduced defence spending to 1.2% of GDP — leading to what General Rick Hillier called a “decade of darkness.” The Afghanistan mission necessitated an increase, with spending returning to 1.4% by 2009.
But then Harper cut deep: At 1% of GDP, Canada’s new defence spending peers are Belgium, Latvia and Slovakia.
Two factors account for the decrease.
First, Harper is focused on delivering a surplus in 2015 that will enable him to cut taxes before the election. Deep spending reductions are therefore needed and, with no significant missions underway or anticipated, the military is an easy target.
Last year, reduced maintenance budgets forced the Army to park many of its trucks, while the Navy tied up half of its patrol vessels. The Air Force cut back on maintenance of its CF-18 fighter jets, with possible safety consequences for its pilots. This year, the PM clawed back an additional $3.1-billion in defence spending.
Second, the Harper government has failed to complete a number of major defence procurement projects and, by so doing, kept them off the budget. For it is the year of spending, not the year of announcing or contracting, which determines when expenditures first show up on the balance sheet.
Michael Byers: The Harper Plan for unilateral Canadian disarmament
Stephen Harper could find himself in unexpected company this autumn, as a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Other Canadians have found themselves in this position: Lester Pearson became a Nobel laureate in 1957 for pioneering UN peacekeeping, an activity for which Roméo Dallaire must later have come close to winning the prize. Stephen Lewis would have been shortlisted for his work on HIV/AIDS, as would have Lloyd Axworthy for the Landmines Convention.
Unexpected company, indeed, for this Conservative prime minister. But consider this: Despite his tough talk about supporting the troops, Stephen Harper has reduced defence spending to just 1% of GDP — the lowest level in Canadian history.
For decades, Canada’s level of defence spending was comparable to that of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway (all currently at 1.4%). After the Cold War ended, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin reduced defence spending to 1.2% of GDP — leading to what General Rick Hillier called a “decade of darkness.” The Afghanistan mission necessitated an increase, with spending returning to 1.4% by 2009.
But then Harper cut deep: At 1% of GDP, Canada’s new defence spending peers are Belgium, Latvia and Slovakia.
Two factors account for the decrease.
First, Harper is focused on delivering a surplus in 2015 that will enable him to cut taxes before the election. Deep spending reductions are therefore needed and, with no significant missions underway or anticipated, the military is an easy target.
Last year, reduced maintenance budgets forced the Army to park many of its trucks, while the Navy tied up half of its patrol vessels. The Air Force cut back on maintenance of its CF-18 fighter jets, with possible safety consequences for its pilots. This year, the PM clawed back an additional $3.1-billion in defence spending.
Second, the Harper government has failed to complete a number of major defence procurement projects and, by so doing, kept them off the budget. For it is the year of spending, not the year of announcing or contracting, which determines when expenditures first show up on the balance sheet.
Michael Byers: The Harper Plan for unilateral Canadian disarmament
