Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government has announced the most aggressive upgrade of Canada's military equipment in decades, laying out new expenditures of $15.3 billion to improve transportation capacities.
The new spending fulfilled Mr. Harper's campaign promises from January's election and did not come as a big surprise. But it represented the biggest break in policy by the new and mostly cautious Conservative government from 13 years of Liberal previous governments. The Liberals reduced military spending to a low of $8.4 billion in 1998, one of the lowest per capita among industrial countries.
But as Canada takes part in more global aid missions and stretches its military muscles in Afghanistan, where it is involved in its biggest combat operation since the Korean War, the government has made a case that the military needs more mobility and muscle.
The spending plan, detailed in a series of four announcements this week, sets aside money for new helicopters, planes, vehicles and ships that will give the armed forces a level of independence not seen in years after budget cuts in the 1990's halted replacements and upgrades for much of the military's transportation equipment. Most soldiers today are using equipment that should have been replaced a decade ago, some military analysts said.
In recent years, the Canadian military has often been forced to rely on foreign and commercial equipment to transport its troops to global conflicts and emergencies. Critics often point to the December 2004 tsunami that struck Southeast Asia, when it took 12 days for the Canadian disaster relief team to secure transportation to the region...
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