T
the patriot
Guest
$600-million bails out ill-paid military
Jeff Sallot And Heather Scoffield
Thursday, March 1, 2001
OTTAWA -- The Canadian Forces will get an infusion of about $600-million to avoid the embarrassment of soldiers at food banks and to help purchase new equipment, federal sources say.
About 40 per cent of the money is earmarked for pay and benefits for the troops. Most of the remainder will go toward operations, the sources say.
The new spending comes amid growing criticism from opposition parties that the Liberal government has been squeezing the military budget too hard. Critics argue that Canadian sovereignty will be imperilled by the recently reported reduction of Arctic and coastal air patrols and by cuts to Canada‘s fleet of military planes and helicopters.
Rank-and-file troops got a 2.5-per-cent raise last year after an embarrassing series of hearings by a House of Commons defence committee uncovered cases of military families reduced to using food banks.
MPs were also told that Canadian soldiers who had risked their lives on dangerous peacekeeping missions overseas sometimes had to take part-time jobs at home, moonlighting as security guards or delivering pizzas to make ends meet.
The one-time cash infusion comes on top of the $11-billion annual defence budget. The new money will allow military chiefs to proceed with a number of capital projects, including upgrades to the CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet, officials say.
The sources say it will enable Defence Minister Art Eggleton to announce additional raises in the days ahead.
The defence budget stood at about $12-billion a decade ago as the Cold War was ending, but was drastically cut by the Liberals as part of a deficit-fighting effort starting in 1994.
In 1990, the Canadian Forces had about 85,000 members. Now there are about 58,000.
Critics say the budget cuts have reduced the ability of the Canadian Forces to meet Canada‘s commitments to allies. But Mr. Eggleton says new weapons have increased the firepower of the Canadian Forces in the past decade.
The new defence package is only one of a long list of new spending by Ottawa in budget estimates to be tabled in Parliament today. The estimates will give details about other measures the government plans to finance before March 31, the end of the fiscal year.
It‘s the last chance for cabinet ministers to get a piece of the fiscal surplus before it automatically goes toward paying down the debt.
During the past few weeks, cabinet ministers have been lobbying Finance Minister Paul Martin to fund their last-minute projects. In order to qualify for this funding, the money must be spent before the end of the month.
In his final report to Parliament on Tuesday, Auditor-General Denis Desautels scolded Mr. Martin for routinely underestimating government revenues, leaving a large surplus that is hastily spent at the end of the year.
**********************************************************************
-the patriot-
Jeff Sallot And Heather Scoffield
Thursday, March 1, 2001
OTTAWA -- The Canadian Forces will get an infusion of about $600-million to avoid the embarrassment of soldiers at food banks and to help purchase new equipment, federal sources say.
About 40 per cent of the money is earmarked for pay and benefits for the troops. Most of the remainder will go toward operations, the sources say.
The new spending comes amid growing criticism from opposition parties that the Liberal government has been squeezing the military budget too hard. Critics argue that Canadian sovereignty will be imperilled by the recently reported reduction of Arctic and coastal air patrols and by cuts to Canada‘s fleet of military planes and helicopters.
Rank-and-file troops got a 2.5-per-cent raise last year after an embarrassing series of hearings by a House of Commons defence committee uncovered cases of military families reduced to using food banks.
MPs were also told that Canadian soldiers who had risked their lives on dangerous peacekeeping missions overseas sometimes had to take part-time jobs at home, moonlighting as security guards or delivering pizzas to make ends meet.
The one-time cash infusion comes on top of the $11-billion annual defence budget. The new money will allow military chiefs to proceed with a number of capital projects, including upgrades to the CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet, officials say.
The sources say it will enable Defence Minister Art Eggleton to announce additional raises in the days ahead.
The defence budget stood at about $12-billion a decade ago as the Cold War was ending, but was drastically cut by the Liberals as part of a deficit-fighting effort starting in 1994.
In 1990, the Canadian Forces had about 85,000 members. Now there are about 58,000.
Critics say the budget cuts have reduced the ability of the Canadian Forces to meet Canada‘s commitments to allies. But Mr. Eggleton says new weapons have increased the firepower of the Canadian Forces in the past decade.
The new defence package is only one of a long list of new spending by Ottawa in budget estimates to be tabled in Parliament today. The estimates will give details about other measures the government plans to finance before March 31, the end of the fiscal year.
It‘s the last chance for cabinet ministers to get a piece of the fiscal surplus before it automatically goes toward paying down the debt.
During the past few weeks, cabinet ministers have been lobbying Finance Minister Paul Martin to fund their last-minute projects. In order to qualify for this funding, the money must be spent before the end of the month.
In his final report to Parliament on Tuesday, Auditor-General Denis Desautels scolded Mr. Martin for routinely underestimating government revenues, leaving a large surplus that is hastily spent at the end of the year.
**********************************************************************
-the patriot-
Yard Ape
