Show us the money, general pleads
Hillier takes over as Canada's top soldier Remember troops in next budget, he tells politicians
Bruce Campion-Smith, Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWAâ â€Gen. Rick Hillier took over as head of Canada's military yesterday and wasted no time in poking the federal government for shortchanging the country's fighting forces.
With Prime Minister Paul Martin, Defence Minister Bill Graham and dignitaries looking on, Hillier used his inaugural speech as chief of defence staff to implore the government to remember the military in the Feb. 23 budget.
"In this country, we could probably not give enough resources to the men and women (of the Canadian Forces) to do all the things that we ask them to do," Hillier said.
"But we can give them too little and that it is what we are now doing."
Later, Hiller made no apologies for his blunt talk.
"I'm simply articulating what the government needs to understand so they can make those reasoned and intelligent decisions and decide how they allocate resources," said Hillier.
Hillier, a 49-year-old army veteran whose only career goal "was to be a soldier," assumed command of the Armed Forces in an afternoon marked by pomp and ceremony.
"I never dreamt of becoming the chief of defence staff," said Hillier, who replaces Gen. Ray Henault, who is going to Brussels to take up the top military job with NATO.
In a change-of-command ceremony attended by civilian and military representatives of more than a dozen countries, Martin, Graham, Henault and Hillier all spoke of the heroic work undertaken by military personnel.
"As we look ahead to the great role the Canadian Forces are going to play in the years ahead, we understand what a great tradition they come from and how proud you make us to be Canadians," Martin said.
Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said the tragic losses suffered by soldiers "have reminded us the peace and order we cherish are neither accidental nor inexpensive."
But she cautioned that the government might be asking too much of its military.
"I am concerned, as I know everyone here is, by the demands that are being placed upon Canadian Forces personnel and resources," Clarkson said.
In a speech that was self-deprecating, funny and plainspoken, Hillier showed his tenure as chief of defence staff would be different from that of the reserved Henault.
In a nod to the now-settled dispute between Ottawa and Newfoundland over offshore oil revenues, Hillier quipped that he thought his first task as chief might be a peacekeeping mission in his home province.
Hillier, a 30-year veteran, showed why he's popular with the rank-and-file when he singled out individual soldiers in the audience for praise and asked the crowd to give the guard of honour a round of applause.
But the changes Hillier brings to the top job go beyond style. Both Hillier and Martin hinted dramatic changes are to come, a transformation to make the forces more nimble and more responsive.
While the government talks of "institution building" and helping countries fight AIDS and improve health care and education, "none of that will be possible in conflict-ridden states unless security is first established," Martin said.
"The defence of Canada is limited not only to North America but it must be extended around the world."
Speaking to reporters later, Hillier said he wants to give the Canadian Forces "higher profile and therefore greater credibility and ... greater chance to influence regions and countries with our interests and our values."
He said the forces have to be expanded and transformed "to be more relevant and more responsive and more valuable to Canada.
"We know we've been short the necessary resources to do the job here and that has provided some challenges and some difficulties," Hiller said.
"We need to be much more effective at responding when our government and when Canadians need us."
And he said that starts with boosting the military's presence at home, including the Arctic, even if it means that long-standing international military alliances such as NATO have to take a back seat.
Graham said Hillier's experience, including time in Bosnia and Afghanistan, will be "invaluable" as the government reviews its defence policy.
