[R-G] Half of Canadians want reduction in Tory military spending: poll

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080924.welxndefence0924/BNStory/politics/home

Half of Canadians want reduction in Tory military spending: poll

STEVEN CHASE

Exclusive to Globe and Mail Update

September 24, 2008 at 5:34 PM EDT

WINNIPEG — Half of Canadians want to scale back the Harper  
Conservatives' plan to boost military spending by $490-billion over  
two decades, a new poll suggests.

By comparison, 27 per cent of those surveyed favour continuing with  
the plan and 11.2 per cent want to enrich it further.

The findings by Nanos Research reveal an apparent undercurrent of  
dissatisfaction with Tory intentions to hike the defence budget –  
unease that has so far received scant attention during the federal  
election campaign.

The polling, conducted for the Rideau Institute, an advocacy group  
that opposes Canada's participation in the Afghanistan war, found that  
51.8 per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed that the next federal  
government should “reduce its planned spending on purchasing new  
equipment and the war.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, accompanied by Defence Minister  
Peter MacKay heads from a military spending announcement at the  
Halifax Armoury in Halifax on Monday, May 12, 2008. (Andrew Vaughan/ 
The Canadian Press)

Before they answered, those polled were informed that, “in total,  
Stephen Harper is planning to spend $490-billion on his proposed 20- 
year defence strategy, including the war in Afghanistan.”

That is the cost of the Conservative's “Canada First Defence Strategy”  
unveiled this past spring by the Harper government and includes up to  
$50-billion in new equipment purchases, from ships to fighters.

Quebeckers are the most likely to favour cutting back planned military  
budget increases, the poll suggests.

More than 62 per cent of Quebec respondents agree that funding hikes  
should be scaled back.

Ten per cent of all Canadians polled were unsure what should be done.

Rideau Institute president Steven Staples said he thinks the  
significant opposition to planned defence budget hikes reflects  
weariness over Canada's role in the Afghan war against the Taliban and  
al-Qaeda sympathizers.

So far, 97 Canadian soldiers and one Canadian diplomat have died in  
Afghanistan and this year security conditions have deteriorated – even  
after seven years of fighting by U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty  
Organization troops.

“Canadians feel that a great deal has been spent on the military and  
the war in Afghanistan, but that they are not seeing positive  
results,” Mr. Staples said.

He also theorized that Canadians are more skittish about new military  
spending hikes because economic growth is faltering in some parts of  
the country.

“With a worsening economy on the horizon, there is increased pressure  
on the federal government to act and it doesn't make sense to commit a  
half-trillion dollars on defence spending, given that we may need that  
money for social programs or to avoid a deficit,” Mr. Staples said.

The Nanos poll surveyed 1,200 Canadians from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22. The  
error margin is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points 19 times out of 20  
but increases for regional or provincial samples.

The 20-year defence plan would see the military budget increase  
annually by 2 per cent as of 2011 and hike the military's budget to  
$30-billion in 2027-28 from the current level of $18-million.

These yearly increases will ensure the defence budget keeps pace with  
inflation over that period.

The funding includes $20 billion for new aircraft, tanks and ships, in  
addition to $15-billion in transport planes, trucks and helicopters  
that had been purchased earlier.

The price tag includes a projection of $250-billion to recruit 70,000  
regular and 30,000 reserve force personnel, along with $140-billion  
for spare parts, maintenance and training.

With files from Canadian Press