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Budget to honour troop commitment
Canadian military will grow by 5,000 over 5 years at cost of about $1-billion
By BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF
Thursday, February 10, 2005 - Page A4
The federal budget is expected to make good on a Liberal pledge to add 5,000 troops to the Canadian military in a multiyear phase-in that sources say could cost about $1-billion when fully in place.
The troop commitment would be met along with pledges for daycare cash in what Liberal insiders say will be an effort to check off a list of election promises. The military expansion was reiterated in the Throne Speech.
Sources told The Globe and Mail that the phase-in period would likely stretch over five years. The sources said the military's infrastructure would be unable to absorb the whole number of new troops in one year.
According to sources, the budget, which Finance Minister Ralph Goodale is to deliver Feb. 23, is intended to send a two-fold message: first, that the government can be trusted to keep its promises and, second, that Canadians can be confident it can manage its finances efficiently, particularly in light of the sponsorship scandal.
The latter theme will be exemplified by a focus on the expenditure-reduction program, headed by Revenue Minister John McCallum.
Mr. McCallum has been charged with stripping $12-billion in spending from departmental programs over the next five years, although it is unclear how much of that will be announced in the first year. The government expects to use the savings for new programs.
On the armed forces side, officials say the military could probably absorb the 5,000 new troops in fewer than five years, but agree that there are legitimate concerns about how quickly they could be integrated. The Liberal plan also would add 3,000 reservists.
The minority Liberals also want to build a budget that could be used in an election campaign in the unlikely event that their government is defeated in the House of Commons. Other items expected in the budget include cash for meeting Ottawa's commitments under the Kyoto accord on climate change, and fuel-tax transfers to the cities.
Late last week, the new Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, called for new money for the military in front of Prime Minister Paul Martin and Defence Minister Bill Graham.
"In this country, we could probably not give enough resources to the men and women to do all the things that we ask them to do," he said at the Ottawa ceremony marking the transfer of command from his predecessor, General Ray Henault.
"But we can give them too little, and that is what we are now doing. Remember them in your budgets."
Aside from the military spending, the government is also working on plans to create a trust fund into which it will funnel a portion of the surplus to pay for the five-year daycare program and other government priorities.
In the House of Commons yesterday, Conservative Party finance critic Monte Solberg urged that the government consider tax relief for middle- and low-income Canadians. Mr. Solberg argued that the unexpected size of the surplus should open up lots of room for tax reductions.
"The government said it had a surplus of $1.9-billion that turned out to be $9.1-billion. We were right. The Liberals were wrong. When are we going to get tax relief for Canadians?"
Mr. McCallum would say only that the opposition should wait for the budget.
"[Mr. Solberg] seems to have forgotten this massive tax cut that the Liberal government brought in in the year 2000, the largest in Canadian history," the Revenue Minister said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050210/TROOP10/TPNational/Canada
Canadian military will grow by 5,000 over 5 years at cost of about $1-billion
By BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF
Thursday, February 10, 2005 - Page A4
The federal budget is expected to make good on a Liberal pledge to add 5,000 troops to the Canadian military in a multiyear phase-in that sources say could cost about $1-billion when fully in place.
The troop commitment would be met along with pledges for daycare cash in what Liberal insiders say will be an effort to check off a list of election promises. The military expansion was reiterated in the Throne Speech.
Sources told The Globe and Mail that the phase-in period would likely stretch over five years. The sources said the military's infrastructure would be unable to absorb the whole number of new troops in one year.
According to sources, the budget, which Finance Minister Ralph Goodale is to deliver Feb. 23, is intended to send a two-fold message: first, that the government can be trusted to keep its promises and, second, that Canadians can be confident it can manage its finances efficiently, particularly in light of the sponsorship scandal.
The latter theme will be exemplified by a focus on the expenditure-reduction program, headed by Revenue Minister John McCallum.
Mr. McCallum has been charged with stripping $12-billion in spending from departmental programs over the next five years, although it is unclear how much of that will be announced in the first year. The government expects to use the savings for new programs.
On the armed forces side, officials say the military could probably absorb the 5,000 new troops in fewer than five years, but agree that there are legitimate concerns about how quickly they could be integrated. The Liberal plan also would add 3,000 reservists.
The minority Liberals also want to build a budget that could be used in an election campaign in the unlikely event that their government is defeated in the House of Commons. Other items expected in the budget include cash for meeting Ottawa's commitments under the Kyoto accord on climate change, and fuel-tax transfers to the cities.
Late last week, the new Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, called for new money for the military in front of Prime Minister Paul Martin and Defence Minister Bill Graham.
"In this country, we could probably not give enough resources to the men and women to do all the things that we ask them to do," he said at the Ottawa ceremony marking the transfer of command from his predecessor, General Ray Henault.
"But we can give them too little, and that is what we are now doing. Remember them in your budgets."
Aside from the military spending, the government is also working on plans to create a trust fund into which it will funnel a portion of the surplus to pay for the five-year daycare program and other government priorities.
In the House of Commons yesterday, Conservative Party finance critic Monte Solberg urged that the government consider tax relief for middle- and low-income Canadians. Mr. Solberg argued that the unexpected size of the surplus should open up lots of room for tax reductions.
"The government said it had a surplus of $1.9-billion that turned out to be $9.1-billion. We were right. The Liberals were wrong. When are we going to get tax relief for Canadians?"
Mr. McCallum would say only that the opposition should wait for the budget.
"[Mr. Solberg] seems to have forgotten this massive tax cut that the Liberal government brought in in the year 2000, the largest in Canadian history," the Revenue Minister said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050210/TROOP10/TPNational/Canada
