Conservative platform reaffirms Defence Strategy
With the release of its much-awaited platform for the ongoing federal election, the Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper has reaffirmed its commitment to the Canada First Defence Strategy that it released earlier this year. Given the incumbent nature of the Conservatives, the reaffirmation unsurprisingly comprises the bulk of the party’s national defence agenda in this election, and as such, there is little new in the way of commitments.
According to the reaffirmation, the Conservatives “will ensure that we acquire the ships, aircraft, vehicles and other equipment our Forces need in a manner that ensures our troops have the best possible equipment and that taxpayers’ dollars are prudently spent,” while ensuring jobs for Canadian industry in any defence procurement. This hints at the willingness of the Conservative government to continue sole-sourcing priority contracts, rather than have such contracts become bogged down in the cumbersome defence procurement system. There is no visible indication that the system might receive serious reform under the Conservatives. Such a reform is by far the most critical current requirement in the procurement policy area to ensure that the system need not be bypassed via continual sole-sourcing to allow timely procurement (a practise that goes against the spirit of public tendering; though it does have its legitimate uses).
Equipment purchases over the next twenty years specifically called-out in the election platform include replacements for destroyers and frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, new fighter jets, and land vehicle fleets; essentially all of the major equipment that is known to be in need of replacement within the next twenty years. The ongoing build-up of the Canadian Forces to 70,000 regular personnel and 30,000 reserves is also mentioned.
Commitments to military veterans in the platform include the restoration of Veterans Allowances for veterans who fought for the Commonwealth or Allied Forces during WW2 and the Korean War, provided they have lived in Canada for more than ten years. Additional funeral and burial assistance for veterans will be provided to bring assistance rates into line with those of active duty Canadian Forces and RCMP officers.
With respect to the topic of Arctic Sovereignty, there is no specific mention of the topic with respect to the military aspect, though it is already known that the Harper government has a military build-up for the region inderway at the planning level (including a new navy base, Arctic/Offshore Patrol Vessels, and an increased army presence). Like the Liberals, the Conservatives have committed to completing the 2013 submission of detailed seabed maps to support Canada’s claim to a portion of the continental shelf, as per International Law.
