Issue - Defence
  • The Liberals say Harper's defence plan for the Arctic is too expensive. Instead, a Liberal government would add more than 10 unmanned spy planes to extend monitoring of the region. Radarsat 2, an imaging satellite, would also be launched in 2007 to help detect ship movements.
  • In the days before the election was called, Paul Martin’s government announced Ottawa's plans to proceed with the purchase of $4.6 billion to purchase new tactical lift aircraft
  • In a $13-billion plan released in 2005, the party promised to boost the Canadian Forces by 5,000 full-time members within five years
  • Petition for increasing funding for the Canadian Forces from the 2005 budget level by 26.5 per cent by the year 2010
  • Expand Forces by at least 8,000 permanent and reserve troops promised in 2004
  • Create a special operations task force
  • Establish the Canada Corps that will provide an opportunity for Canadian experts, volunteers and young professionals to work abroad
  • Reduce or forgive debts owed by poor and deserving countries
  • In the 2005 budget, Martin’s Liberals announced $1 billion over five years in upgrading border security, emergency management and transportation security
  • In 2005, the minority Liberals promised $4.6 billion for new military transport aircraft
  • The Liberals will increase Canadian military strength by 5,000 regular troops and 3,000 reserves, with up-to-date equipment
  • They will also provide an additional $13 billion of investments in defence capacity over the next five years
  • The Liberals also vow to move forward with the procurement of a new tactical airlift fleet for the Canadian Forces
  • They also plan to provide long-term funding of $20 million over the next five years to ensure the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre can continue to offer training for peace operations
  • Make Parliament responsible for exercising oversight over the conduct of Canadian foreign policy and the commitment of Canadian Forces to foreign operations
  • Recruit 13,000 additional regular forces and 10,000 additional reserve forces personnel
  • Increase spending on the Canadian Forces by $5.3 billion over the next five years
  • Expand recruiting and training, reduce rank structure overhead, review civilian and military HQ functions, and increase front-line personnel
  • Increase investment in base infrastructure and housing for Canadian troops
  • Acquire equipment needed to support a multi-role, combat-capable maritime, land, and air force
  • Increase the Canadian Forces’ capacity to protect Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and security
  • Restore the regular army presence in British Columbia
  • Treat Canada’s veterans with the respect and honour that they deserve, and ensure better responsiveness to veterans with a Veterans’ Bill of Rights and a Veterans’ Ombudsman
  • Name a National Security Commissioner with the responsibility of providing recommendations on how to coordinate the work of the RCMP, CSIS, the Canada Border Services Agency, a revitalized Coast Guard, a reinstated Ports Police, and a new Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency, as well as the security aspects of the Departments of Immigration and Transport
  • Create a Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency to gather intelligence overseas, counter threats, and increase allied intelligence operations
  • Establish the Canadian Coast Guard as a stand-alone agency and honour plans to invest $276 million over five years in expanding and updating fleet
  • Create a National Security Review Committee to ensure oversight and a greater degree of accountability and transparency regarding Canada’s national security efforts
  • Ensure agencies such as CSIS, RCMP, and the Canada Border Services Agency have adequate resources and equipment.
  • Provide our border officers with sidearms and the training required for their use
  • Ensure there are no “workalone” posts for the safety of these officers
  • Reopen RCMP border detachments in Quebec and the West
  • Deploy face recognition and other biometric technology at border crossings and ports of entry
  • Support safe helicopters for the Canadian Armed Forces
  • Make peacekeeping a priority, under the auspices of the UN
  • Establish a Royal Commission to conduct a review of Canada's role in the post-Cold War world
  • Increase salaries and improved housing for members of the Armed Forces
  • Separate the Coast Guard from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
  • Work with other countries to develop replacements for NORAD and NATO
  • Against the introduction of a national identity card
  • Scrap the Anti-Terrorism Act
  • The NDP is opposed to joining the U.S. missile defence plan
  • Work with the United States to beef up border security
  • Increase security provisions at remote airports
  • Launch a full review of Canadian national defence
  • Ensure Parliament votes before committing troops overseas
  • If a decision is made not to enter war, members of the Canadian Armed Forces should not serve in or command other people's militaries
  • Continue to work within multinational arms reduction treaties to eventually eliminate chemical, biological and nuclear weapons
  • Introduce legislation to ban racial profiling from federal departments and jurisdictions
  • Cancel agreements permitting U.S. soldiers to enter Canada automatically in times of emergency
  • Cancel weapons systems for Canadian Armed Forces and reduce DND bureaucracy
  • Implement a public Canadian border authority
  • The Bloc believes that the primary role of the Canadian Army should be peacekeeping missions
  • Parliament should debate and vote on whether to send troops to zones of conflicts, war and others
  • Wants to forbid Canadian military from serving in wars that violate international law
  • Ensure that all terrorism legislation respects the balance between security and civil liberties
  • Support military service personnel who suffer the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and the use of Agent Orange
  • Declare Canada a military nuclear-free zone and abstain from participating in the development or use of space-based weapons
  • Work to establish a standing international peacekeeping force under UN control
  • Create an International Affairs and Comprehensive Security Agency to coordinate activities between Foreign Affairs, National Defence and CIDA
  • Create a rapid response force with a mandate for peacekeeping and environmental restoration in both international crisis situations and domestic catastrophes