Breaking News? - Not!

CTV.ca News Staff

The budget for the Canadian Forces needs to be doubled to about $30 billion a year if Canada is to secure the country and its sovereignty, says a new report by the Senate Defence Committee.
"At some point, the elastic snaps. And we think we're at that point right now," Sen. Colin Kenny, the chair of the committee, told a news conference Thursday.

"We are seeing so many things degrading simultaneously that they may not recover."
The report, "Wounded: Canada's Military and the Legacy of Neglect", is the first of three reports that will be released by the committee this fall.

It says the defence budget should be doubled, and the military should enlist thousands more personnel. Equipment also needs to be updated.

The current defence budget earmarked for 2005-2006 is $14.3 billion. The report suggests upping that to between $25 billion to $35 billion.

As well, number of people in uniform should be bumped up to 90,000, from its current strength of 62,000, says the report.

Another challenge facing the Canadian Forces is the length of time it takes to replace aging equipment. Currently, it takes about 15 years. The report suggests reducing that time by buying used gear or purchasing equipment already in production.

Go read the restat the above link. The issue is pretty clear. Do you, my fellow Canadians, want to have a military or not? The choice is yours and time is short.