Military spending

% Green:
71.00
% Yellow:
20.40
% Red:
8.60
Voting Detail:
Online
% Ratified:
90.66

Party Commentary

Preamble

WHEREAS it is necessary to clarify and update Green Party foreign policy and that G06-p64: Military Reduction policy passed at the 2006 convention called for a new policy on military spending.

Operative

BE IT RESOLVED that Green Party MPs will work to reform military spending to reflect Canadian Green Party core values by converting the Canadian Armed Forces to peacekeeping and appropriate domestic defence capability and undertake to dedicate all necessary and appropriate funding to do so while also maintaining a rapid response, combat ready military unit restricted to assisting in enforcing no fly zones and naval blockades in U.N. sanctioned missions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to significantly expand the operational and rapid deployment capabilities of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and dedicate all necessary and appropriate funding to do so;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to reform the military procurement process making it more open and accountable with significant and appropriate penalties for any and all violations of the new process;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to contain military spending to 1% of GDP and not to exceed 1.3% and to reform military equipment and arms export/import reporting by requiring all transactions to be revealed to Parliament on an annual basis with significant and appropriate penalties for violations of such annual reporting.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to cease Canadian participation in the global arms trade with the exception of developing and potential necessary sales of peacekeeping equipment in cooperation with the United Nations.

Sponsors:
Davenport EDA, Peter Ellis, Justin Reist , Joe Foster, Tim Grant , Ard Van Leeuwen, Erich Jacoby Hawkins, Colin Griffiths

Background

G06-p64: Military Reduction
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Green Party repeal its current policy of a 50% reduction in armed forces budget and create a new policy mandating the funding and supporting reallocation of resources to alternate conflict resolution, eco system protection, disaster relief, and strengthening of the UN.

The GPC has committed historically and in recent election platforms to reduce military spending. It has recently committed to peacekeeping, deviating from historical positions of passive neutrality. It has committed to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. Military expenditure at present is approx. 1.1% of GDP, approx. 19.6 billion dollars, placing Canada approx. 123rd in the world and behind most allied nations. The realistic endeavour is to maintain a practical perspective on what military expenditures are. We cannot advocate military spending reductions while committing to peacekeeping, disaster relief, and cessation of participation in global arms trading without knowing what those costs are. This policy seeks to create a balance between reality and stated GPC values, contains military spending at present levels with a .3% leeway (approx. 5B dollars). We have committed in present official policy to training and participation in peacekeeping missions. Realistically this may involve the development of and potential sale of innovative weapons and military equipment to future peacekeeping partner nations. Peacekeeping vision must involve the realities of multiple missions in desert and jungle environments. The issue in the end is not how much we spend but where and on what military funds are spent on. This will repeal clauses 2 and 8 of the 1998 Foreign Affairs section.

Code

G12-P21

Proposal Type

Policy

Submitter Name

Stephen LaFrenie

Party Commentary

Preamble

WHEREAS it is necessary to clarify and update Green Party foreign policy and that G06-p64: Military Reduction policy passed at the 2006 convention called for a new policy on military spending.

Operative

BE IT RESOLVED that Green Party MPs will work to reform military spending to reflect Canadian Green Party core values by converting the Canadian Armed Forces to peacekeeping and appropriate domestic defence capability and undertake to dedicate all necessary and appropriate funding to do so while also maintaining a rapid response, combat ready military unit restricted to assisting in enforcing no fly zones and naval blockades in U.N. sanctioned missions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to significantly expand the operational and rapid deployment capabilities of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and dedicate all necessary and appropriate funding to do so;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to reform the military procurement process making it more open and accountable with significant and appropriate penalties for any and all violations of the new process;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to contain military spending to 1% of GDP and not to exceed 1.3% and to reform military equipment and arms export/import reporting by requiring all transactions to be revealed to Parliament on an annual basis with significant and appropriate penalties for violations of such annual reporting.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that MPs work to cease Canadian participation in the global arms trade with the exception of developing and potential necessary sales of peacekeeping equipment in cooperation with the United Nations.

Sponsors

Davenport EDA, Peter Ellis, Justin Reist , Joe Foster, Tim Grant , Ard Van Leeuwen, Erich Jacoby Hawkins, Colin Griffiths

Background

G06-p64: Military Reduction
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Green Party repeal its current policy of a 50% reduction in armed forces budget and create a new policy mandating the funding and supporting reallocation of resources to alternate conflict resolution, eco system protection, disaster relief, and strengthening of the UN.

The GPC has committed historically and in recent election platforms to reduce military spending. It has recently committed to peacekeeping, deviating from historical positions of passive neutrality. It has committed to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. Military expenditure at present is approx. 1.1% of GDP, approx. 19.6 billion dollars, placing Canada approx. 123rd in the world and behind most allied nations. The realistic endeavour is to maintain a practical perspective on what military expenditures are. We cannot advocate military spending reductions while committing to peacekeeping, disaster relief, and cessation of participation in global arms trading without knowing what those costs are. This policy seeks to create a balance between reality and stated GPC values, contains military spending at present levels with a .3% leeway (approx. 5B dollars). We have committed in present official policy to training and participation in peacekeeping missions. Realistically this may involve the development of and potential sale of innovative weapons and military equipment to future peacekeeping partner nations. Peacekeeping vision must involve the realities of multiple missions in desert and jungle environments. The issue in the end is not how much we spend but where and on what military funds are spent on. This will repeal clauses 2 and 8 of the 1998 Foreign Affairs section.