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LETTER: Canada spends $28 billion per year on military

From reader Hannah Hadikin….
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The Global Campaign on Military Spending (GCOMS), April 18 to 28, is an international campaign designed to raise awareness about the enormous amounts of public money spent annually on weapons of mass destruction. GCOMS encourages governments to invest in social programs including education, health care, housing, jobs, poverty reduction, environment and climate change.

Actions are held the world over bringing awareness to the urgency of cutting military spending and reallocating money towards funding human needs. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military spending is nearing $1.7 trillion. Canada has the sixth highest military budget among all NATO members and is ranked 16th in the world. Military spending went up from $23 billion in 2014-2015 to $28 billion in 2015- 2016. The budget for Environment Canada has remained flat at approximately $1 billion over the same period. Budgets for Employment and Social Development, Health Canada, Justice, Natural Resources are similarly flat.

According to the Department of National Defence, under Operation Impact, Canadian Polaris aerial refuellers have conducted close to 700 sorties, delivering over 40,300,000 pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft to date, for bombing operations in Syria and Iraq. Canadian sales of weapons and military equipment are on the rise to countries such as Saudi Arabia, a regime that is continually violating human rights. Fighter jets contribute enormously to the climate crisis. Public tax dollars going towards expanding combat forces and the building of warships adds to Canada’s increasing militarization.

Food banks have become national institutions, lack of affordable housing is an ongoing crippling crisis and the rise of homelessness is destroying people’s hope for a quality of life. Would Canadians not welcome their tax dollars to be spent on protecting the planet and meeting human needs that will engender the well-being of all Canadians, including the Indigenous peoples?

GCOMS is an opportunity for expressing solidarity with people around the world committed to establishing a sustainable peace. We can join global movements towards protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, value cultural diversity and oppose the destruction of cultures and environments, which adds to the ever-increasing numbers of refugees. The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are an excellent platform for peace, people and the planet. To implement these, substantial financial investment is required. Each day we can join strong voices and the call-out for reducing the high levels of military expenditures and redirect these funds towards meeting social, human and environmental needs.

Hannah Hadikin

Nelson