Why we need to DEMILITARIZE DECARBONIZE DECOLONIZE
Military Spending is Increasing While Poverty and Climate Change Worsens
According to the Budget 2024, the federal government will increase funding for the Department of National Defence from $33 billion in 2024 to $49.5 billion by 2030. That’s a 35% increase over the next five years! In addition, the government will spend an extra $73 billion on the military over the next twenty years.
That puts Canada 16th highest in the world for military spending based on the latest report, Trends on World Military Expenditures, by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Under Canada’s new Defence Policy Update, the military will be buying new fossil fuel-powered F-35 fighter jets, attack helicopters, armed drones and armoured vehicles. Over the next five years, the government will increase ammunition supply and production from $15 million/year to $735 million/year. The federal government will also spend $38.6 billion on militarizing the Arctic for the modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which are U.S.-led military alliances. This means that Canada is establishing new permanent military bases in the north where U.S. soldiers and weapons systems will be deployed. This will accelerate climate change in the north and harm Indigenous communities. In Nova Scotia, the federal government and Irving are building 15 diesel powered warships for a cost of $77 billion that will harm the oceans and exacerbate the climate emergency.
Rising military spending in Canada will increase poverty and exacerbate the climate crisis. The federal government should invest more in health care, education, climate action and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
We must reduce and re-allocate military spending to social and environmental programs.
CANADA CAN’T AFFORD TO INCREASE MILITARY SPENDING TO THE NATO’s 2% GDP TARGET
Over the past decade, Canada’s military spending has increased 100 per cent from $20 billion in 2014 to $41 billion this year, according to the latest NATO Defence Expenditures report. At our current level of military spending, Canada is at 1.4 per cent of GDP and ranked 7th highest among the 32 transatlantic allies. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) report “The Fiscal Implications of Meeting the NATO Military Spending Target” estimated that military spending will have to rise from $41 billion this year to $81 billion by 2032 to reach the NATO 2% GDP target.
CANADA IS NO LONGER PRIORITIZING PEACEKEEPING
With all this money, the Canadian military is no longer prioritizing peacekeeping but is instead engaging in warmaking with the U.S. through NATO and NORAD. Canada is at the lowest level ever for peacekeeping with only 30 Canadian soldiers on United Nations peace support operations. Canada is ranked 71th in the world for minimal peacekeeping contributions. Canada should be investing in peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the world not investing more in militarism. We must end the wars in the world and build peace with all countries. (See: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/troop-and-police-contributors)
WHAT WE WANT! Call on the Prime Minister and your elected official to:
- Reduce military spending and re-allocate it to social, environmental and climate priorities
- Convert from a war economy and industrial base to a green, peace care economy
- Place an arms embargo against Israel and stop the genocide in Gaza
- Stop sending weapons to Ukraine and start supporting negotiations to end the war
- Withdraw from NATO and join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)
- Invest in Indigenous priorities and fully implement the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the recommendations of the Reclaiming Power and Place.
TAKE ACTION TO DEMILITARIZE, DECARBONIZE, DECOLONIZE:
- Make the connections between the climate emergency, poverty and war & militarism and promote a culture of peace
- Contact your Member of Parliament, find their email here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en
- Join & support a peace group! Check out the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)-Canada: www.wilpfcanada.ca, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace: https://vowpeace.org/
- Get involved in the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network: https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/
Documents to download:
