OTTAWA -- Canadian military commanders have put together a bulletproof defence plan that is one of the few things in the minority government's international policy statement that is almost sure to survive no matter the outcome of the next election.
The defence portion of the Liberal policy statement -- pledging to bulk up the army, streamline the command structure and invest in new equipment -- looks familiar to MP Gordon O'Connor, the Conservative Party defence critic.
"I see traces of our defence policy here," Mr. O'Connor said with a wry smile as he thumbed through the 32-page defence plan the other day.
Mr. O'Connor, a retired brigadier-general who was once in charge of military restructuring, says that one of his biggest concerns with the ambitious plan is that the Liberals aren't being honest about how much it will cost.
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"This will require substantial increases in funding for many years," he said.
"Their budget is theoretical."
Prime Minister Paul Martin's long-promised international policy statement surfaced on Tuesday during a frenzy of election speculation.
With the Liberals down in the polls and the Conservatives poised to force a no-confidence vote in the House next month, the chatter among senior bureaucrats in the foreign policy and trade establishments is about how much of Mr. Martin's grand strategy might survive a change of government.
But over at National Defence Headquarters, General Rick Hillier, the chief of the defence staff, is moving ahead with the confidence of a soldier with marching orders he expects will remain substantially intact.
The first step is to streamline the command structure. A unified Canada Command will deal with crises in the country, whether a terrorist attack in the capital or another Winnipeg flood or Montreal ice storm. Elements of all three military services -- army, navy and air force -- will report through a single chain of command.
Two new units will be established:
A special operations group will expand Canada's commando unit, JTF2, and give it its own tactical helicopter, amphibious sea transport, intelligence, logistics and other support elements. The group could be used against terrorists at home or abroad, to help battle foreign insurgencies or even deliver emergency humanitarian assistance.
An army company specially trained and equipped to deal with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons attacks by terrorists will be established.
The defence plan would set up a standing task force that could begin flexing its muscles anywhere in the world within 10 days. It would consist of three to five warships, long-range patrol aircraft, troops and helicopters.
A more nimble Canadian military will get to the scene faster, begin operating more quickly, and be able to sustain longer overseas deployments, the paper says.
Gen. Hillier wants to re-equip the forces within five years. To speed the acquisition, he wants to buy off-the-shelf wherever he can -- army transport trucks, heavy-lift helicopters, troop transport ships, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
The Liberals ran election campaign ads last year saying the Conservatives would sacrifice social programs for guns and warships. The Liberals have given Gen. Hillier a green light to recruit an additional 5,000 full-time soldiers -- to bring uniform strength to 67,000 -- and have promised to increase military spending by $12.8-billion over the next five years.
It's all just talk, Mr. O'Connor said.
"The government cruelly raised the expectation of the military and down the road it is going to disappoint it" because they won't follow through with the money five years from now, he said.
But Mr. Martin sounds like a convert. In a foreword to the international policy statement, he acknowledges that Canada's military capability has been eroded.
The Liberals want to reinvest so that the Canadian Forces will be able to defend the country "against all threats, to protect the northern portion of our continent and to preserve our sovereignty, including that of the Arctic."
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