MacKay reveals details of $490-billion defence strategy to modernize military

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny said he was stunned when he was tipped off late Thursday that something "interesting" might be appearing on the Defence Department's website and later saw a posting for the $490 billion Canada First Defence Strategy.

"This business of releasing it at seven o'clock at night is for the birds," Kenny said from Ottawa. "It doesn't make much sense to me unless you don't want a lot of people to notice it."

He described it as "a lousy paper."

Defence Minister Peter MacKay dismissed the claim, saying the government merely wanted to add more details to the plan announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Halifax last month.

Speaking at an international conference in Halifax on Friday, MacKay said the plan would modernize the Forces and provide the personnel, equipment and infrastructure to carry out domestic and international missions.

"It is a plan to give predictable, long-term funding and to rebuild and expand the Canadian Forces," he told the audience, inviting them to view the 21-page document on the Defence Department's website.

"We need to have a capable, flexible and deployable military and this is what we are doing in Canada with the Canada First Defence Strategy."

The 20-year plan includes an annual spending increase of two per cent starting in 2011 that will boost the defence budget to $30 billion in 2027-28 from the current level of $18 billion.

The funding includes $20 billion for new aircraft, tanks and ships, in addition to $15 billion in transport planes, trucks and helicopters that had been purchased earlier.

The price tag includes a projection of $250 billion to recruit 70,000 regular and 30,000 reserve force personnel, along with $140 billion for spare parts, maintenance and training.

It focuses on six core principals: support for a major international event in Canada, like the 2010 Olympics; responding to a terrorist attack; supporting civilian authorities during a natural disaster; leading major international operations for an extended period; deploying personnel to international crises; and maintaining the ability to conduct continental operations through NORAD - the North American Aerospace Defence Command.

The strategy cites the purchase of four C-17 Globemaster strategic lift aircraft and the procurement of 17 new C-130J Hercules tactical lift aircraft, along with plans to acquire 16 Chinook helicopters.

The acquisition of those previously announced items, including Arctic patrol ships, and new fleet replacements is projected to cost $35 billion over two decades.

Infrastructure and its maintenance is pegged at $25 billion over 20 years.

But one defence analyst said the document is based on economic factors and inflation that can fluctuate wildly and dramatically jack up the costs.

"That is vulnerable to some wild shifts down the road," said Brian MacDonald of the Conference of Defence Associations, adding that the price of equipment can rise steeply over time.

"I'm pleased with the plan, but I have reservations about whether this is enough money to handle the equipment side."

NDP defence critic Dawn Black said the document reaffirms her assertion that the Conservative government is aligned with the military goals of its neighbour to the south, and that Canada's role in Afghanistan is the priority.

"This so-called Canada first strategy really indicates a lack of putting Canada first and putting the war in Afghanistan as the top priority," she said.

"There is a strong emphasis on interoperability with the U.S. military, which I think will be a major concern to a majority of Canadians."

In the document, the government says the strategy is based on the need for a boost in troop strength and modernized equipment to address global terrorism, the "proliferation of advanced weapons" and "nuclear-capable adversarial states headed by unpredictable regimes," while establishing a strong presence in the Arctic.