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By MICHAEL DEN TANDT
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
POSTED AT 5:49 AM EST Thursday, Jan 27, 2005
Ottawa â †The Martin government is poised to enshrine the army as Canada's pre-eminent military service and sharply reduce the number of countries to which it gives foreign aid, while boosting international spending in areas where it believes it will have the greatest impact, sources say.
The government's long-anticipated foreign policy review, which Prime Minister Paul Martin launched more than a year ago, will be unveiled before the federal budget, sources say. It will map out a plan to streamline and reinvigorate Canada's place abroad by refocusing military spending, foreign aid and diplomacy, officials familiar with the document say.
The paper, a final version of which is still being prepared, will urge a sharp reduction in the list of 150-plus countries that receive aid from the Canadian International Development Agency. It will also push the aid body from its traditional focus on broad poverty alleviation toward more urgent concerns such as AIDS in Africa and Asia, sources say.
The review, led by officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs with input from the Department of Defence, International Trade and CIDA, does not have the force of law, but is intended to set a direction for government policy. Sources say the paper's main points will be prominently articulated in the coming budget.
The paper will lay the groundwork for a major redeployment of foreign service staff overseas to give the government more "boots on the ground" in natural disasters or other international crises.
And it will signal the formal elevation of the Canadian army to a senior position within the military, with sea and air forces reduced to support roles.
"If a capability is not directly related to supporting the army, then it gets less focus," a source familiar with the review said. ". . . The whole thrust of [the review] is, how do we develop a more focused approach, in everything that we do, so we can have a greater impact?"
In addition, the 50-page document will map out a plan for greater North American integration, with a focus on regulatory harmonization, enhanced border flow and continental security, without formally reopening the North American free-trade agreement.
The Globe and Mail reported last week that Canadian, U.S. and Mexican officials are talking about a special trilateral summit, possibly in late March, at which the "NAFTA-plus" agenda would be advanced.
The policy review will not pronounce on the explosive issue of whether Canada should join U.S. President George W. Bush's plan for a ballistic missile shield over North America, according to a source familiar with the document.
Indeed, federal sources say, missile defence will remain off the government's front burner at least until after the budget, expected in late February. A senior federal official discounted recent reports that the U.S. government has lost patience with Ottawa on this issue. "Certainly, we can't wait forever. But it's not as though they've told us it has to be tomorrow, next week, or even next month."
The army's rise to senior status is intended to give Ottawa more troops with which to advance Mr. Martin's interventionist agenda for dealing with failed or fragile states. "That's where the gaps are," a source said. "We saw that in Afghanistan and Haiti."
Two weeks ago, the government named General Rick Hillier, the former chief of land staff who has pushed hard for greater funding for the army relative to the other two armed services, as chief of defence staff.
During last June's election campaign, Mr. Martin promised to increase defence spending between $2-billion and $3-billion, spread over five years, as well as add 5,000 new regular force troops and 3,000 reservists.
Senior DND officials, including Gen. Hillier, have questioned whether the promise of new troops would be kept.
The foreign policy review, and the budget to follow, will reaffirm the government's commitment to boosting troop levels, sources say. "The debate now is over whether you do it in three or four years, or six. [Defence Minister Bill] Graham wants it in three, which means aggressive training and recruiting."
However, major new annual military spending is not likely, certainly not the several billion called for by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser, among others. Instead, the government will commit itself to a phased, 10-year plan for rebuilding the military, a government source said.
The foreign service initiative is intended to redress a perceived imbalance in the deployment of Canada's diplomats, whereby two-thirds of total diplomatic staff are in Canada and one-third abroad. Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew is determined to bring this ratio closer to the G8 average of 50 per cent, a source said.
The changes to foreign aid stem from a perception at senior levels in the government that the Canadian International Development Agency's resources are spread far too thinly, with many small aid projects budgeted at less than $5-million. "You can't have an impact that way," a source familiar with the review said.
This foreign policy review, the fourth by a federal government since the 1970s, was originally intended to be released last November. The long delay, a source close to the process said, is largely because, unlike earlier reviews, it ranges across several major federal departments.
"It's extremely difficult . . . when you try to get officials from four departments together, they all have a wish to see themselves reflected in the product," the source said.
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
POSTED AT 5:49 AM EST Thursday, Jan 27, 2005
Ottawa â †The Martin government is poised to enshrine the army as Canada's pre-eminent military service and sharply reduce the number of countries to which it gives foreign aid, while boosting international spending in areas where it believes it will have the greatest impact, sources say.
The government's long-anticipated foreign policy review, which Prime Minister Paul Martin launched more than a year ago, will be unveiled before the federal budget, sources say. It will map out a plan to streamline and reinvigorate Canada's place abroad by refocusing military spending, foreign aid and diplomacy, officials familiar with the document say.
The paper, a final version of which is still being prepared, will urge a sharp reduction in the list of 150-plus countries that receive aid from the Canadian International Development Agency. It will also push the aid body from its traditional focus on broad poverty alleviation toward more urgent concerns such as AIDS in Africa and Asia, sources say.
The review, led by officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs with input from the Department of Defence, International Trade and CIDA, does not have the force of law, but is intended to set a direction for government policy. Sources say the paper's main points will be prominently articulated in the coming budget.
The paper will lay the groundwork for a major redeployment of foreign service staff overseas to give the government more "boots on the ground" in natural disasters or other international crises.
And it will signal the formal elevation of the Canadian army to a senior position within the military, with sea and air forces reduced to support roles.
"If a capability is not directly related to supporting the army, then it gets less focus," a source familiar with the review said. ". . . The whole thrust of [the review] is, how do we develop a more focused approach, in everything that we do, so we can have a greater impact?"
In addition, the 50-page document will map out a plan for greater North American integration, with a focus on regulatory harmonization, enhanced border flow and continental security, without formally reopening the North American free-trade agreement.
The Globe and Mail reported last week that Canadian, U.S. and Mexican officials are talking about a special trilateral summit, possibly in late March, at which the "NAFTA-plus" agenda would be advanced.
The policy review will not pronounce on the explosive issue of whether Canada should join U.S. President George W. Bush's plan for a ballistic missile shield over North America, according to a source familiar with the document.
Indeed, federal sources say, missile defence will remain off the government's front burner at least until after the budget, expected in late February. A senior federal official discounted recent reports that the U.S. government has lost patience with Ottawa on this issue. "Certainly, we can't wait forever. But it's not as though they've told us it has to be tomorrow, next week, or even next month."
The army's rise to senior status is intended to give Ottawa more troops with which to advance Mr. Martin's interventionist agenda for dealing with failed or fragile states. "That's where the gaps are," a source said. "We saw that in Afghanistan and Haiti."
Two weeks ago, the government named General Rick Hillier, the former chief of land staff who has pushed hard for greater funding for the army relative to the other two armed services, as chief of defence staff.
During last June's election campaign, Mr. Martin promised to increase defence spending between $2-billion and $3-billion, spread over five years, as well as add 5,000 new regular force troops and 3,000 reservists.
Senior DND officials, including Gen. Hillier, have questioned whether the promise of new troops would be kept.
The foreign policy review, and the budget to follow, will reaffirm the government's commitment to boosting troop levels, sources say. "The debate now is over whether you do it in three or four years, or six. [Defence Minister Bill] Graham wants it in three, which means aggressive training and recruiting."
However, major new annual military spending is not likely, certainly not the several billion called for by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser, among others. Instead, the government will commit itself to a phased, 10-year plan for rebuilding the military, a government source said.
The foreign service initiative is intended to redress a perceived imbalance in the deployment of Canada's diplomats, whereby two-thirds of total diplomatic staff are in Canada and one-third abroad. Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew is determined to bring this ratio closer to the G8 average of 50 per cent, a source said.
The changes to foreign aid stem from a perception at senior levels in the government that the Canadian International Development Agency's resources are spread far too thinly, with many small aid projects budgeted at less than $5-million. "You can't have an impact that way," a source familiar with the review said.
This foreign policy review, the fourth by a federal government since the 1970s, was originally intended to be released last November. The long delay, a source close to the process said, is largely because, unlike earlier reviews, it ranges across several major federal departments.
"It's extremely difficult . . . when you try to get officials from four departments together, they all have a wish to see themselves reflected in the product," the source said.
