The leaders salute and tease those that stand on guard.

As we wind down week number two of the election campaign, it’s time for the party leaders to trot out their platforms. Giving us all an idea as to where they’ll take us come June 28th.

The long ignored Canadian Armed Forces find themselves the subject of much attention these days. First we had Stephen Harper offering up billions for planes, aircraft carriers, ships, tanks and more foot soldiers, sailors and airmen. Harper declared that a Conservative government would provide 5.2 billion dollars over four years to bring the Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force back up to respectable levels. The goal of a Harper led government would be to increase our working force level to 80,000 which is a fair amount more than the present 53,000 available defenders of our home and native land. He also offered up a more democratic way of dealing with National Defence issues, Parliament would be allowed to debate and approve any international initiatives. It’s a suggestion that even Jack Layton of the NDP could agree with and did. The only item left outstanding regarding Harper’s defence plans was how to fund them? Harper offered up the opinion that a re-allocation of current spending, would fee up the 5.2 billion. In other words; Peter Mansbridge had best learn how to drive a tank!

Not to be outdone the Martin Liberals decided on Wednesday, that they too would be offering considerable support to those in a Canadian uniform. Hot on the heels of the Liberal declarations of support in February, March and April for our serving members. The Liberals expanded on the previous themes, putting out a document called “Moving Canada Forward” the Martin agenda calls for an additional 5,000 regular members and 3,000 reservists to stand on guard. At a cost of 1.5 billion dollars, the 8,000 new defenders are to be tasked with peace initiatives put into a “Peace brigade”, an Orwellian sounding little group that will be tasked with rebuilding shattered societies after other countries blow them to smithereens. Boy Scouts on steroids possibly.

It’s a scenario that the Liberals use from time to time, somehow treating the military as a group that should never have to pick up an arm in anger but turn those swords into ploughshares. It’s a utopian ideal that in this era of world conflagration seems a tad pollyannish. While it’s an understandable wish that we as a nation not have to deal with any unpleasant things such as war or terrorism, those are world troubles that we can’t be too smug about. To offer to build up the military with a sizeable number of bureaucrats seems to be providing a disservice to those in uniform.

Martin’s Peace brigade would be better sent to External Affairs, the military by its nature is designed to either protect the nation from attack or if called upon, actively challenge other nations in combat if necessary. Sending mixed messages to the current members and hiring new ones with a different agenda will serve no sensible purpose. But it sure sounds good to those possible NDP voters that the Liberals may wish to lure away, a strong defence as long as they don’t have to do any defending. Hmm, someone might vote for that.

Speaking of the NDP, Jack Layton too is behind the boys and girls in uniform. Suggesting that instead of increasing our numbers we should be paying the current crew more dollars, giving them better places to live and providing them with better and safer equipment. If there were a riding dedicated to only military personnel it most likely would be filled with orange signs. Canadians would also find their military staying closer to home, as most Canadians know the chances of Canada getting involved in any foreign adventures under an NDP government would be slim to None. We would be almost Swedish in our international relations. Though to his credit Layton has said that the age old policy of NATO withdrawl is now off for the NDP, instead he says an NDP goverment would work within NATO to reconfigure it's purpose.

As for the Bloc an exhaustive search of news data bases has discovered no opinion, one way or the other regarding the fate of the Canadian Armed Forces. Then again the name alone probably sticks in the craw of Gilles Duceppe; somehow we just can’t see an avowed separatist wanting to provide funding to an Army, Navy and Air force.

Regardless of who is doing the talking, the proof will be in the writing. Talk is cheap these days; an election usually leaves piles of unfilled promises on the scrap heap once the elected government takes to office. The long forgotten, abused and taken for granted members of the Armed Forces will be waiting to see who brings the cash, as the old saying goes, Money talks.