Reduce military spending to afford housing:
See Priorities & Choices article – Canada must spend $5B per year on housing. Toronto Star – Let to Editor – – Aug 31-2019
* ‘The Canadian defence Report- ‘Strong, Secure, Engaged’-– outlines an increase of 70% in the defense budget over 10 years, and total defence spending of $553 billion over 20 years. (see graph). Most citizens are not aware of this high increase, but it directly affects the monies available for human needs that are important to each one of us – for both humanitarian and justice reasons. Environmental spending has increased only 2%.
https://www.cgai.ca/strong_secure_engaged_a_two_year_review- https://www.opencanada.org/features/connecting-the-dots-on-defence-research/
* We all have to remind ourselves that we have choices and that we need to make our priorities known to political candidates in the upcoming Federal election.
* Increased military spending does not fit with our values and our faith principles. Meeting human needs should be a priority – affordable housing, education, child care, health care, support for people with disabilities, providing long-term care to the elderly, support for indigenous communities, initiatives to address climate change, etc.
* At present, community organizations that are working on addressing these human needs are forced to compete against one another for limited funding, while huge amounts are being spent on the expansion of the military.
* There are hundreds of corporate lobby groups pushing for increased military spending and we need to find more effective ways to counter these forces that promote messages of power and fear.
* If our churches and other faith organizations and institutions were to engage more on these justice issues, they would be more relevant to young people and others who have grown cynical about many of our institutions.
* We also want to encourage support for the many campaigns and initiatives that are challenging the ‘military expansion mindset’, and to motivate citizens to question political candidates in all parties about what our priorities should be.
If you are interested in exploring these ideas with us and/or helping with our campaign, please contact us: kevin@prioritiesandchoices.org
The cost of 88 new fighter jets is estimated at $100 million each. We are proposing that the number of new fighter jets should be reduced by 50 (from 88 to 38 jets) and the 70% defense budget increase be reduced to 30%. These reductions will generate over 100 billion for funding additional low-rental housing and low-cost home ownership.
New warships to cost more than $100-billion
May 8, 2018
There’s another corporate scandal that makes the financial figures in the SNC case seem like pocket change. But no major political party will touch it, which speaks to the manner in which an all-party commitment to bedrock Canadian militarism squelches democratic discourse and strangles any opportunity for real economic justice.
The corporate scandal you won’t hear about on the campaign trail is the largest procurement project in Canadian history, one that will result in forking over at least $105 billion<https://www.theglobean
With every political campaign comes the costing question: how will modest investments in daycare, housing and pharmacare be paid for when Canada struggles with debt and deficits? But the question that will not be asked is whether voters want to mortgage their grandchildren’s financial future for a project that will line the pockets of Irving Shipyards and the world’s largest war profiteer, Lockheed Martin. “It’s certainly a question that will only be on the table if we place it there”.
Social justice advocate Matthew Behrens argues that while nearly five million people in Canada live in poverty, military spending continues to be a far greater priority for the Federal government than addressing the crisis of under-served human needs. http://rabble.ca/columnists/2018/09/bombs-not-homes-defines-trudeaus-feminist-foreign-policy
In looking at how we can demonstrate a call to solidarity, we believe that supporting the work of Tamara Lorincz, a courageous young woman, is an important opportunity.
Below is an outline of some of the important work that Tamara has been doing over the past 5 years. In addition, she is completing a PhD in Global Governance at the Balsillie School for International Affairs (Wilfrid Laurier University). Tamara has an MA in International Politics & Security Studies from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom (2015) and she was awarded the Rotary International World Peace Fellowship and was a senior researcher for the International Peace Bureau in Switzerland.
Tamara is currently on the board of the Canadian Voice of Women -“a non-partisan, non-profit membership based organization that has chapters in almost every province and consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Tamara Lorincz – tlorincz@balsillieschool.ca<ma
https://www.balsillieschool.ca
“With all this funding going to the military, it is no wonder that there is not money for affordable housing, education, child care, climate change, etc. Every time that I have gone back to Halifax I have protested outside the Niobe gate: https://www.thecoast.ca/halifa
[https://media1.fdncms.com/the
The National conference of the Voice of Women showcases women taking action for peace | City | Halifax, Nova Scotia | THE COAST <https://www.thecoast.ca/
Tamara Lorincz feels Canada spends too much on the military-and she’s not alone. Lorincz is a board member with the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) and was a prominent local activist when she lived in Halifax.
www.thecoast.ca<http://www.the
