April 14, 2004
CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick

NEWS RELEASE

Prime Minister Paul Martin made a number of important announcements related to the future of the Canadian Forces today in an address at CFB Gagetown. These include an ongoing Canadian Forces presence in Afghanistan after August 2004, the purchase of new joint support ships for the navy, and extended tax relief for moderate-risk overseas deployments. The Prime Minister also set out six principles which will guide the current international policy review in the area of defence.

Specifically, the Prime Minister committed to the following:

• Canada will send an armoured reconnaissance squadron group – consisting of approximately 600 Canadian Forces members – to work as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, when our current commitment ends in August. This group will be supported by approximately 200 Air Force personnel;
  
  
• the Government of Canada has approved a $2.1 billion project to acquire three new joint support ships for the navy, providing Canada with a significantly enhanced maritime capability, both at home and abroad; and
  
  
• the tax relief initiative contained in the recent federal budget for those serving in harm’s way in Afghanistan will be extended to all high-risk and moderate-risk overseas deployments. This includes those serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Haiti.
  

• defence policy, hand in hand with diplomacy and development, must be able to protect our interests and project our values, and this must be done in a strategic and focussed way, by concentrating on what we do best and on what the world needs most;
  
  
• the Canadian Forces must have the training and equipment to fulfill specific missions throughout the world, from operations to ensure security and stability - such as peacemaking and peacekeeping, to disaster assistance and emergency preparedness;
  
  
• training and equipment must be modern, relevant and useable;
  
  
• working with our allies, the Canadian Forces must be able to deploy quickly where they are most needed, whether in Canada or around the world;
  
  
• the Canadian Forces must be able to support and sustain their operations wherever they are for as long as they are required; and,
  
  
• the Canadian Forces must be able to operate parallel to and alongside our closest allies and partners across a spectrum of foreign missions. And, in the case of domestic emergencies, they must be able to work closely with other government departments and first responders.