McG
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What do our soldiers do?
And how much do they make?
Martin O‘Malley, Amina Ali and Owen Wood
CBC News Online, March 2001
On the first day of March, Defence Minister Art Eggleton announced pay raises for the Canadian military, thanks to a cash infusion of $595.4 million. After tabling the package in the House of Commons, Eggleton said 40 per cent of the new money will go to "quality of life" measures.
A good chunk of the new $595.4 million – which is extra to the base defence budget of $11 billion – will also go to new equipment.
About time, our military men and women say, after troubling reports some of them have been reduced to visiting food banks and delivering pizzas to feed themselves and their families.
Five years ago, a new recruit made only $14,400 a year, which isn‘t much more than a kid makes flipping burgers. By 2000, this had been improved, so that a private in the army – the lowest rank – earned between $23,616 and $34,692 a year.
Annual Salary in the Canadian Army, 2000
Rank Annual Salary
Minimum Maximum
Private $23,616 $34,692
Corporal $39,684 $41,964
Sergeant $45,588 $47,448
Lieutenant $39,456 $51,012
Captain $53,712 $71,004
Major $72,636 $81,456
Lt-colonel $84,192 $89,592
Source: The Department of National Defence.
Up the ladder, a lieutenant made between $39,456 and $51,012, a lieutenant- colonel between $84,192 and $89,592. The salaries for the top jobs, generals and admirals, aren‘t as easy to pinpoint, as they are negotiated with the federal cabinet.
The pay raises were good news for Canada‘s armed forces, after years of pay freezes, junked equipment and sagging morale. The armed forces are embarking on an enthusiastic recruiting drive this year, hoping to entice 10,000 more men and women into uniform. They are even looking for a snappy new slogan, something to replace the old and now-discarded, "There‘s no life like it."
Canada is not alone in having difficulty attracting recruits to the military. The United States, Britain, France and Italy all have been struggling to attract recruits, a reflection of different expectations among young people in today‘s high-tech, quick-money world and the change from conscription to volunteer military forces.
"We used to join the forces to be Billy Bishop," Col. Gordon Grant, who heads Canada‘s new recruitment effort, told The Globe and Mail in January. "Today, kids dream of being Bill Gates."
Canada wants to attract more women and ethnic minorities into the Armed Forces. As it is, women make up only 15 per cent of the Canadian Forces, and visible minorities make up only two per cent. Grant says the Canadian Forces have a decent pension plan, which offers 40 per cent of a soldier‘s salary after 20 years‘ service. New soldiers also start off with four weeks vacation.
The current level of employment in the armed forces amounts to 60,000 regulars and 30,000 reserves. In the early 1990s, there were 90,000 regulars, but attrition and budget-cuts reduced that number to 60,000. Members of the Canadian Forces serve as peacekeepers in far-flung parts of the world, and pitch in at home for ice storms and floods (or when Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman needs help after an overnight snowfall).
Canada has a solid reputation in the world as a source of reliable and experienced peacekeepers, but in recent years the assignments we have taken on have stretched our military resources nearly to the limit. Between 1948 and 1989, Canadian Forces were involved in 25 peacekeeping operations. Since 1989 – a period of only 12 years – Canadian Forces have been involved in 65 peacekeeping operations.
There has been criticism that Canada does not spend enough on defence, compared with other NATO members. The last figures for Canada showed we spent 1.1 per cent of our gross domestic product on defence, while the average expenditure of NATO‘s 19 members is 2.1 per cent of GDP.
A CBC report in February said Canada is preparing to reduce its 505 planes and helicopters to 280. This would entail reducing Canada‘s CF-18 fighters to 80 from 125, The same report said the air force also plans to reduce flights over Canada‘s Arctic to less than 40 hours a year from 500 hours. The reduction in planes and helicopters that patrol our coasts means we will not be nearly as effective in detecting smugglers and polluters.
This suggested cutback in what are called "sovereignty flights" provoked an outcry from those who believe it would be a threat to national security, perhaps the white flag of concession and a signal that we do not have the resources to keep watch over our own country.
"The first job of any government is to exercise an unambiguous control over national territory and maritime patrol," says David Rudd of Canada‘s Centre for Strategic Studies. "Sovereignty flights in the Canadian North are perhaps the most visible aspect of that. When you cut back on that, basically you‘re saying that Canada cannot afford its Arctic and we cannot afford our maritime spaces."
(Sorry about the editing all. The pay table did not paste properly. McG)
And how much do they make?
Martin O‘Malley, Amina Ali and Owen Wood
CBC News Online, March 2001
On the first day of March, Defence Minister Art Eggleton announced pay raises for the Canadian military, thanks to a cash infusion of $595.4 million. After tabling the package in the House of Commons, Eggleton said 40 per cent of the new money will go to "quality of life" measures.
A good chunk of the new $595.4 million – which is extra to the base defence budget of $11 billion – will also go to new equipment.
About time, our military men and women say, after troubling reports some of them have been reduced to visiting food banks and delivering pizzas to feed themselves and their families.
Five years ago, a new recruit made only $14,400 a year, which isn‘t much more than a kid makes flipping burgers. By 2000, this had been improved, so that a private in the army – the lowest rank – earned between $23,616 and $34,692 a year.
Annual Salary in the Canadian Army, 2000
Rank Annual Salary
Minimum Maximum
Private $23,616 $34,692
Corporal $39,684 $41,964
Sergeant $45,588 $47,448
Lieutenant $39,456 $51,012
Captain $53,712 $71,004
Major $72,636 $81,456
Lt-colonel $84,192 $89,592
Source: The Department of National Defence.
Up the ladder, a lieutenant made between $39,456 and $51,012, a lieutenant- colonel between $84,192 and $89,592. The salaries for the top jobs, generals and admirals, aren‘t as easy to pinpoint, as they are negotiated with the federal cabinet.
The pay raises were good news for Canada‘s armed forces, after years of pay freezes, junked equipment and sagging morale. The armed forces are embarking on an enthusiastic recruiting drive this year, hoping to entice 10,000 more men and women into uniform. They are even looking for a snappy new slogan, something to replace the old and now-discarded, "There‘s no life like it."
Canada is not alone in having difficulty attracting recruits to the military. The United States, Britain, France and Italy all have been struggling to attract recruits, a reflection of different expectations among young people in today‘s high-tech, quick-money world and the change from conscription to volunteer military forces.
"We used to join the forces to be Billy Bishop," Col. Gordon Grant, who heads Canada‘s new recruitment effort, told The Globe and Mail in January. "Today, kids dream of being Bill Gates."
Canada wants to attract more women and ethnic minorities into the Armed Forces. As it is, women make up only 15 per cent of the Canadian Forces, and visible minorities make up only two per cent. Grant says the Canadian Forces have a decent pension plan, which offers 40 per cent of a soldier‘s salary after 20 years‘ service. New soldiers also start off with four weeks vacation.
The current level of employment in the armed forces amounts to 60,000 regulars and 30,000 reserves. In the early 1990s, there were 90,000 regulars, but attrition and budget-cuts reduced that number to 60,000. Members of the Canadian Forces serve as peacekeepers in far-flung parts of the world, and pitch in at home for ice storms and floods (or when Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman needs help after an overnight snowfall).
Canada has a solid reputation in the world as a source of reliable and experienced peacekeepers, but in recent years the assignments we have taken on have stretched our military resources nearly to the limit. Between 1948 and 1989, Canadian Forces were involved in 25 peacekeeping operations. Since 1989 – a period of only 12 years – Canadian Forces have been involved in 65 peacekeeping operations.
There has been criticism that Canada does not spend enough on defence, compared with other NATO members. The last figures for Canada showed we spent 1.1 per cent of our gross domestic product on defence, while the average expenditure of NATO‘s 19 members is 2.1 per cent of GDP.
A CBC report in February said Canada is preparing to reduce its 505 planes and helicopters to 280. This would entail reducing Canada‘s CF-18 fighters to 80 from 125, The same report said the air force also plans to reduce flights over Canada‘s Arctic to less than 40 hours a year from 500 hours. The reduction in planes and helicopters that patrol our coasts means we will not be nearly as effective in detecting smugglers and polluters.
This suggested cutback in what are called "sovereignty flights" provoked an outcry from those who believe it would be a threat to national security, perhaps the white flag of concession and a signal that we do not have the resources to keep watch over our own country.
"The first job of any government is to exercise an unambiguous control over national territory and maritime patrol," says David Rudd of Canada‘s Centre for Strategic Studies. "Sovereignty flights in the Canadian North are perhaps the most visible aspect of that. When you cut back on that, basically you‘re saying that Canada cannot afford its Arctic and we cannot afford our maritime spaces."
(Sorry about the editing all. The pay table did not paste properly. McG)
