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Now that peaceful Canada is back, citizens deserve a peace dividend.

Under the previous Conservative government that used fear to justify the need for bombing campaigns, plans were developed to spend billions of dollars more on new fighter jets and warships to supposedly make Canadians safer. Yet most citizens know that expensive military hardware does not in fact make us safer, but instead only helps to further enrich the corporations that profit from continuous war.

With Canada poised once again promote international diplomacy, it should revisit the pledge by the Conservative government to spend billions on military hardware. The projected costs to upgrade Canada’s navy have ballooned from $26-billion to $42-billion. And even though the Liberals have promised to cancel plans to purchase the extraordinarily expensive F-35 fighters, they are still considering purchasing new jets.

Imagine how much better off Canada would be if instead of spending billions of dollars on expensive war machines, it used the money to improve the lives of its citizens. For too long we have been told that taxes must remain low and thus services must be cut.

Canada can do much better. Instead of trying to keep up with those who say they are are trying to bring democracy to the Middle East with bombs and missiles, it could instead do a better job of looking after its own citizens.

Redirecting proposed funds for military hardware could allow for building new bridges, low-income housing and more public transit. There could be money to allow students to graduate without enormous debts, to provide clean water for First Nations, to support scientific research and monitoring, to create new parks, to better manage fish stocks, to improve health care, and to support the transition to a carbon-free energy supply.