A CANADIAN PROPOSAL FOR WORLD PEACE
by Allan Bleiken

  Background

 As a lifelong student of history, it has always bothered me that so much effort has gone into the destruction of the human race and so little effort into making the world a better place to live.  After many years of research and reflection, the following proposal was developed and submitted to the leaders of the three federal Canadian political parties in the early 1980’s.  While acknowledging the receipt of the proposal, no action was taken by the government of the day.

 Introduction

History has shown that for every year of peace, there have been eleven years of war.  In this century alone, there have been two world wars and innumerable regional conflicts including the Korean and Vietnam wars.  Untold billions of dollars have been allocated to the destruction of the human race.  Even before the end of the Second World War, the foundation for the Cold War was put into place.  This led to the establishment of NATO, SEATO, NORAD, the Warsaw Pact and numerous other military structures. 

 The strategy of the Cold War was to make global war unthinkable based on inflicting “mutually assured destruction” with nuclear weapons.  In this context, it was successful.  It must be acknowledged that the incredible price of peace pales into insignificance compared to what the cost of a third global conflict would have been.  At issue however, is the need to break this psychotic entrapment of massive military expenditures. Somehow, a means must be found to channel resources away from the destruction of the human race and into programs, which will advance the cause of peace by addressing the world’s critical needs. 

 The Proposal

 It is proposed that Canada make a fundamental change in its approach to protecting world peace.  Instead of maintaining major military expenditures as a contribution to world peace, it is proposed that such funds be redirected into the development of solutions related to the world’s most pressing problems.  Such problems include disease, hunger, housing, education and poverty.  They are the fundamental cause for much of the world’s violence and conflict.  This proposal will argue that Canada’s overall contribution to world peace through military expenditures is minimal at best and that the alternate use of such funding would be of far greater benefit to the world.

 A change of this magnitude and complexity can only be achieved if a number of fundamental requirements are met.  The following information will address these issues.

 Canada’s Military Importance

 First, it must be determined whether Canada’s military expenditures are essential to world peace.  Following the Second World War, Canada’s major military commitments to world peace have been through NATO, NORAD, the Korean conflict and its UN peacekeeping activities.  Initially Canada’s commitments were an important part of these organisations and involvement’s. Over time however, with the exception of its peacekeeping activities, Canada’s military role has diminished significantly in proportion that of other nations. 

 By the late 1970’s, Canada’s NATO contribution was nominal in relation to that of other participating countries.  It’s military role and contribution within NORAD was small in comparison to that of the United States.  While its peacekeeping activities have played an important role in world peace, the military scale of these operations in global terms is very small. 

 It could be reasonably argued that by the late 1970’s, the elimination of Canada’s military contribution would not have significantly affected the global balance of power.  At issue however, was the need for all nations to do their fair share towards the maintenance of world peace.

 A Better Alternative

 If Canada had eliminated its military expenditures in the early 1980’s and redirected these expenditures towards the resolution of hunger, poverty, disease and education, major benefits would have been accomplished.  Each year, billions of dollars would have been committed to attacking these problems.  Over a decade, tens of billions of dollars would have been invested. 

 A critical mass of world expertise could have been developed within Canada.  A massive national infrastructure to support the solution of these problems would have been created. Canada would have evolved as a world leader in many areas of research and development related to the needs of the world.  Canadians would have been the economic benefactors of this development, just as other countries benefit from military research and development.

 Infinitely more important however, many of the world’s problems related to hunger, poverty, disease, education and housing would have been addressed.  The basic question is, would this type of expenditure have been more beneficial to peace and the needs of the world, than Canada’s military expenditures?  The answer seems obvious.

 Additional Considerations

 There are several other issues, which need to be addressed within this proposal.  If Canada gave up its military expenditures, what would guarantee its national security?  It is proposed that in exchange for its contribution to the resolution of world problems, that the internal security of Canada continue to be guaranteed through its existing military alliances with the United States and Europe.  Alternatively, the United Nations could take action to implement special provisions that would guarantee the national security of Canada.  Internally, Canada would maintain its national police force structure. 

 Canada is only one of 118 countries that have contributed to UN peacekeeping in the past 50 years.  Other countries could readily assume Canada’s responsibilities in this area.

 Royalties emanating from research directly related to developments as outlined in this proposal could be enormous.  As a further contribution to addressing world peace, Canada should allocate all such revenue towards additional program research or to an international fund, which would assist nations in implementing required solutions.  Alternatively, such patents could become the property of the UN and distributed freely to all nations.

 Domino Effect

 The original proposal included the recommendation that an offsetting nation within the Warsaw Pact, such as Poland, take the same action as Canada.  Such a nation would carry out the same program within the sphere of the Eastern Block nations.  Over time, additional nations could be encouraged to follow suit.  As well, neutral nations such as Sweden and Switzerland could be encouraged to join the initiative. 

 Collectively, over time, the combined efforts and contributions of such nations could allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to international development.  The effect of such a massive effort would clearly resolve many of the world’s most critical problems, reduce the need for massive military expenditures and significantly advance the cause of peace.

 Present Relevance

 This proposal was initially developed nearly twenty years ago.  However, it is still, if not even more relevant in today’s world. 

 Canada’s military importance has continued to decline in global terms. In 1995, Canada’s armed forces totalled 70 thousand personnel, compared to 22.8 million for the rest of the world.  Its annual military expenditures amounted to $9.1 billion compared to a world expenditure of $864 billion.  As before, if Canada’s military expenditures were eliminated, it would have little if any consequence in terms of the world’s existing military structure.  Alternatively, all of the potential benefits as outlined previously could be achieved if military expenditures were reverted to addressing the needs of the world.  While nearly twenty years have been lost, the implementation of the proposal would quickly begin to produce beneficial results.

 Since the end of the Cold War, there has been an encouraging decline in military expenditures.  Amongst developed countries, there was an eight-percent annual decline in military expenditures between 1991 and 1995. Unfortunately, there was not a similar decline within developing nations.  This trend continued and in 1998, annual military expenditures declined to $745 billion from $864 billion in 1995. It is unconscionable to think however, that this amount of money ($125 for every person on earth) is still committed each year for the destruction of the human race.  The justification to reduce global military expenditures is every bit as urgent as before.  

 Implementation Criteria

 Any change of this dimension will experience difficulties and resistance.  Opposed to such change is the ingrained mentality within many individuals and organisations and in particular, the military.  The transition from a military infrastructure to the proposed system will threaten existing jobs, prestigious positions and existing organisations. 

 Traditional relationships amongst members of existing military alliances will be changed and to some extent resisted.  Change is never easy, but the question that must be answered, is whether the difficulties related to the change are more important than the global benefits derived from the change.  Any reasonable assessment of this question would result in a resounding affirmative conclusion in favour of change.

 To deal with these difficulties, the following actions are proposed.  First, the proposal needs to be further examined to definitively define the requirements and implications of implementing the concept.  When this has been completed it should be brought to the attention of the Canadian people.  This must be done in a clear, comprehensive and non-partisan manner.  Given the record and cultural disposition of Canadians towards peace and addressing the needs of the world, I believe there would be, if properly presented, an overwhelming endorsement of the proposal.

 To address the concerns of individuals affected by the implementation of the proposal, it should be recognised that there will be a transitional period.  Many of the people within Canada’s military establishment are highly skilled and could be readily incorporated into programs related to the implementation of the proposal.  Given the relatively low number of people in Canada’s armed forces, those who would not fit into programs within the proposal could be retrained to qualify for other types of employment.

 The concerns of Canada’s military alliance partners would dissipate once there was an understanding of Canada’s continuing contribution to world peace.  The key issue would be to demonstrate Canada’s commitment to world peace through a different but much more effective approach.

 Ultimately, the ability to achieve needed change comes down to strong, enlightened and committed world leadership.  Given the reality of history and the continuing military conflicts, inspired and creative leadership is urgently required.  Over the past few years, Canada has demonstrated its continuing commitment to expand peace and address global concerns.  This proposal offers an unparalleled opportunity to support this commitment.

 Conclusion

 Peace has not enjoyed a favourable place in world history. The continuing annual expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars for human destruction cannot be justified in a world so full of need.  If problems related to hunger, poverty, shelter, education and disease were significantly reduced, the opportunity for world peace would be substantially increased.  Therefore, it is essential to find a means to break this destructive and indefensible level of military expenditure.

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