From O'Reilly's glib summarization from December 11, 2003:
Canada can't help us anyway. They have no military to speak of. And the socialistic system they have there has nearly bankrupted them. So Chretien is history. A new administration is upcoming. We should be trying to work things out with Canada.
Bankrupted? From December 3, 2003:
The federal government's coffers brimmed with a surplus of $7 billion for the last fiscal year, Finance Minister John Manley reported Wednesday. The entire surplus will go to pay down the national debt.
The surplus for the 2002-2003 fiscal year, which ended on March 31 was the sixth straight year that Ottawa's books have been in the black...
Canada has been underfunding its military for years, but that's been a deliberate policy choice of where to apply budget cuts. The current Prime Minister, Paul Martin, was part of that, having served as Finance Minister from 1993 to 2002. Nor is this budget surplus new, as implied by this UK columnist critical of said underfunding and its impact upon the equipment for Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
With regard to bankruptcy, some perspective is needed. A quick check of the public debt per capita in Canada versus the USA for 2002 reveals that it's $24,892 and $21,937 respectively after adjusting for purchasing power parity. Only 13.5% more bankrupt per capita.
That being said, with an election in the offing, don't expect Canada to ramp up its military spending any time soon. It's just not in the cards. Healthcare funding is higher on the domestic agenda.
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