Reflections from Doug HW

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has just released their annual analysis of trends in world military expenditure. They report that military spending worldwide increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a total of $2.43 trillion USD. That 6.8 percent increase over 2022 is the steepest rise since 2009 and highest level SIPRI has ever recorded. The world military burden (military spending as a percentage of GDP) increased to 2.3 per cent. Average military expenditure as a share of government spending rose to 6.9 per cent and world military spending per person was the highest since 1990, at $306 USD.

Military expenditure went up in all five geographical regions, with major spending increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East.

At $27.2 billion USD in 2023, SIPRI reports that Canada’s military spending was 6.6 per cent more than in 2022 and a whopping 49 per cent more than in 2014. Canada’s military burden was 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2023. Canada’s plans are to increase military spending by $8.1 billion CAD over the next five years and $73 billion CAD over the next twenty years.

Those are the bare facts. So what is missing from this account?

The figures cannot truly testify to the misery of millions of people all over the world that suffer the consequences of this nasty spending on guns, bombs, artillery, land mines, warplanes, warships, nuclear arms and solders trained to kill. So many of these weapons find their way into the hands of paramilitary militias and roving gangs. Mines remain hidden for years to kill and maim innocent men, women and children.

Are not these some of the same numbers boldly flaunted by politicians to garner the trust of voters. Our governments tell us that this spending is to keep us safe, to protect us from evil nations, to protect us from people unlike us beyond our borders that mean us harm and want to destroy our homelands.

But can we ever be safe swimming in this sea of weapons?

What is missing? The money desperately needed to secure health care, education, housing and food.

What is missing? Money badly needed for training, developing and deploying experienced expert people for peace building, mediation, negotiation, diplomacy, peacekeeping.

Not one soul profits from weaponized WAR.
It is PEACE that pays dividends!