Leaked Military Report: Spend $1 billion less

Former army chief proposes major personnel cuts at headquarters in a July report.

A leaked internal report by Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie advocates $1 billion in Canadian military spending cuts. Leslie's report, which has yet to be released to the public, includes a series of budget changes designed to save the Department of National Defence money without compromising the safety of frontline soldiers. Leslie suggests eliminating or redeploying up to 11,000 civilian, military, and reserve personnel while streamlining and merging other departments, particularly at the National Defence headquarters. Though it is not yet known whether the federal government will follow Leslie’s recommendations, his "keep-the-tanks-and-vests, fire-the-bureaucracy" approach could make it politically easier to sell cuts to the public.