Military recruiters begone

UBC student group makes war on recruitment campaign

Carolynne Burkholder The Ubyssey (University of British Columbia)

VANCOUVER (CUP) — With their posters and colourful decor designed to attract the student eye, Canadian Forces recruiters may look at home beside campus club booths attempting to gain new members, but if some UBC students have their way, the familiar stalls could be a thing of the past.

“[Campuses] are places of education, not of recruiting to war,” said Alison Bodine, president of the Coalition against War on the People of Iraq and Internationally, who organized last week’s petition against recruiters on campus.

“I think this issue is really important, especially right now because of the fact that students and youth in Canada are also under attack,” said Bodine. “We have an increased number of recruiters on campus, so students are being constantly reminded that they can join the military and get their education paid for . . . all they have to do is go and kill people in Afghanistan.”

When students are looking for ways to afford their education, joining the Canadian Forces may sound like an appealing option. Students who are prepared to serve in the forces both while they study and after graduation will have their tuition paid for by the government.

Captain Holly Brown, a public affairs officer for the Canadian Forces, said that the recruitment campaigns are in the best interest of students and the Canadian military alike.

She said that recruiters visit university campuses “just to provide job opportunities,” as the largest employer in Canada.

“We go and recruit on university campuses for the same reasons that we go in to high schools, and the same rreaons that other employers go on to university campuses — becaause we are hiring,” said Brown.

Brown also said that recruiters going onto campuses “don’t debate,” but rather attempt to stay out of the controversy that may arise.

“Basically Canadians — that’s one of the wonderful rights we have: everyone has the right to voice their opinions, everyone has the right to protest. Our policy is not to engage these people — they say their piece, and we maintain ours . . . . But we’re not there to debate government policy,” said Brown. “That’s why we’re here — is to ensure that they have that right.”

She added that the Canadian Forces is a lucrative career option for many students, citing signing bonuses of up to $245,000 for medical school graduates. Also, pilots, signal operators, naval technicians and other careers are in particular demand, said Brown.

Although most students would not be posted to Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces are heavily involved in this area; moreover, most reservists choose to participate in overseas missions.

The federal government’s latest budget has substantially increased the funding provided to the Canadian Forces. In 2003, the Canadian military expenditure was $9.8 billion — 1.1 per cent of the gross domestic product.

However, over the next five years, the Canadian military budget will be increased by $12.8 billion, of which $3 billion is earmarked for increasing the size of the Canadian Army.

During his budget presentation, Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale talked about the implications of the increased spending: “This significant investment in our military means that we will be able to better meet our responsibilities abroad and protect our people at home.”

But members of the Coalition against War on the People of Iraq and Internationally disagree and have garnered hundreds of signatures of students for a petition stating “Canada out of Afghanistan, recruiters off of our campus.”