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Canada should scrap plans for Close Combat Vehicles, says Rick Hillier

Retired general Rick Hillier added his voice to those calling on the federal government to terminate its Close Combat Vehicle project.

The Conservative government is currently set to go ahead with purchasing over 100 of the vehicles, or CCVs, to back up Canada's Leopard tanks in battle. Hillier said to cancel the CCVs in an interview on CTV's Power Play Monday, providing another signal of an ongoing disagreement between the Conservative government and military top brass over the wisdom of the project.

Hillier, who noted the Canadian Forces faced a "massive, massive challenge" as to where to make recently implemented budget cuts, said "we no longer have a need for close combat vehicles" in a recent interview with Power Play Host Don Martin.

Dropping the CCVs could "save about $2 billion right there and help mitigate the rest of the cuts across the board," said Hillier, who added the CCVs' capabilities could be filled by an upgraded LAV III, the light armoured vehicles that ferried Canadian forces in Afghanistan.

Hillier's statement comes on the heels of a report released last week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Rideau Institute. The report, "Stuck in a Rut," criticized the $2 billion CCV procurement as a lavish commitment to "Cold War tactics" when the money would be better spent training troops for the demands of 21st century warfare.

In May, the Canadian Forces attempted to scuttle the CCV project but were prevented from doing so by the Conservatives, who may have feared another military procurement "black eye," suggested reporting by the Ottawa Citizen.

The Conservatives have faced controversy over buying military equipment before. The decision to purchase expensive F-35 fighter jets to replace Canada's aging fleet of F-18 Hornets has "dogged" the party since 2010, through the 2011 federal election, and beyond.

Adam Pez is completing a practicum at The Tyee.

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