A cross-party defence caucus?

J.L. Granatstein calls for a new approach to parliament's consideration of Canadian defence policies:

Another way to improve traffic on the intersection between politics and the military is to have more MPs acquire the expertise they need to comment intelligently on defence.

To be blunt, the NDP's defence critic, Dawn Black, and the Liberal's former critic, Denis Coderre, wouldn't know an entrenching tool from a LAV III. Such ignorance helps no one and no party.

But what if there were an informal "defence caucus" that brought together Members from all parties on a regular basis to hear from knowledgeable military figures, scholars, and industrialists?

The Bloc's Claude Bachand from Saint-Jean knows his stuff; so too do the NDP's Bill Blaikie from Manitoba, unfortunately not running again, and Peter Stoffer from Nova Scotia. Add in Senators Colin Kenny and Hugh Segal and MPs from ridings with large military bases or major defence industries, and it would be possible over time to create a group of knowledgeable parliamentarians who could improve defence expertise in the House of Commons and Senate in a fashion that can benefit all Canadians and the Canadian Forces.

Given that the Canadian Forces are a significant part of the government's budget, they seem to get little understanding and less consideration from MPs than just about any other area of government. This idea might help to improve the situation for parliament and for the CF. It's certainly better than what we have now.

H/T to The Torch.