Canada is a nation at arms. That’s the way it always has been and always will be. At least, that’s what our government would have us believe. Despite a recommendation today to delay the purchase of F-35s until after 2018, the Department of National Defence budge had big surprises in store. The latest DND budget earmarks $83 million before 2020 to commemorate Canada’s military history. This allotment is part of a bigger plan to equip Canada’s armed forces for the wars of the future. The total plan will cost $100 billion over the next 20 years.
Fighter jets and the Canadian flag have never seemed so juxtaposed
Alain Rioux
It’s a sensible proposal. Canada’s military is a huge joke…people actually laugh at our Air Farce! Our men and women in uniform need more money to buy better stuff so we can be taken seriously on the international stage. After all, it’s a dangerous world out there, so Canada must remain vigilant if it wants to keep its head above water.
We know the incredible cost of war. We were involved in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Afghanistan. We even spent hundreds of millions of dollars to fly six airplanes around Libya for a while. So yes, Canada has played a mix of integral and completely disposable roles in international conflicts, but does that really justify $100 billion in new spending? It certainly does.
Canada needs new F-35s (or whatever we end up getting with something between $9-45 billion dollars) in order to confront the challenges of our shifting geographic and political landscapes. The Department of National Defence needs to get its act together and replace our CF-18s before 2018. Our government must ignore the literati and its calls for restraint. It’s time for reckless spending. We need supersonic hover fighters to patrol our Arctic shoreline. We need to equip them with new sonar and radar so that we can see through the ice and find new oil deposits…it’s not like we’re burning oil fast enough to make that ice melt anyway. Finally, we need advanced technology to combat the most salient, omnipresent threat to Canada’s territorial integrity: Quebec.
Sure, you may laugh, but did you know that with a single referendum Quebec could overrun a huge percentage of Canada’s landmass, and capture nearly a quarter of its population? How the hell is Canada supposed to defend itself without heat seeking missiles and submarines? Don’t fool yourself; this is a real threat. It happened in 1980 and then again in 1995. We’re overdue for a repeat. Now is the time to invest in protection.
In all seriousness, that is the only threat to Canada’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It’s the only real threat we’ve faced for well over 50 years, and it’s hard to keep a straight face while writing about it in a military context. Ever wonder why our military is small and ill equipped for major combat? Stop wondering. Maybe it’s because we don’t need a military for that purpose.
Accordingly, it’s absolutely absurd that our government is dedicating $100 billion to buy expensive, unnecessary equipment for our military. Our veterans could use that money. So, rather than spending millions telling them how well this government serves them, and rather than spending billions on new equipment they don’t need, how about actually serving them well and giving them the things they do need. Stop cutting veterans services, and start showing them the respect they deserve. Think we can’t afford it? I know where we can find plenty of money.