Canadian Forces Circling The Drain: Study

[SirRiff]

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/story/R...Story/National/

Years of penny-pinching have left the Canadian Forces on the brink of collapse and it could take an entire generation to recover, a bleak Queen's University study warns.

The document tells the incoming Paul Martin government that it is about to walk into a disaster, with a military that can't be used because of shortages of people and equipment.

"The problem will rapidly disarm foreign policy as Canada repeatedly backs away from international commitments because it lacks adequate military forces," said the report, entitled Canada Without Armed Forces?, released Wednesday.

read the whole thing...its even more depressing...

instead of blame, any solutions?

we are talking billions and billions of $$$, where is it going to come from and are Canadians willing to pay for it?

[sir_springer]

Not to worry.

Paul Martin will have an appropriate explanation for why he allowed this to happen.

For example:

On the gun registry: I could have done a better job on that one.

On freebie flights: I'm not happy with how I handled that one.

I suppose we expect...

On the military: I guess I screwed that one up, too.

My kinda guy for Prime Minister, eh?

:angry:

[FastNed]

There is an option open but I doubt your Liberal Government would elect it!

If the Canadian Military were dedicated to the defense of Canada and North America and were available to fill the gaps in North American defense created by the federalization of the American National Guard, America would modernize Canadian Forces across the board.

We do both live in North America and for most of the last Century, we did agree to jointly defend our homelands. Why should we not resume our traditional joint defensive posture?

[Aidan Pryde]

Perhaps if we cut back on our many foriegn deployments and isntead concentrating on simply defending Canada our military would be in better shape. After all we are the 16th largest military spender in the world but a lot of our budget seems to be sucked up but the logistical costs of our constant foreign deployments.

[Goldie]

Link expenditures to an agreeable percentage of GDP

Example

3% for military

12% for health

7% for education

This would ensure stable longterm funding.

[Communist_boy]

You know there are some more cuts that they could perform with the military. They need to re-organize there policies on a few things as well.

Many personel in the Navy, when it comes time for an overseas deployment line up at the base hospital with some illness that hit them the moment deployment is mentioned. Doctors just sign the forms and therefore the people that do go dont have the appropriate staff.

Also with the Navy, unlike the Army where yu only get field pay when your in the field, once your assigned to a ship you start getting sea pay even if your sitting at home.

These sugestions are not to knock the Navy, its just that most of my dealings have been with them. My father is in the Army, I have two uncles in the Air Force as well, my family is in the military so I wanna see it survive.

[Craig Read]

Make it official. Disband the military, assume neutrality and pull out of Nato and UN engagements. There will be no increased funding under Martin, who will govern the country like Chretien, and the military will implode anyways within 10 years. So do it now and save the armed forces this humiliation.

[Cameron]

Here is a simple solution to saving the military:

[ ] Liberal

[ ] NDP

[X] Conservative

For some reason Canadians are still stupid and voting liberal. I don't know why the majority still can't see that they are a weak government. If you want change, you have to change the government.

[Craig Read]

Canadians are not stupid - in fact a majority WANTS increased military spending.

It is the governing elite, using money and programs to buy votes that are ignorant. Abetted by the media mouthpieces, these elitist lawyers and 'professors' [aka the intelligentsia], have decided that no military power, redistribution, socialism and feel good nationalism is what Canadians want.

2/3 of Cdns are opposed to Gay marriage but do you think that troubles the elites ? The liberals in our society will ram that through. Much like killing off the military nothing troubles these elitist wanks, except getting re-elected and making u chant again and again 'I am Canadian, I am superior.' Like Nazi films during the 30s showing strutting bands and experts attesting to Jewish inferiority and evil, Canada's political and media mouthpieces keep trumpeting the same tired jingoistic song.

While they free ride of the US - have to love the inherent illogic and immorality of socialism.

Military spend has been redirected to election spend and liberal greasing of various regions and hands.

Welcome to corruption Cdn style. Your country is deemed by its elite not worthwhile to fight for.

Man that makes me so proud!!!

[Slavik44]

honstly we have two options,

just shut the Army down now

or watch it go down in 10 years.

You cannot support a strong Army, unless it is built upoun a strong foundation, the liberals are not that foundation.

Even if we increase millitary spending money by 5 billion where does it come from?

Our Failing health care system?

Our Failing Education system?

or just the failing system?

Maybe we can increase taxes...to save our army?

We can just tax the rich, then when the rich leave to the U.S, we can tax the middle class then when the middle class collapses we can just tax the poor, oh yeah they are so poor they can't afford to be taxed.

Let's just stop the pain, and speed up the death, vote Communist party of Canada.

[KrustyKidd]

Craig

2/3 of Cdns are opposed to Gay marriage but do you think that troubles the elites ? The liberals in our society will ram that through.

Craig, they will tap each segment of society in turn to give them something for a vote. Dope smokers and queers are the latest. Soon they will move onto the prison population and do like Davis did in California giving illeagals drivers licenses that in turn allow them to vote.

Didn't you once refer to Canada as "California North?"

[SirRiff]

2/3 of Cdns are opposed to Gay marriage but do you think that troubles the elites ? The liberals in our society will ram that through

well that is just genious. i am sure the majority of old white men were jumping up and down to get women the right to vote nad give blacks equality.

its beyond unreasonable to pretend that social progress need to be popular in order to be morally right or beneficial. the majority has consistantly been resistant to change, which is why martin luther king and little black girls in the southern US were the ones who had to fight for thier rights instead of the majority recognizing them and giving it to them.

before all the gay rights stuff got into the press it was 55% supporting it. now its 55% against it is it? well maybe next year it will back the other way. regardless, equality isnt based on the flavor of the day. ask the taliban.

sirriff

[KrustyKidd]

its beyond unreasonable to pretend that social progress need to be popular in order to be morally right or beneficial. the majority has consistantly been resistant to change

Riff, those are wise words indeed

[Morgan]

Same sex marriage is neither morally right nor socially beneficial.

Gays like all Canadian citizens share the same rights and protections under the law if not more due to recent "anti-hate" laws.

Gays cannot have their unions legalized just like other individuals in society, be they polygamists or blood relatives like adult brothers and sisters.

At some level, what's best for society as a whole trumps what is viewed as "beneficial/morally right" by a select group of individuals.

To claim that same sex marriage is "social progress" is to be intellectually dishonest.

[SirRiff]

To claim that same sex marriage is "social progress" is to be intellectually dishonest.

well, i never claimed to be intellectually honest, in fact the other day a hot girl ignored me, and i convinced myself she was a lesbian.

anyways...

it is not gay marriage itself that is social progress.

Social progress is two law abiding, productive, and responsible citizens of Canada being able to exercise free will without arbitrarily discriminatory and unreasonably intrusive restrictions from the a) government, fanatical minority, or c) tyrant majority.

as the Charter says, the rights of equality are guaranteed "only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society."

if you cannot meet that high standard, there is no moral, ethical, legal, or democratic basis for infringing on those rights.

it seems pretty black and white to me when dealing with equality protection and the actions of private individuals.

sirriff