We must gird our loins for battle

After all, we must prepare ourselves to “stand with our allies,” and the odds are even that in the very near future our allies will be forced to fight China to save Taiwan, fight Russia to save Ukraine, fight Iran to save Israel, and fight North Korea to save… not sure. Maybe South Korea? That’s a lot of fighting, and as the experts at the Globe & Mail never tire telling me, Canada is woefully unprepared. Just today the editorial board proclaimed that “It’s time to boot up defence.” They’re in a bit of a swoon due to Defence Minister Bill Blair having come out for the procurement of a submarine fleet. A long-overdue step in the right direction, they opine. And it should bring us up to the NATO threshold of spending 2% of GDP on defence. It’s not clear if Bill want us to build them or buy them. Either way, BAE Systems will be the big winner. Their stock is up over 300% since those dark days when Trump was massively negligent about starting new wars. We’ll hit the 2% target alright. By the time Canada has built a sub fleet we’ll easily be at 5%, at least! And for what? So our grandchildren can pay for this idiocy in perpetuity? A submarine fleet has long been a dream of the war lobby, and the pointy heads in Ottawa got a severe case of submarine envy when lowly Australia was invited into the AUKUS alliance while we were snubbed. That snub caused a lot of hurt feelings at DND. The price to Australia to become part of the Big Boys Club with US and UK was to commit to the purchase of a submarine fleet. That’s expected to cost Australia almost $400 billions over the next 30 years. But it’s worth it, because hey, Australia is respected in London and Washington, and we’re not. There’s nothing the editorial board at the Globe craves more than respect from our former and current colonial masters. So by all means, let’s build those subs and there’ll be no more snubs! Alas, we might not be as quick off the mark as Australia, who are expecting to field their fleet by the 2040s. We’ve got an entire surface combatant fleet to build before we start on the subs. That’s multiple hundreds of billions right there. And don’t forget we’ve committed to a multi-billion fleet of F-35s as well. Keep shoveling hundreds of billions into defence, and pretty soon you’re talking serious money! And here’s what concerns me most about the incessant warmongering Canadians are exposed to from our legacy media. The question of opportunity cost. Look at all the things we can’t afford in this country. We can’t afford to build public housing. We can’t afford to keep small-town hospitals open. We can’t afford to train enough doctors and nurses to meet Canada’s needs. We can’t afford to pay living wages to educational assistants and child-care workers and personal support workers. We can’t afford to build public transit that works. We can’t afford school breakfast programs. We can’t afford to provide old age pensions that permit a dignified retirement. The editorial board at the Globe thinks it’s more important to “stand with our allies.” I say, let our allies go it without us. Save Taiwan and Ukraine and Israel without our help, and let the government of Canada stand with Canadians instead.