The world must, as Prime Minister Mark Carney recently noted, accept the current climate as it is, rather than looking to the past.

To do so, Canada must develop a defence policy that can meet the country’s needs. The Canadian government’s recent budget envisions a significant increase in defence spending over the next several years.

The problem Canada faces, however, is one that all middle powers face: an inability to compete with great powers in a conventional war.

The Canadian government must therefore pursue non-conventional means to overcome conventional weakness. Simultaneously, the country must be cognizant of the implications of alternative defence policies. The former Yugoslavia provides a harrowing example.

  • ArmchairAce1944@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    The increasingly aggressive gun bans that have been happening in the past 6 years is making this damn near impossible. Those bans also made shooting sports and gun ownership a very hostile and uncertain thing. Meaning you’ll end up having only hardcore people owning guns.

    Handing out weapons to most people in this case will be a recipe for disaster. Most have neither the training nor the interest and desire to do it. Even those hardcore gun guys might be good at target shooting, but that is not the same as combat shooting.

    I wanted to get into practical shooting but the gun laws effectively made that impossible for me. Every time I had my eyes set on a rifle they banned that model and all alternatives by name. Now they are putting most shotguns on the chopping block. No new handguns are allowed to be sold, and all existing handguns registered are grandfathered. In effect, very few new people are willing to take up shooting sports to develop an interest in this and those existing ones aren’t too happy with the government.

    • CurbCuts@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      It’s not just about guns. If you prepared towns and cities in supply management, medical training, blocking and clearing roadways and maintaining infastuture that would go a long way in  supporting Canada in war and from national desasters.

      • ArmchairAce1944@lemmy.ca
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        1 day ago

        I am extremely aware of that. But at the same time they’re also working very hard to continue to share all information with the Americans that would make that a very, very difficult thing. With the US increasingly becoming more like Israel and their utter and complete lack of restraint and ethics and morality, they will absolutely use any and all information on how Canadians are preparing for anything for attacks and sabotage. They absolutely WILL ‘double tap’ any ambulance or anyone trying to administer aid after an attack, whether it is EMTs or the fire department, or just some guys with supermarket first aid kits and fire extinguishers.

        • CurbCuts@lemmy.ca
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          1 day ago

          I do think that wide spread rifel training should be inclued in the military budget but privet gun owership, especially hand guns, shouldn’t be apart of a military strategy. Training people to work together on local levels and giveing them skills that are valuable in emergency and war would have benifits in war and if it never comes to that. Also it would help with natinal unitity; a worrie that was brought up in the artical.