Make way for readers | Reactions to the “Our Disarmed Forces” dossier

Many readers have commented on Paul Journet’s file on the Canadian Armed Forces, published on March 27 in the Background section. Here is an overview of the emails received, a majority saying they are in favor of an increase in the Defense budget.

To wake up

I’m happy to live in a country that hasn’t needed to give more than 2% of its GDP to NATO so far. But today, with all these wars swirling around us… I think it’s time to wake up. Both for our soldiers and for our borders, especially that of the Far North.

Monique LePage

Disarmed Pride

As a baby boomer having served 41 years in a workforce that has grown from 125,000 to some 60,000 members of the Active Forces, which crumbles down to recruiting, my pride has also been disarmed, to the point of removing my plate veteran of my sedan.

Yves Genereux

Obsolete material

While NATO is hesitant to supply fighter planes to the Ukrainians, ours are 40 years old! How much did all those purchase cancellations cost? At least the cost of two or three of these planes. I can understand wanting the most sophisticated and modern aircraft available on the market, but it is obvious that having combat aircraft is better than not having any at all… And, of course, that is applies to the replacement of all obsolete Canadian military equipment, from helicopters to ships to missiles and even camouflage uniforms, ridiculously in the wrong colors…

Alan Charles

negotiate peace

Totally agree that we need a better army with ultralight and ultrafast equipment. It’s much easier to negotiate peace when you have a good army to defend yourself, if necessary! Do you think Putin would have invaded Ukraine if it still had all its nuclear warheads?

Rejean Malette

Invest in monitoring

Because of the vastness of the territory and the smallness of its population, Canada will never have the means, either in money or in soldiers, to ensure a defense of its territory at the height of what we see in the war in Ukraine. In addition, rapid technological development leads to a need to renew military equipment or upgrade it at ever-increasing costs. To this must be added the costs of training the military (just think of the cost of training and training a fighter pilot)! So, are there other solutions than an increase in armament bought second-hand and still insufficient? Investing massively in surveillance might be a better choice: radar, warning systems and cyber-surveillance… Anyway, if the Russians or the Chinese take it into their heads to set foot in our territorial waters, I am certain that the States States would pull out their claws without even asking our opinion.

Christine Besson

Smart reset

With these words from Andrew Leslie, your analysis seems to describe a distressing reality in times of war, but quite well adapted in times of peace. However, it is a bit different from si vis pacem para bellum of our strong Roman masters at war. I have always been rather against military spending, having lived in Quebec all my life, which has not known war on its territory since say 1812. Now, I believe that there is no other choice than to enhance our defense mechanisms through intelligent, well-targeted rearmament of weapons that function like little portable jewels capable of bringing down a jet plane or neutralizing a tank which, under these conditions, seem to me to be obsolete weapons. Moreover, as the majority of current wars and those of the last century seem to me to be triggered by countries led by somewhat psychopathic dictators, I would tend to hire psychologists and psychiatrists in the army and the diplomatic corps capable of identifying the ways of thinking and behaviors of these leaders to better anticipate their actions and their bellicose tendency. Wishfulthinkingwithout a doubt.

Hugues Beauregard

The more it changes, the more it is the same

I served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for 39 years, from 1974 to 2013. Nothing has changed regarding the underfunding of our military. We have excellent soldiers, but there is a lack of budget to equip and train them adequately to deal with evolving threats which, in the 21^and century, are manifesting themselves in the form of better-equipped armies, such as those of Russia and China. It takes 10 to 15 years to acquire and integrate modern military equipment. Unfortunately, our governments have a vision and a political will over a four-year horizon, which corresponds to the electoral cycle. We will see in the next budget pious wishes to increase the CAF budget with possible announcements of equipment purchases, but when the current crisis in Ukraine is over, these pious wishes will be quickly forgotten or postponed to finance the priorities of the day. . The more it changes, the more it is the same. This results from the feeling of security that we have thanks to our geographical location, being bordered by three oceans and sharing a single land border with an allied country that has the most powerful armed forces in the world. To change this paradigm, Canada needs to define what place it wants to occupy in the world, either that of a passive spectator without influence or that of a responsible and active citizen of the world who can contribute and influence the evolution of the world. world order. Once we have decided what place we want to occupy in the world, all that remains is to elect leaders who will have a more strategic view and who will provide our Armed Forces with the necessary budgets so that they can make a credible contribution in the world at the level of our ambitions.

Jacques Morneau, retired colonel, Mont-Saint-Hilaire