A Proud Tradition
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In addition to examining the state
of Canada’s finances and what this means to individual Canadians,
the underground royal commission also
took a close look at the state of our national defence preparedness
and collective security policies. Just as we have stopped paying
our own way for our extensive and universal social welfare programs
over the past 40 years, we have also not been paying our own way
for our national defence efforts. This has had serious consequences
for those we ask to defend us. It also limits our effectiveness
and influence on the international stage.
It was not always this way. In the first half of the 20th Century,
Canada contributed beyond its size to collective security. We forged
our sovereignty from Britain on the battle fields of Europe in World
War I. We fought on the side of freedom in World II and in Korea.
In all, approximately 100,000 Canadians lives were lost in these
wars. We stood up for what we believed in, and paid in blood.
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As Major-General (Ret.) Lewis MacKenzie puts it in The
Chance of War:
If one thing really upsets me – you think it shouldn’t –
it’s hearing Canada described as a “peacekeeping nation.”
We are not a peacekeeping nation. World War I, World War II, Korea –
we have gone off and done the right thing and there’s tens of thousands
of crosses around the world to prove that we’ve done that.
There are politicians who naively believe that a bunch of constabulary-type
Canadians, just ‘cause they’re Canadians with pistols on their
hips, running around the world, will be a popular source for the international
community to use for peacekeeping work. That is B.S. We will not be invited.
You have to have well-trained soldiers to do this work. And sailors and
airmen.
However, as will be noted in the coming modules,
Canada’s commitment to a strong and well-equipped military has waned
over the past four decades, creating negative consequences for those in
our Armed Forces and in our ability to conduct foreign policy.
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