Canada doesn’t matter to the rest of the world - and it’s our own fault

[dimsum]

Michel Maisonneuve: Canada doesn't matter to the rest of the world — and it's our own fault

Trudeau's neglect for the military has atrophied our diplomatic muscle to a point of international embarrassment

nationalpost.com

One point that I noted, because I listened to Perun’s episode on the Red Sea: He says that France has shot down whatever but Canada has only 3 officers in OP Prosperity Guardian. France is officially not part of OPG but are escorting ships, so maybe they aren’t the best example. If a Canadian ship happens to be in CTF 150 and shoots down a Houthi-aligned whatever, then are they counted as part of OPG?

 

[MilEME09]

Michel Maisonneuve: Canada doesn't matter to the rest of the world — and it's our own fault

Trudeau's neglect for the military has atrophied our diplomatic muscle to a point of international embarrassment

nationalpost.com

One point that I noted, because I listened to Perun’s episode on the Red Sea: He says that France has shot down whatever but Canada has only 3 officers in OP Prosperity Guardian. France is officially not part of OPG but are escorting ships, so maybe they aren’t the best example. If a Canadian ship happens to be in CTF 150 and shoots down a Houthi-aligned whatever, then are they counted as part of OPG?

Except we aren't in ctf150, we are spent, and I doubt we will deploy another ship to the area any time soon. Our personal are exhausted, and with a dry winter out West so far we face another potential wild fire season that will drain resources further. Short term, it's not looking good for us, and our risk aversion to making dramatic changes may hurt our ability to cope and recover.

 

[dimsum]

Except we aren't in ctf150, we are spent, and I doubt we will deploy another ship to the area any time soon. Our personal are exhausted, and with a dry winter out West so far we face another potential wild fire season that will drain resources further. Short term, it's not looking good for us, and our risk aversion to making dramatic changes may hurt our ability to cope and recover.

I’m not sure if we continuously have folks in CTF 150 HQ even if we don’t necessarily have ships there 24/7/365.

 

[KevinB]

Well his letter is factual.

But I guess you guys want free child care and dental plans until you have to report to the re-education camps when the Chinese or Russian overlords decide Canadians need to behave a certain way…

 

[daftandbarmy]

Well his letter is factual.

But I guess you guys want free subsidized child care and dental plans until you have to report to the re-education camps when the Chinese or Russian overlords decide Canadians need to behave a certain way…

It's not that free... so even worse, right?

 

[FSTO]

I’m not sure if we continuously have folks in CTF 150 HQ even if we don’t necessarily have ships there 24/7/365.

CTF 150 is commanded on a rotational basis. When I was with CMF, Canada had a CTF 150 rotation. There was 33 Canadians plus 5 Aussies with the HQ Staff. HMCS Calgary with HB onboard made an appearance. The rotation is 6 months long and is handled by about 8 or 9 different nations.

Combined Maritime Force (CMF) is based in Bahrain and is colocated with USN 5th Fleet. That is the Organization that Canada has a permanent presence. It consists of a Commander SNR, two LCdrs (NWO and Int), 4 Lt’s (int), and a PO2/PO1 support chief. Until recently there was a satellite receiver staffed by 6 RCAF pers but I think it was removed a couple of years ago.

 

[Castus]

Well his letter is factual.

But I guess you guys want free child care and dental plans until you have to report to the re-education camps when the Chinese or Russian overlords decide Canadians need to behave a certain way…

I don't think this is a necessary equivalency. Gen Maisonneuve is correct about his assessment, obviously, but we don't need to utterly gut our services to afford a much better military and have a comprehensive foreign policy. This is all within reach of the government, if it chose to do it.

There are billions of dollars wasted by this (and frankly, all) government on frivolities - our civil service has grown by 40% over the last few years, for instance. These could be re-purposed towards the Armed Forces without affecting social services. These social services are poorly run, and I am certain there are mounds of money to be found if they were on a tighter ship. We also have a variety of things I imagine that could be done to reduce regulation and burden on businesses etc... which likely woudl result in better economic growth and therefore tax revenue.

 

[Maxman1]

free child care and dental plans

 

[Haggis]

I don't think this is a necessary equivalency. Gen Maisonneuve is correct about his assessment, obviously, but we don't need to utterly gut our services to afford a much better military and have a comprehensive foreign policy. This is all within reach of the government, if it chose to do it.

There are billions of dollars wasted by this (and frankly, all) government on frivolities - our civil service has grown by 40% over the last few years, for instance. These could be re-purposed towards the Armed Forces without affecting social services.

This government is willing to spend upwards of $2B to take guns from licensed owners but cuts $1B from the CAF, which is supposed to have guns.

Maybe the intent is that my confiscated AR rifle will end up in the hands of a troop from 1RCR?

 

[Good2Golf]

This government is willing to spend upwards of $2B to take guns from licensed owners but cuts $1B from the CAF, which is supposed to have guns.

Maybe the intent is that my confiscated AR rifle will end up in the hands of a troop from 1RCR?

Don’t forget leaving $15B of identified CERB/CEWF overpayments but that government has chosen not to recover. Oh, and $7-8B/year for salaries for the expanded Federal Public Service increase since 2015…

 

[Rifleman62]

But I guess you guys want free child care and dental plans...

It is NOT free. We pay for it via taxes. These social benefits are a method of distributing a service, "managed" by bureaucrats to everyone at low-income rates, paid by a tax everything government.

 

[KevinB]

It is NOT free. We pay for it via taxes. These social benefits are a method of distributing a service, "managed" by bureaucrats to everyone at low-income rates, paid by a tax everything government.

I should have put parenthesis around Free. But quite honestly most of Canadian society seems to thing Gov spending is free anyway, unless it’s for the CAF

 

[Rifleman62]

Nothing from the government is free. A government doesn't have any money. It is all taxpayers money which people forget when they vote.

 

[Gunnar]

Realistically, government money is simply pooling society's resources to achieve things we all agree are a good idea, like police, roads, etc. However, once elected officials can spend other people's money any way they want, and can keep raising the amount they tax, then anything "free" that you can grab is in your best interest in the short term, a typical common pool problem. But whether you understand the nuances or not, it's still perceived as free, and therefore used until its marginal utility is zero, raising costs for us all.

 

[Brad Sallows]

"Free" is approximately worth what a user is paying when a user can't access a service.

Falling behind is a slow process - the effect in real life isn't as dramatic as it is in a game of Civ - but it's real. Eventually we ought to notice effects. One of the effects would be declining status as we fail to meet standards being achieved by leading countries, or fail to "punch-to-weight" (and pointing to what was done by earlier generations doesn't count, much). Too much emphasis on dividing rather than growing the pie, will tell.

 

[Remius]

This government is willing to spend upwards of $2B to take guns from licensed owners but cuts $1B from the CAF, which is supposed to have guns.

Maybe the intent is that my confiscated AR rifle will end up in the hands of a troop from 1RCR? Ukraine.

Fixed.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Don’t forget leaving $15B of identified CERB/CEWF overpayments but that government has chosen not to recover. Oh, and $7-8B/year for salaries for the expanded Federal Public Service increase since 2015…

and the long term pension effect. Had lunch with my old manager the other day, he is preparing for another "Work Force Adjustment" as my old unit has grown from 13 to 22 people. It's unsustainable.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Worth a watch...

Blunt talk on military challenges is a ‘good thing,’ retired defence chief says​

Three retired Canadian defence leaders say chief of defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre making the right move in sharing public statements about the challenges facing the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) around personnel shortages, aging equipment and operational readiness.

This level of candor is not usually seen among military leaders when it comes to sharing issues with the CAF, but retired Royal Canadian Air Force commander and former chief of defence staff Gen. Tom Lawson sees it as a positive.

“I think good, clear talk at this time is a good thing. And I did say earlier that I’m optimistic. I think him sharing some of these short–term problems helps him [Gen. Wayne Eyre] deal with it,” Lawson told The West Block host Mercedes Stephenson.

On the Jan. 7, 2024 episode, Stephenson sat down with Lawson, retired Royal Canadian Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and retired vice-chief of defence staff Lt.-Gen. Guy Thibault to discuss the issues facing the CAF.

“Some of the problems that the chief and his entire leadership cadre are dealing with are bigger and internal compared to what the three of us dealt with,” Lawson said.

“The shortage of personnel, the rusting out of fleets and the shortage of spare parts, really things that make it very tough today. And then of course, on top of all that, the decrease in the budget that was just announced.

Blunt talk on military challenges is a ‘good thing,’ retired defence chief says - National | Globalnews.ca

Retired Canadian military commanders say its a good thing current leadership is talking about resource and personnel challenges, and add that there is no easy fix.

globalnews.ca

 

[FJAG]

I'd be happier if Eyre and the DM would start telling the country as to what they are doing to reduce the HQ bloat, creating more efficient processes and solving the problems facing DND/CAF. The continued bleating about needing more money is tiresome. Let's see an improvement in defence outputs with what they already have.

 

[Good2Golf]

I'd be happier if Eyre and the DM would start telling the country as to what they are doing to reduce the HQ bloat, creating more efficient processes and solving the problems facing DND/CAF. The continued bleating about needing more money is tiresome. Let's see an improvement in defence outputs with what they already have.

Hard for the government to complain when it has bloated sharply the public service >30% in the last 8 years.