Military chief warns China and Russia are 'at war with the West' and Canada is not ready

[KevinB]

Honestly if the Monarchy wanted they could apply a ton of power in Canada. They choose to remain hands off.

It’s not really a choice.

The PM doesn’t appoint senators, the GG does. Same with Judges, etc. The GG is appointed by the King. The final stage in any law is also being signed by the GG, who could hypothetically refuse much like how your President can refuse to sign laws into being, only difference being there is no override option if they refuse.

Both the King and Governor General are ceremonial powers at best. It’s a rubber stamp, as failure to do so, simply means the GG will be replaced, ushered out to an ambassadorship etc.

At this point seeing where our politicians are leading us, I think the monarchy being more directly involved wouldn’t be a bad thing. Can’t really be much worse than the short sighted politicians we currently have. At least their guiding hand could help develop some long term plans/policies.

The idea that one person is less fallible than an elected body is a a little disturbing to me.

 

[btrudy]

The idea that one person is less fallible than an elected body is a a little disturbing to me.

Certainly that absolute power wouldn't possibly corrupt absolutely, if allowed to be wielded!

 

[Halifax Tar]

The idea that one person is less fallible than an elected body is a a little disturbing to me.

This is something many people fail to grasp.

 

[RangerRay]

Certainly that absolute power wouldn't possibly corrupt absolutely, if allowed to be wielded!

In our system as it evolved, a PM with a majority in Parliament has unparalleled power and no checks or balances. How well has that worked?

 

[Halifax Tar]

In our system as it evolved, a PM with a majority in Parliament has unparalleled power and no checks or balances. How well has that worked?

Isn't this where the senate defenders decry sober second thought ?

 

[RangerRay]

Isn't this where the senate defenders decry sober second thought ?

That’s what it’s supposed to be. Like the rest of our parliamentary system, it evolved into a patronage dump. It needs to be reformed to be a true chamber of sober second thought instead of sleepy obsequiousness. Even the House of Lords in Westminster exercises more checks on the UK’s PM than the Senate does on ours.

Committees, where real work used to get done, have become a joke.

 

[ArmyRick]

That’s what it’s supposed to be. Like the rest of our parliamentary system, it evolved into a patronage dump. It needs to be reformed to be a true chamber of sober second thought instead of sleepy obsequiousness. Even the House of Lords in Westminster exercises more checks on the UK’s PM than the Senate does on ours.

Committees, where real work used to get done, have become a joke.

Agreed. Committees have turned into political battle grounds using legalities, procedures and time limits as a weapon.

 

[Good2Golf]

Isn't this where the senate defenders decry sober second thought ?

One would think…especially with all the ‘independent’ senators…

 

[alberthead62]

Military chief warns China and Russia are 'at war with the West' and Canada is not ready

Russia and China don’t differentiate between peace and war and are actively seeking to challenge the West, says Gen. Wayne Eyre

nationalpost.com

A timely statement from the CDS but I think one thing it's missing is the so what?

IMO, the so what for me is that this Country needs WINNERS in the driver seat. We need to start actively competing economically, politically, culturally, socially and militarily.

We have natural resources, we have tremendous financial and intellectual capital at our disposal. Lets start WINNING! Lets start COMPETING!

Ukraine is a sideshow for an even bigger conflict that is building.

The CDS is the problem. A politician in uniform. He’s right that we aren’t ready, but then Canada could not have been “ready” for decades. The slow rot from the inside of the CAF has inevitably led to our being reduced to a bit player on the world stage instead of having a seat at the table with the big boys. Canada could be a force to be reconned with. Instead, we’d be hard pressed to fight of Lichtenstein if they invaded! It’s pathetic. We have such great troops, but such weak, self serving leadership.

 

[Kirkhill]

The CDS appears to have company in his beliefs

Charles Burton is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, non-resident senior fellow of the European Values Center for Security Policy in Prague, and former diplomat at Canada’s embassy in Beijing.

Opinion: Sapped of both hard and soft power, Canada needs action to keep up in a dangerous world

With its credibility and military power fading, Ottawa must shift the focus of our defence and national security apparatuses to the north

www.theglobeandmail.com

....Given our pathetically depleted hard power capabilities, Canada needs a reality check on what we can actually do with the limited resources at our disposal.

First of all, it is time to stop mouthing hollow bromides about “our” north, and actually reorient our defence to establish a meaningful presence in the Arctic. China now defines itself as a “near-Arctic nation,”....

Secondly, Canada must protect its northern stores of critical minerals. We talk a good game on this, but so far that has mostly been political bafflegab. Beyond making an obvious statement about our sovereignty, developing our northern resources is a productive way to create economic opportunities for northern Indigenous communities, and shows our allies that we are serious about stopping China from monopolizing valuable minerals in Canadian soil that are vital to the world’s high-tech future.

Finally, Ottawa needs to step up and meet the challenge to Canada’s security from Iran, Russia and China. ...

We are facing an axis of cold-blooded dictators determined to destroy Western-supported stability and order. ...

 

[GK .Dundas]

About a decade or so I can recall stating that in the future if things continued the way they were. At best the largest most complex military operation we would be be to put on would be a parade....
At the time sheer hyperbole on my point . Now .... I'm not entirely sure.

 

[WLSC]

In our system as it evolved, a PM with a majority in Parliament has unparalleled power and no checks or balances. How well has that worked?

You are so absolutely right. I like the monarchy but it doesn’t work as it supposed to in Canada. Do a republic, Provinces name/elect senators, the senators vote the President of Canada with defined power and then, if done properly the balance of power should be more real. « PM, during your biweekly visit and tea, please explain to me why you do this which are clearly inside the provincial realm, they are really curious and anxious about that. »

 

[KevinB]

The CDS is the problem. A politician in uniform.

I don't think you know him then. I wouldn't call him a politician at all --

He’s right that we aren’t ready, but then Canada could not have been “ready” for decades.

It is an alarm bell that many of his predecessors have been unwilling/unable to sound.

The slow rot from the inside of the CAF has inevitably led to our being reduced to a bit player on the world stage instead of having a seat at the table with the big boys. Canada could be a force to be reconned with. Instead, we’d be hard pressed to fight off Lichtenstein if they invaded! It’s pathetic. We have such great troops, but such weak, self serving leadership.

I don't think it is fair to throw all of the blame at the CAF leadership.
Yes there have definitely been a lot of GO/FO's who clearly didn't have the CAF and Canada's best interests at heart, either thinking about their pensions or thinking with their penis.
But the Canadian public and the GoC are more than equal to blame for the state of the CAF currently.

 

[Kirkhill]

You are so absolutely right. I like the monarchy but it doesn’t work as it supposed to in Canada. Do a republic, Provinces name/elect senators, the senators vote the President of Canada with defined power and then, if done properly the balance of power should be more real. « PM, during your biweekly visit and tea, please explain to me why you do this which are clearly inside the provincial realm, they are really curious and anxious about that. »

You don't need to declare a republic to achieve that end. If the Provinces select the Senate they can block the PM's GG selection and make the GG an effective player in the power struggle. He or she would have their own power base and would have the democratic credentials of being approved by both the Federal Commons and the Provincial Senate. But in both cases the selection would be insulated from direct representations of the public and I think that would be a good thing. The GG would be a creature of the people in power and the selection process might shed some light on who has how much power.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I don't think you know him then. I wouldn't call him a politician at all --

It is an alarm bell that many of his predecessors have been unwilling/unable to sound.

I don't think it is fair to throw all of the blame at the CAF leadership.
Yes there have definitely been a lot of GO/FO's who clearly didn't have the CAF and Canada's best interests at heart, either thinking about their pensions or thinking with their penis.
But the Canadian public and the GoC are more than equal to blame for the state of the CAF currently.

The Haldane Reforms enter the chat


On 12 July (1906), Mr. Haldane was ready to place his proposals before Commons. The House was packed, the galleries crowded, as he rose to speak. This time there was no polite modesty; confidence and assurance were the keynotes as Haldane began on a somber note, "I believe there is hardly a Member who is not highly convinced that the state of our national Forces is profoundly unsatisfactory." This statement referred both to cost and to organization. Haldane pointed out the need to "restore public confidence in the Army, and to make people realize that in their army they are getting fair value for their money. The Army must be reorganized, so that it can be efficiently used in war. An Army shaped, for the only purpose for which an Army is needed - the purpose of war."

https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1397&context=studentwork

 

[WLSC]

You don't need to declare a republic to achieve that end. If the Provinces select the Senate they can block the PM's GG selection and make the GG an effective player in the power struggle. He or she would have their own power base and would have the democratic credentials of being approved by both the Federal Commons and the Provincial Senate. But in both cases the selection would be insulated from direct representations of the public and I think that would be a good thing. The GG would be a creature of the people in power and the selection process might shed some light on who has how much power.

The province can’t select because the constitution doesn’t allow it. If you open the constitution, redo it wall to wall, not piece by piece.

 

[Kirkhill]

The province can’t select because the constitution doesn’t allow it. If you open the constitution, redo it wall to wall, not piece by piece.

Fair enough.

I'm just saying that you can fix a lot of things without pissing off us monarchists.

 

[WLSC]

Fair enough.

I'm just saying that you can fix a lot of things without pissing off us monarchists.

How Winston said it to is son? « You made an enemy today? Good, it means you took a decision ». Having the monarchist, the republican or the peoples who want the system to work pissed, someone will be pissed, all the time

 

[Kirkhill]

How Winston said it to is son? « You made an enemy today? Good, it means you took a decision ». Having the monarchist, the republican or the peoples who want the system to work pissed, someone will be pissed, all the time

Vive le Roi!