Is the new government, with its seeming reluctance to take a firm and clear stand on any defence or foreign policy issue, embarked on a return to the "pinch penny diplomacy" of the 1990s, all the while hectoring our chief allies with high-sounding "sunny ways" gibes from the sidelines?
If this is so, then we should cut the cloth of our military and diplomatic capabilities accordingly, and abandon the unctuous pretense that the world needs more Canada.
This should also mean that, as relatively minor free-loader, we could acknowledge (to ourselves at least) that, in a pinch, we expect the US to defend us and our interests.
A return to moral grand-standing from the sidelines on global security issues would solve some of the military procurement problems facing the Trudeau government. The CAF would only need token forces with minimal capabilities. For the Navy, retired admirals in bathtubs could be stationed around Canada’s 200-mile zone. For arctic sovereignty, polar bears, suitably declawed, could be painted with Canadian flags on their behinds. For a submerged presence, fur seals could be similarly adorned. Defence budgets could be slashed, and deficit spending could begin in earnest.
But would such a stance gain us influence on the world stage, and, more importantly, would it make us more secure? Perhaps Canadians really do believe we are too nice to be threatened by anyone.
At any rate, this approach should appeal to the Liberal twittering class. #Canada-is-Back #Platitudes-R-Us
