The Arctic: "Use It Or Lose It"

When I was in University the popular chorus to repeat was that Canada didn't need a military. The thinking went sort of like "No one wants to hurt Canada and besides with the Soviet Union dead there's no need for one."

My buddy and I (and a few others) argued in class that the military wasn't something to be used in times of war. It can be used for many things like, I don't know, protect the Arctic?

The military is a way to prove we exist. That our national sovereignty wasn't up for grabs. I know this is tough for some to comprehend but this is reality.

Of course, one can argue to what degree Canada is "sovereign" but that's for another matter. But for those who harp about Harper being a puppet of U.S. interests best to recall our history: Canada sold its cultural nationalism down the river way, way before Stephen. I mean decades before.

To me, the Arctic has always been proof of Canada's naive approach to power politics. World powers have always laid claim to our seas at different points during our short history. A basic axiom of laying claim to land is by simply maintaining a presence in the region you lay claim to. This simple but effective concept has eluded Canadians - especially the Liberals.

Under the Liberals in the 1990s the military was left in a deplorable state of probable disrepair. Their oblivious attitude towards the military basically meant foregoing exerting national influence on not just the Arctic but on the world stage as well.

Canadians believe that somehow no one would ever want "to hurt" us. This is true. No one says "let's get those people for being Canadian." But they could say, "Those Canadians are very nice but they have something we need. So..." Fill in the blanks.

That something is blue and black gold. If resources and the environment key components of national policy then it stands to reason that we need a strong military to preserve our interests. Arctic Inuit Rangers aren't enough.

Like I said. Naive.

The Liberals and NDP have taken the insane position that the Northwest Passage was opened up because of global warming and this is the reason why foreign nations are coming with their flags.

To think this way is not only ridiculous but utterly irresponsible. Have any of these people been reading Canadian history? This issue has been simmering for a couple of centuries now and it's not because of friggen global warming. Just on this alone neither of these parties should get any votes.

At least Harper is having none of it. He understands, being a student of history, that Canada needs to act like a real country if it's to have any chance of protecting the Arctic. "Use it or lose it" is the perfect phrase to apply to this particular situation.

For a few of us in school, our position was simple: your word is only as good as the hardware to back it up. Ironically, for a country that claims ad nauseam to be independent from America we may end up needing American protection in the Arctic.

That's the price to pay for a parochial approach to national issues where international interests are present. The EU, Denmark, Russia, Norway and the United States all have a presence (or ready to exert one) on the North now . In each case, Canada is powerless militarily to do anything about it. Wagging fingers and talking tough can only go so far. Last I checked, nations don't defend interests with the letters "a,b,c" but with guns, tanks and planes.

We may very well find ourselves in the position of choosing the lesser of all evils and letting the Americans in.

Last, the situation in Georgia may seem like something that has nothing to do with us but if we ponder it a little, the disturbing thought that perhaps it's not all that far away does seep in the mind. That Russia is positioning itself to grab its piece of the oil market after the Americans already had a jump start should make Canadians wonder about how capable we are of protecting our resources.

For his or her part, a hardcore realist already has concluded that since Canada is essentially a branch plant society the decisions has already been made - even if we're unaware of it.

Now tell me we don't need a military.