Canada should have mandatory military training

A number of issues identified before the last election could be solved with mandatory military training.

When Donald Trump started musing about making Canada a 51st state, one thing stood out to me as being an obvious problem: few militaries could stand up to the United States, and ours is not one of them. She said in contention for understatement of the year.

As many Canadians ordered flags in response, I took some time to think about why I had never considered flying one myself. I’m a proud Canadian, I thought, but I had never thought to own one. For me, it came down to military service. Apparently, I considered personally owning our flag as something one does in recognition of their service; that it was something earned rather than something one just purchased.

Because I equated it with service, I also began to think about how that could be earned by every Canadian, and that’s when I realized that mandatory military service was so much more than just military preparedness.

Many smaller countries that are close to, let alone bordering, hostile powers have mandatory service requirements. Finland, bordering Russia, requires mandatory service from men with voluntary service options for women. Since the military isn’t singularly about might, I highly disagree with making it optional based on sex for any Canadian.

Switzerland also has a service requirement that ranges from active to civil service depending on ability and preference (such as conscionable objection to military service).

Both of these populations are only as large as Quebec and Alberta, respectively. What they end up with, however, is a population that has been trained if the need ever arose to defend their country. Since Canada is a far larger population, I think a mandatory year of training would suffice.

Another issue identified over the past decade has been a decline in patriotism. I would argue that military training would do more to counter it than a Minister of Canadian Identity. That isn’t a shot at the minister, or the portfolio, so much as an unpleasant recollection of a similarly named role doled out by former Premier Jason Kenney to create or work to determine an “Alberta identity”. I just don’t think one person can do it from the top. Real identity is built on shared experience, not shoved in your face until you repeat it back on demand.

In a leaked document, obtained by CBC, a number of issues were identified for our armed forces, including long wait times for training due to a lack of staff, recruitment problems after a department lost funding (sigh), and retention.

From the way I’d been thinking of how mandatory training could work for Canada, the first two would be addressed immediately, and the third would flow naturally from actually being offered a chance to experience it from within.

We were promised a bold new vision for Canada and I think mandatory military training can, and should, be part of that.

Shake up the current education system

First off, I want to note that I’m not talking about mandatory service, which I think is a distinction with a difference. If Canada had mandatory training, I feel that some recruits would want to continue with service generally. Therefore, service itself would remain voluntary. The introductory year would be less intensive than a standard recruitment because there would still be a strong educational component to ensure completion of their high school requirements (if that was their goal).

If I could take Hunter Education as an option in junior high (yes, that was a long time ago), I think we can introduce youth to more. I can only speak to the education system in Alberta, which I am biased towards because we do some great things to prepare kids for their careers already with Registered Apprenticeship Training programs (RAP) that begin in high school; which is also one of the areas specifically mentioned as training gaps in our military.

We also have a Knowledge and Employability stream in high school here; why not get rid of that entirely and start them with military training and education? At 16, we no longer require students to attend school, so why not let them start military training early? With a higher focus on the work experience many sectors a military would rely on, and retaining the potential to specialize in trades-related areas much like they do in high school, it’s a good fit.

If we turned the 12th year into a training year, with the completion of their core 30-level courses, it wouldn’t entirely disrupt our post-secondary education system. Grade 12 students as it is have spares and work experience blocks, with many just completing their core subjects in the final year. Making this a training year would also find a number of teachers needing placement as well, shoring up staffing issues (and creating more space in high schools without having to build more high schools, which is also a problem in Alberta).

I’d also suggest that students do not complete this year in their home province. Such a program should allow them to see more of Canada than maybe they’ve been able to before. It should have the social aspect of meeting peers from other provinces, as well as serving new communities. It wouldn’t just be a final school year, or a training year, it’s an experience that could be uniquely Canadian in that would allow them to immerse themselves in other regions of the country.

It should also be able to accommodate as many students as possible; it’s training, not service. There’s a physical component, certainly, and some will naturally excel at that. Others don’t have to excel necessarily because there are other aspects to a well-rounded military; medical, science, construction, community service, languages, technology, supply management, and administration to name just a few.

In fact, I’d argue that there would be opportunities to do far more within a dedicated military program than our high schools can manage.

Successful completion of the year could come with a post-secondary grant for those who wish to continue outside of the military, but would also allow the military face-to-face recruitment potential.

To me, it’s win-win for everyone.

Freedom isn’t free

I’ve only floated the idea with a few people; namely my 15 and 18-year old and a few of their friends. They didn’t hate it, but I realize being asked by their friend’s mom might bias the results, and it’s hardly a representative sample.

Pushback would come, I’m sure, but I still don’t see it as an insurmountable problem, just one of many in need of a solution.

The first would be “freedom”. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve always been told that freedom isn’t “free”. This is also why I think it should reflect more than just training and education to include the opportunity to experience Canada and share that with other Canadians.

Costs would be a point of contention, but provinces could support it with funds already allocated to the 12th year, and child tax benefit payments could cease a year earlier, providing another source of funding to be reallocated. It should be a justifiable cost anyway because it benefits every province, as well as the country.

There’s also an opportunity to put money into some areas where there is plenty of space but dwindling populations, like rural areas. The benefit is existing infrastructure that may be utilized more fully, plus it would bring local job creation in areas where there hasn’t been a need.

The year-long experience, like most experiences, would allow more young Canadians to see a future for themselves within the military, which would take care of the attrition rates.

There would also be a steady stream of new trainees, which is exactly what will build and strengthen our country, and the next generation, in every way that matters.

It’s time to build

I’m not suggesting it would be easy. I can’t even imagine the logistics of moving a million or so people around the country a few times a year, plus housing, feeding, and clothing them, and staffing everyone. Consider this the artist’s rendition of something that someone else has to build.

The point is that it does need to be built if securing the future of our country is actually a goal we want to achieve.

This idea goes beyond just building some things, it is a plan to build our country starting with building our citizenship; and not just for this generation, but the next as well. It’s every province having a hand in shaping the future of Canada, with our youth leading the way — as it should be.

It’s building a more united Canada through experiencing the country and getting to know its people; it’s building opportunities, and growing a military-trained population should the need ever arise.

If we’re serious about building Canada, we need to have bold ideas; this is just one.

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