Cornwall letter to the editor, June 4, 2024

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join them

The British election has sparked some positive thinking, and perhaps the most notable comes from current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

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I mean his promise to bring back conscription if his Tory party is re-elected, which is unlikely. And our Canadian government should deliberate on conscription because enlisting young people in the armed forces brings so many benefits.

Conscription should be for a period of two years and include both sexes, as women are, indeed, equal to the task at hand.

Let me identify some of the benefits: First, and perhaps most importantly, it would address the problem of Canada failing to recruit enough military personnel. Canada is not alone in this failure to attract new military personnel. Other countries, including the UK, cannot attract enough recruits because of changing attitudes – probably based on the fact that young people have been spoiled for too long.

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Although conscription would be an expensive exercise for the federal government, it would be worth it; it would change the entire social fabric of our nation. In addition, the cost could be applied to our share of NATO’s two percent target, removing some of the tainted image created by our failure to meet NATO’s expectations.

There will be some of those recruited, seeing first-hand the value of being a member of the national military defense structure, gaining valuable skills and social benefits, which could be led to sign up to become regular members of the Canadian Armed Forces – it happened !

From the perspective of someone who was once a conscript, there are many values; one of the most valuable assets of military service being the establishment of self-discipline. Another would be the tendency to create pride in the nation and an intentional appreciation of diversity.

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There would likely be a shift away from the divisive way of life favored by Pierre Poilievre and his colleagues in the Conservative Party of Canada, to be replaced by the concept of unity. Bonds are created on the model of the armed forces.

There is a good chance that we will even see physical changes, a reduction in the number of obese young people, disappear “Friday dress up” rampant, there will be more attention to appearance.

There continues to be a part of our society that is easily led astray and conscription has the ability to change that. Let’s hope we see young people who live by reasonable dress codes grow, because the discipline imposed is contagious.

Nations such as Norway and Sweden have conscription, and the values ​​of national pride and attention to personal appearance are evident in the youth of those countries.

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So many Canadian parents have failed their children by acting on the false premise that they should be left with nothing. From birth to adolescence, children are spoiled with toys, all kinds of toys, even mobile phones – children have nothing to strive for. Only when we strive for what we want is there any value in a possession.

We collectively learn from others, and enlisted youth could become the building block for a renewed Canadian society. Conscription served a good purpose during and after World War II. Pride, unity, the desire to belong to the nation and the desire to defend it are attributes worth fighting for.

It’s not just words from our national anthem!

John E. Milnes

Cornwall

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