Hot Takes: 9 April 2024
What did I say on the radio today?
I joined John Moore on Moore in the Morning for the Morning Brief at 6:20 am on CFRB Newstalk 1010 in Toronto.
1. Canada to spend more on military. As Christmas wish lists go, this one has some good things on it. Just like my childhood Christmas wish lists, it’s equally unlikely to result in new submarines under the tree. But Canada does need new submarines – nuclear ones that can operate with our Allies under the Arctic ice. We also need a strong domestic ammunition industry. And everything else itemized in the Defence Policy Review. But, if the procurement system isn’t fixed, none of this equipment will arrive on time or in a condition to help fight wars. It’s not just how long it takes, it’s the political compromise involved in every purchase from handguns to helicopters. In the 1990’s our procurement system replaced aging post-Vietnam War era Huey transport utility helicopters with Canadian-built, under-powered Griffon helicopters that have never been able to do the same job.
There’s no real evidence this government recognizes we have already entered a new highly dangerous period of international relations. This announcement doesn’t change that. We have real threats facing us again and Canada, alone among its allies, is not taking things seriously. We still have no plan to spend 2% of GDP on defence – a minimum target that Canada set along with its allies. A target Canada keeps promising to meet. A target Canada still has no intention of keeping.
There’s also no plan to rebuild the number of men and women serving in Canada’s military. Already, we lack enough trained sailors to send all our ships to sea. Our air force can’t participate in major NATO exercises because it lacks the people to do so – not just the planes. We will not solve our personnel problem by allowing soldiers to wear facial tattoos or choose uniforms designed for the opposite gender. We will attract new soldiers by giving our military a mission: to fight and win battles in the defence of Canada, Canadians, Canada’s values and Allies around the world. We need a fundamental re-think about how we generate combat-ready military forces. We are the only major country with a reserve (part-time) force that is smaller than our standing (full-time) regular force. That should change. We should have 100,000 regular troops and half a million trained reservists available for mobilization if required. That’s a lot, but it’s still smaller than the army we fielded in the First World War when our population was just 8 million. Canada is a very big country. Deterring our adversaries from moving into our north to poach our resources will require a much stronger force.
2. Suspended police officers cost Ontario taxpayers $134M over past decade. Toronto has 119-130 police officers on suspensions. 453 officers across Ontario, with the longest suspension having lasted 9 years. The median is 1.5 years. That’s ridiculous.
I was told years ago by a senior Toronto police officer that one of the common strategies used by bad cops was to rag the puck on service charges – seeking delays and changing lawyers – until they are eligible for retirement, then retiring with a full pension at which point the disciplinary proceedings end without a resolution because of the way Ontario’s Police Services Act is written. That should be changed.
Canadian soldiers charged with service offences under the National Defence Act cannot quit to avoid the consequences. Service trials will continue, and punishments will be awarded, even on retirees. It should be the same for police officers. Changing the PSA to make this happen would eliminate one incentive for dragging out police service trials to ridiculous lengths.
3. Education minister rules out closing schools. This is good politics but bad policy. We have far fewer students today than we had decades ago, and they live in different places. School boards must be allowed to close schools where they’re not needed so they can afford to open schools where they are needed. The wrinkle in this theory is that the Toronto District School Board is so badly managed, the minister is quite right to question their decision-making.
4. Doug Ford bristles at questions about $100K salaries in his office. It’s never about the amount you pay people as much as it is about the amount of people you pay. I’m not concerned about the Premier’s Office staff making over $100,000. Having worked in the Toronto mayor’s office, I’m sure they earn it. I am concerned that the number of people working in Ford’s office has more than doubled since he was elected. I have long felt the premier is not well-staffed, and often seems ill-advised. But, adding people to office to address that problem is not usually a good answer. Fixing the problem is.
5. Killer Nathaniel Veltman appealing his conviction. Good luck to him. He hasn’t got chance to appeal the first-degree murder conviction and sentence. He should never see the light of day as a free man again. However, I expect legal scholars will make hay with the terrorism designation applied to his crime. That legal delicacy may well warrant judicial review. Won’t change his sentence though.
6. Is charging extra for non-dairy milk discrimination? No. Very few people who insist on banana-bean soy-based non-dairy ant-fat milk have any diagnosed allergies. It’s an affectation, not a medical need. No business is obliged to pay out of their pockets to tickle this fetish. Even if oat milk isn’t much more expensive than 2% cow milk, having to stock a dozen different types of fake milk for weirdo clients is expensive, and the clients should pay.
7. Is 'bed rotting' self-care or laziness? What to know about this Gen Z trend. This sounds a lot like me when I’m very depressed or extremely anxious. I’d be very concerned about anyone displaying this behaviour as my first thought is that it’s a symptom of mental illness, not a fun fad.