FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Sep 29

Canada Looks To The Arctic As Its Next Frontier

by bcurry

In March 2026 while visiting Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, declared that: “After decades of limited and piecemeal investments in the North, Canada’s new government is acting with a scale of ambition worthy of this vast region and its peoples. We are securing every corner of this terrain, unlocking its vast resources, and delivering the strong, connected network of communities that Northerners deserve. In this new era, we cannot rely on other nations for our security and prosperity. We are defending and building together, the true North, strong and free.”

Indeed, the PM disclosed planned government investments in defence, infrastructure, and Northern development to strengthen and secure Canada’s presence in the Arctic and unleash the North’s economic potential.  The announcement is very important and noteworthy as the federal government has been accused in the past of ignoring its Arctic territories and waters.  However, with climate change, all that has changed with the longer season for open Arctic waters in the current shipping lanes.  The defence of Canada’s north has also now been given a much higher priority.  The proposed investments will include:

  • Investing $6.5 billion in a new Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system, in partnership with Australia, to enhance early warning and surveillance across Arctic approaches.
  • Investing over $1.3 billion across multiple Northern infrastructure programs – supporting trade corridors, airports, marine safety, and community harbours. 
  • Leveraging more than $1.6 billion from partners to strengthen transportation and marine infrastructure in Arctic and Northern communities.
  • Investing $1 billion through the Arctic Infrastructure Fund for strategic transportation infrastructure for both civilian and military use – to strengthen Canada’s Arctic security and year-round defence readiness.
  • Dedicating approximately $420 million to strengthen the year-round presence and operational capability and capacity of Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic and the North.

Canada selected German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in July 2026, as the preferred supplier to build up to 12 new submarines capable of operating in Artic waters.  This represented the largest military procurement deal in Canadian history.  In addition, new Arctic and offshore patrol ships have been ordered under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.  Already, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) officially welcomed the CCGS Judy LaMarsh as its newest large vessel into active service in September 2026.  With two more ice-capable ships on the horizon, the CCG is set to enhance safety, sovereignty, and ocean research across our waters. 

At this time, the privately owned port of Churchill, located on the shores of Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba, is Canada’s only deep-water Arctic seaport connected to a surface rail network.  Seen as a possible major project, the government is looking to obtain investment in order to enlarge the port’s capabilities given the increasing shipping of bulk resources during the open-water season from late July to early November.  This would include bulk grain, general cargo, and critical minerals (such as zinc and potash) destined for international markets.  Included in the proposal would be larger exploratory concepts involving potential offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, notably of great interest to the Europeans.

Canada also recognized the increasing interest in the Arctic passage, referred to as the Northwest Passage, as a new sea lane connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the icy channels of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.  The U.S., Russia and China have especially tested these waters, often without Canada’s blessing.  For this reason, Canada and Norway continue to work together to bolster deterrence and defence in the Arctic.  Obviously, Arctic security is a national security issue for both countries.  In March 2026, Canada and Norway established a bilateral Arctic Dialogue to strengthen cooperation across key areas, including strategic surveillance, situational awareness, interoperability, and research & development. Practical cooperation is also underway through a partnership agreement signed in June 2026 between the Canadian and Norwegian Coast Guards.  Both services have already undertaken joint training exercises in Canadian and Norwegian Arctic waters.

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Nov 11

When Will We Stop Young Men From Going To War?

by bcurry

Years ago, I read somewhere that old men begin wars and send young men to fight them.  This was certainly true of the multitude of wars fought during the Twentieth Century.  Today, it would appear that nothing has really changed.  Look around the world, and you cannot help to witness the continuing atrocities caused by wars and the loss of not only young soldiers, but also, and most importantly, the loss of civilian lives.  There is no need to once again recount the statistical losses of war, for what matters most is the real human suffering that one sees among the individuals and families affected by war.

I had family members who fought in both World Wars, and gratefully had survived to return.  Born shortly after WWII, I lived through the Cold War period and the West’s battles with the then Soviet Union.  I lived through the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent struggles of East European countries for independence.  I lived through the Vietnam conflict, which one must remember like the earlier Korean conflict, was never officially declared a war by Congress. Then came the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 toppling the long time dictator Saddam Hussein and leading to the subsequent decade occupation of Iraq.  Fortunately, the then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien refused to send Canadian troops to fight in Iraq.  However, Canada did join the NATO mission in Afghanistan where in over ten years of fighting, Canadian combatants loss their lives and several were seriously injured.  With the war in Afghanistan going poorly and in light of the gains being made by the Taliban, the U.S. couldn’t wait to get out of that country, much in the same way the Vietnam conflict ended.  And for what?

Now, we have the Ukrainian-Russian war being initiated by 73 year old Vladimir Putin, a former KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years and de facto dictator of Russia since 2000.  To date, while supplying Ukraine with weapons and financial support, no NATO country has boots on the ground in Ukraine.  However, there is little doubt that NATO’s European countries are deeply concerned about Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and potential future threat.  The result is that they have begun to build up their military forces and to expend a larger proportion of their budgets on defence.  Canada, as a NATO member, has also agreed to significantly increase its military spending to meet its continuing commitments to the alliance.

In the Middle East, Israel’s conflicts with Hamas in Gaza, its attacks on Iranian nuclear weapons facilities, and its most recent attack on Hamas negotiators in Qatar, represents a long period of wars and deaths and destruction on both sides.  Indeed, there have been multiple wars with Israel, including those in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021 and an ongoing one since 2023, which began with the infamous October 7 attacks.  According to the Costs of War Project at Brown University, the U.S. spent almost $18 billion on military aid to Israel from October 2023 to October 2024.  While the U.S. continues to provide this massive support, do date President Trump has not indicated that American troops could become directly involved in Gaza.  Time will tell!

People in the Trump administration like to describe the president as a president for peace — this despite the recent change whereby his Secretary of Defense is now the Secretary of War.  In addition, the Trump administration is building up its military presence in the Caribbean, especially off the coast of Venezuela.  Drone attacks have been carried out on boats in international waters, with the administration declaring that these are drug smugglers originating out of Venezuela and supported by the country’s president Nicolás Maduro.  However, some current and former U.S. officials contend that the unspoken goal is the goal is to force Maduro from power.  In other words, regime change.  As of November 6th, the U.S. Senate has twice failed to pass resolutions that would limit Trump’s authority to continue military action against Venezuela or airstrikes against alleged drug vessels.  After long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the combination of the words America and regime change raises alarm bells, both inside and outside the U.S.  Let’s hope that this aging American president isn’t once again ready to sacrifice American young lives in another worthless war.

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Feb 16

Russia’s Treatment of Wounded Soldiers in the Ukraine Conflict Mirrors American Treatment of Wounded Vietnam Veterans

by bcurry

Recently, more information is coming out of Russia with respect to the estimated numbers of wounded soldiers involved in the war with Ukraine.  Of course, the total number of actual Russian war wounded is not disclosed by the Russian authorities.  After the war’s first month, the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, reportedly announced 3,825 wounded, a figure Russia has never updated.  The Central Intelligence Agency, in an article published in January 2024 in Foreign Affairs, estimated that Russian dead and wounded soldiers numbered 315,000.  The actual number may lie somewhere in between.  Nevertheless, the fact is that such a large number of wounded veterans are returning home means that the Russians have a major political problem.

Now let’s go back to a very unpopular Vietnam War and similar reactions by the American government as to the number of returning wounded Viet veterans.  As in Russia, American participation in the war in Vietnam became less and less popular as the war went on.  Although there were protests initially against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the early months, Putin’s regime quickly imposed severe restrictions, including imprisonment, against its opponents.  While open demonstrations by anti-Vietnam war protesters were condemned by many in the U.S. administration, and by Presidents Johnson and Nixon in particular, they did represent a significant degree of opposition as the war went on.  The Pentagon underplayed the actual number of American deaths and injuries for some time, only to release more information towards the end of the war.

With the numbers of returning wounded, the U.S. military health care facilities became overwhelmed.  The same can be said for the Russian situation where accounts from doctors and the wounded suggest that Russia lacks essentials for treatment — everything from sufficient evacuation vehicles to hospital beds to drugs in military run medical facilities nationwide.  The walking wounded will increasingly be seen everywhere among the civilian population, creating a PR nightmare for both governments.  Both wars involved a type of warfare that resulted in horrendous physical injuries, including those involving amputations. 

Without providing actual numbers, the Russian administration recently disclosed that about 54 percent of wounded veterans classified as disabled have suffered amputations.  As for Vietnam, by 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam.  As of the current Census taken during August 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is a little over one million.  It is difficult to obtain the actual number of physically or mentally injured veterans, except to say that they are in the thousands, many still being treated in VA facilities.  U.S. Wings notes that 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.  This most likely doesn’t include those suffering from traumatic stress disorders (TSD).

After the American military left Vietnam, there were no ticker tape parades for the returning vets as most Americans believed the war had been a mistake and preferred simply to forget about it.  In Russia, many of the injured are not openly celebrated and Russians appear “not ready” to see amputees, which satisfies the chosen approach by the Russian propaganda regime.  However, as in the case of Vietnam, the increasing appearance of injured Russian vets within their communities cannot but affect their families and the population at large.  Moreover, they appear to be treated as heroes or not at all.  Efforts are being made to keep them out of the public eye, much like what happened in the U.S. during the Vietnam War.

The Kremlin, military analysts and some medical personnel say, wants to avoid a repeat of the antiwar movements that forced a halt to the Soviet Union’s earlier wars in Chechnya and Afghanistan.  What will happen to the injured Russian vets is anyone’s guess at this time, particularly as the Ukraine conflict is continuing with no end in sight.  If it is anything like what happened eventually to many American Vietnam injured vets, the future doesn’t look too good.

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