Vanguard Magazine

46 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 www.vanguardcanada.com tHe laSt woRD ments have taken this route as they believe such cuts do not and have never incurred political risk. A poll conducted in 2018 indicated that 65 per cent of Canadians do not know much about their navy. The results of this poll would indicate that Canada's navy does not belong to Canadians but is just another unseen part of government. This overall attitude by Canadians has al- lowed successive governments to neglect the navy to the point where the navy has shrunk to the about the size of the Bangla- deshi navy. Not bad for a nation with the second longest coastline and the largest Economic Exclusion Zone in the world. Why? Perhaps the fact that less than 20 per cent of Canadians live and/or work near any of Canada's three ocean areas is a contributing factor. Another factor is that successive federal governments have not made defence and security a national priority, thus allowing the nation's navy to continually shrink. Thomas Jefferson once said, "An informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will." Canadian governments, reflecting on the poll results noted above, have failed to educate Canadians about their navy and their national sovereignty and secu- rity by buying votes with all-consuming and unsustainable social programs, only focusing on national security in a crisis or when pressed by our allies when the Canadian government wants something. Samuel Huntington once asked of the USN, "What function do you perform which obligates society to assume re- sponsibility for your maintenance?" This question is key to understanding Cana- dians' general ambivalence about their navy and successive governments allow- ing it to shrink without a national uproar. To answer the question and to educate Canadians requires a focus on naval and maritime education in order to facilitate the growth of knowledge and under- standing of the importance of the oceans and the navy to the welfare and the secu- rity of all Canadians. Regrettably, unlike some countries, Canada does not have an academic institution or a think tank To educate Canadians requires a focus on naval and maritime education in order to facilitate the growth of knowledge and understanding of the importance of the oceans and the navy to the welfare and the security of all Canadians. that focuses on naval and maritime issues. Thus, there has developed, in Canada, an apathy to the economic and security im- portance of the oceans to the well-being of Canadians. Reversing this trend will be a major undertaking by those that believe in the navy and understand the impor- tance of the oceans to Canada. It will not be easy; it will take resources, dedicated Canadians and time. There will be set- backs and frustrations. There will be in- stitutional lethargy and intolerance. But success will be a nation that no longer ig- nores the oceans or Canada's place in an oceanic world. Captain(N) Ian Parker (Retired) is Director Naval Affairs for the Naval Association of Canada. Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Montreal sails in a Task Group during Neptune Trident17-2 in the Irish Sea. Photo: DND

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