Canada to build military bases in disputed Arctic

[Cowperson]

Can you spell "escalation?"

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/245117

Cowperson

[habernac]

about time

[Flames89]

Wow, those "Artic Rangers" sure look like they could scare off those dang commies!!

[octothorp]

Not generally a Harper fan, but I really applaud is aggressive stance on the high arctic. He's smart to have latched onto this as a defining cause as I think it strikes a chord with most Canadians.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Flames89

Wow, those "Artic Rangers" sure look like they could scare off those dang commies!!

My brother-in-law spent his last years in the Army running around on snowmobiles with those Arctic Rangers, around Baffin Island and the like. Piles of charts, logs, etc, that are interesting to pore through.

He's got the best pair of furry mitts you'll ever have on your hands, which sounds dirty but isn't.

Cowperson

[Slava]

I think that this is long overdue. Canada needs to enforce its sovreignty in the North, and Harper has certainly taken this to heart. I'm not a big fan of more military in general, but in this case it makes sense to me.

[Gugstanley]

I agree this is long overdue. I think someone should return the flag back to Russia.

[Biff]

You've got to be careful with the Americans. They're tricky when it comes to geography. They already have one state, Alaska, that is separated from all of the others by a whole sovereign nation and another (Hawaii) that is separated by half an ocean. By rights, we should be able to make something like Fiji or Cozumel a Canadian province. The north is important, but a nice tropical beach territory wouldn't be out of line IMO.

[CaptainCrunch]

Its about time, the nice added benefit is that there will now be a proper search and rescue element up there. The underlying rumor was that the deep sea port was not going to be built, and the patrol boats would be stationed on the West Coast, so this is a positive development.

I hated winter training in my day, it was just not fun to be trundling around on a map march in minus 35 weather with a 50 pound load on your back and a rifle that froze your trigger finger every time you shot. I can't imaging how hard that artic training base is going to be.

The one thing that they don't talk about is building an airstrip or small air force base, which I think is crucial. The Aurora patrol planes that we use for anti sub patrols are cold weather capable, as are the CF-18's.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Biff

The north is important, but a nice tropical beach territory wouldn't be out of line IMO.

Agreed. I personally think we should invade some tropical island, and make sure we do it on April 1st. That way when their gov't calls NATO or the Americans for help, as soon as they tell them it's the Canadians invading them, nobody will believe them. They will think its some sort of April Fools joke.

[Slava]

There was a movement to get Canada to accept a Carribean island a couple of years ago (I want to say it was Turks and Caicos?). Anyway, it would have great vacation implications! I think that the problem was taxation standards and social program issues, but again I'm not too sure.

Here is the link, and it was Turks and Caicos:
http://www.canadiancontent.net/commtr/article_676.html

[FanIn80]

Awesome. Very good to hear.

[Ozy_Flame]

While I don't like the idea of proliferating border issues in otherwise peaceful and low-impact territories (echoes of Cold War land claims), the fact that this is only going to cost a relatively small amount a year is alright by me, and it provides jobs for our Northern residents.

I hope this doesn't become Harper's platform for re-election though - this country has many more important issues to solve than Artic land claims.

[llama64]

Escalation over the Artic? Naw, I think shrinkage will prove to be too much of a problem.

[Azure]

Good to hear! Now lets kick some Russian arse.

[worth]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I hated winter training in my day, it was just not fun to be trundling around on a map march in minus 35 weather with a 50 pound load on your back and a rifle that froze your trigger finger every time you shot. I can't imaging how hard that artic training base is going to be.

And i'm guessing you had to do that while lugging around your FN FAL right? Or am I putting you too far back?

I had a nice little C7 to hang onto and gloves.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by worth

And i'm guessing you had to do that while lugging around your FN FAL right? Or am I putting you too far back?

I had a nice little C7 to hang onto and gloves.

Nope, it was the fully loaded FN C1-A1, 12 pounds.

but I really loved that rifle. big round fast velocity, sick accuracy once you got used to the kick. And there were only 5 pieces to pull out when you cleaned it.

[Ford Prefect]

It'll be interesting to hear Taliban Jack's response to this announcement.

[Stranger]

Originally Posted by Biff

You've got to be careful with the Americans. They're tricky when it comes to geography. They already have one state, Alaska, that is separated from all of the others by a whole sovereign nation and another (Hawaii) that is separated by half an ocean. By rights, we should be able to make something like Fiji or Cozumel a Canadian province. The north is important, but a nice tropical beach territory wouldn't be out of line IMO.

Hasn't it been brought up before by some politicians that Canada should make one of the carribean countries a territory of Canada? I read it a couple of years ago.

[Barnes]

I saw a Rick Mercer segment on the Arctic Rangers. They take what they do seriously and all they really get is some gear and an old Lee Enfield.