Sorry, we couldn't afford it.
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Posted by Boyd from Canada on May 24, 2021 at 02:28:46:
In Reply to: Re: National Service? posted by Martin Schenkel on May 23, 2021 at 19:34:46:
Simply put, as nice as it would be to pare down the welfare rolls, the costs of conscription would wreck the CAF. While it would be easy to say that we wouldn't pay wages during your National Service, that means that the CAF would have to absorb the cost of feeding, clothing, equipping and training thousands of new recruits every year, only to cut the bulk of them loose in two years. This would mean that the "regular" battalions would have a huge portion of thier already scant funds diverted(To say nothing of the reserves, which would barely have enough money to keep the lights turned on.), which would pretty much mean that the CAF would end up with capabilities alongside of third world countries(Interesting unrelated side note: It's too much to hope for, but do you think that our politcos will learn from Sierra Leone? This should stand as a warning to our elected officials as to the dangers of sending underequipped soldiers on UN missions. Remember Jean, if 500 Canadian UN peacekeepers vanished, we'd have your head on a pole.).That's not to say that conscription couldn't work, but if we can pry the money out of the government to make it work...OK.
As for giving a variety choices, why not do it this way: All Canadian citizens serve two years, but can only be deployed outside of Canada on a voluntary basis. This has been Canada's practice with conscription in the past. This actually has worked in Canada's favor in terms of morale in the past. Generally, after six months, the draftees are so bored with painting fences(or rocks...or trees...or anything else that the equally bored NCO thinks needs painting...like each other.) that the idea of getting shot at is appealing.
Another alternative to mandatory conscription might be that the Federal Government will only hire ex-service people in any capacity. That means that if you want a cushy snivel serpent job as the executive assistant CEO of Intergovernmental Fornication with Bovines and Beavers, you'd have to have served. Just a thought.
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