-
Dec 3, 2024 | 
legionmagazine.com | J.L. Granatstein
There is no doubt that Mackenzie King was an interesting man. Case in point: Canada’s longest serving prime minister visited mediums to attempt to communicate with the dead, a roster that included political leaders, old friends and his mother. He apparently received reassurance more than advice and, as a bachelor without a partner to rely on for feedback, he needed it.
-
Nov 11, 2024 | 
thehub.ca | J.L. Granatstein
The Great War, as it was known at the time, ended in an armistice at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. The bloody conflict had killed millions with its industrialized warfare, and people everywhere mourned, many choosing November 11 as the date to mark the conflict’s losses. But not in Canada. The Armistice Day Act of May 1921 linked the war’s commemoration with Thanksgiving Day, and the two events were first held together on Nov. 7, 1921.
-
Oct 25, 2024 | 
legionmagazine.com | J.L. Granatstein
The present state of the Canadian Armed Forces is, in a word, pathetic. There’s a shortage of some 16,000 personnel in the regular and reserve forces combined. The Royal Canadian Navy can scarcely put its ships to sea for lack of sailors, and the Royal Canadian Air Force is running out of pilots for its aging, 1980s-era fighter jets and is outsourcing advanced flight training to other countries.
-
Aug 21, 2024 | 
todayville.com | J.L. Granatstein
By Jake SmithOn the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration has yet to fire any leadership personnel for their role in the botched operation; instead, the administration has maintained that the decision to pull out was the right move. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was seen by many as a chaotic and abrupt operation that led to the deaths of several U.S. troops.
-
Aug 6, 2024 | 
legionmagazine.com | J.L. Granatstein
General Valery Zaluzhny, relieved of his command of the Ukrainian forces this past February, was blunt in remarks he made to The Economist in November 2023. “Just like in the First World War we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate,” he said. “There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough.”What was the problem affecting both his troops and those of the Russians?
-
Jul 23, 2024 | 
thehub.ca | Christopher Hume |J.L. Granatstein
Commentary 23 July 2024 The CN tower is reflected in a high rise building behind a construction crane in downtown Toronto on February 4, 2012. Pawel Dwulit/The Canadian Press. As much as we would rather ignore Canadian architecture, that’s simply not possible. For better or worse — mostly worse — it is everywhere around us. Let’s be honest: Canada’s built environment is a mess.
-
Jul 22, 2024 | 
thehub.ca | J.L. Granatstein |Patrick Luciani
Commentary 22 July 2024 HMCS Windsor returns to port in Halifax on Wednesday, June 20, 2018. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press. At the recent NATO meeting in Washington, Canada faced a torrent of abuse from its allies. Ottawa has been underspending on defence, indeed even cutting its spending by a billion dollars a year for three years, and it could not say when, if ever, it might meet the NATO goal of 2 percent of GDP on defence and 20 percent of that spending on equipment.
-
Mar 18, 2024 | 
todayville.com | J.L. Granatstein
By By J.L. GranatsteinMust we wait for Trump to attack free trade between Canada and the US before our politicians get the message that defence matters to Washington? Nations have interests – national interests – that lay out their ultimate priorities. The first one for every country is to protect its population and territory. It is sometimes hard to tell, but this also applies to Canada. Ottawa’s primary job is to make sure that Canada and Canadians are safe.
-
Feb 26, 2024 | 
thehub.ca | J.L. Granatstein
The writer Stephen Marche is a clever commentator on Canada and the world. In an interesting essay in the Globe and Mail on January 27, he wrote about multiculturalism:The foundation of Canadian multiculturalism rests on a basic piece of common sense: Leave your shoes at the door. Importing the world’s geopolitical nightmares into our country would end multiculturalism, and right quick.
-
Feb 13, 2024 | 
legionmagazine.com | J.L. Granatstein
The Arctic is becoming more important each day. The ice is melting at a faster rate and by the mid-2030s, Canada’s narrow Northwest Passage will scarcely be used if the ocean is ice free. This means that ship traffic, already substantial, will likely increase dramatically, and vessels from China are almost certain to be the biggest users. Always wary of China, Russia might not be pleased by this at the best of times.
