Where do Canadians live?

[Thorin]

Canada is a humongous country with not a lot of people living in it.  In fact, have a look (black areas are "sparsely populated", defined as less than 0.4 people per square kilometer):



source: http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-550/vignettes/m1-eng.htm

Now...  How the eff did I end up looking for this map again?

[Lazybones]

Makes you wonder how well we will be able to protect our claim to the far north parts when the pressure starts to increase for resources.

[Mr. Analog]

Basic settlements first, then infrastructure, then development.

Back in the 70s you used to be able to get Northern Living Allowance in Fort Mac, as well industry helped develop the town's growing infrastructure by providing commuter bus service before they had a transit system of any kind (like completed roads for example).

If the desire is there and the money is there it's not a very challenging situation. The biggest disruption will likely be culture shock. There are a lot of smaller communities that have err, slightly different culture than what the average Canadian enjoys.

[Mr. Analog]

Makes you wonder how well we will be able to protect our claim to the far north parts when the pressure starts to increase for resources.

The same way Russia will, jets, missiles and diplomacy...

I guess we better start building jets, missiles and diplomacy...

[Tom]

Makes you wonder how well we will be able to protect our claim to the far north parts when the pressure starts to increase for resources.

The same way Russia will, jets, missiles and diplomacy...

I guess we better start building jets, missiles and diplomacy...

I'm pretty sure the gov't already greenlighted some subs and a boat or two to trawl up there. I think there was some kind of resource agreement made? I just can't remember the details anymore.

[Mr. Analog]

Boats are useless in the arctic, jets+missiles

[Lazybones]

Boats are useless in the arctic, jets+missiles

And nuclear subs that can stay under for months.

As far as jets and missiles we don't have anything that would stop the two parties most interested in the area anyway. At some point someone might say, you have no one living here we are going to take it.

[Thorin]

We have several icebreakers and other boats for the Arctic already, as part of the Canadian Coast Guard: http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/e0015223

We have subs, although they don't patrol the Arctic (officially, and they're diesel-electric so can't stay under for days like nuclear subs): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_of_the_Royal_Canadian_Navy#Warships.  I will say, too, that these have been reported as being hard to detect, to the point that back in 2005 or 2006 the US Navy asked for Canada to include them in wargames as an enemy sub to make the exercises more difficult.  At the time, I had a friend who participated in one of those exercises and he told a grand old story about the Canadian sub surfacing 100 meters from the US's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, completely undetected until the sub shot a flare into the night sky.  Scared the crap out of the US Navy higher-ups, apparently.

None of those subs are currently operating anywhere, and we're finding out just how shoddy British manufacturing was back in the 80s and 90s: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/sub-support-contract-creating-canadian-controversy-04563/

Jets and missiles allow us to blow up things as they get near, or to patrol, but I think it's more important to have regular patrols and inspections by actual people - for instance, the Northern Rangers.  Practicing arctic warfare like the upcoming Exercise Arctic Ram is a great idea, too.  After all, it was the Canadians that were smart enough to bring a couple snowmobiles with casualty trailers to Afghanistan.  The Americans laughed at us until they asked us to pretty please casevac their wounded out of the mountains that their choppers couldn't land in.  Canadians have an innate understanding of cold and snow, and need to continue training in that weather to be the best at fighting in it.

Dammit, can't find an article about the snowmobiles in Afghanistan now

[Mr. Analog]

I'm tellin' you man, a missile program is the bees knees, way cheaper than any other option. The side benefit is we can revive the dessicated corpse of the Canadian aeronautics industry. Hell we already have plenty of roughed-in detection/missile sites from the Cold War, all we have to do is junk all the disused 80s crap that's still rusting away up there.

I look at it this way:
-We can't field a large army
-Our Air Force is pretty small, old and would have some operational difficulties with northern conditions
-Navy is small, easy to knock out

Nope, the way I look at it if someone is going to take a bite out of the Great White North they're going to have to make a beachhead somewhere in a vast area and move their way in to set up defences, so what we need to do is have the technology to:
A) Detect it happening without relying on intelligence from allies
B) The ability to strike at any location swiftly and decisively

If that doesn't call for missile defence I don't know what does.

Of course this all requires both the Canadian government and her people to give a crap about our Sovereignty. We can't hope that our current allies will jump in to bail us out of trouble. Maybe 20 years ago, but not now.

[Lazybones]

You would have to make the launch sites all over the place, or risk them being taken out by some of the new advanced bombing systems.

[Mr. Analog]

You would have to make the launch sites all over the place, or risk them being taken out by some of the new advanced bombing systems.

The Russians figured this out a while back Trucks. Canadian Pacific wants to get into the long haul heavy trucking business, I see an opportunity for 'em lol

[Thorin]

We could probably defend our northern sovereignty better if we weren't spending so much time and resources on putting troops in other countries.  Then again, we wouldn't be Canadians if we ignored requests for help in other countries.  It's weird to see how many different places we've put a handful of troops: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/index-eng.asp

[Mr. Analog]

I feel simultaneous pride and disgust that Canada has traditionally committed some of the largest number of troops to the UN. Pride in that we kick butt for peace but disgust that the larger / better equipped member states aren't donning more of the blue brain buckets...

[Lazybones]

We could probably defend our northern sovereignty better if we weren't spending so much time and resources on putting troops in other countries.  Then again, we wouldn't be Canadians if we ignored requests for help in other countries.  It's weird to see how many different places we've put a handful of troops: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/index-eng.asp

Hmm I wonder if that could be in our favor.... If the country was attacked while they where deployed they would have the opportunity to run a rescue from the outside?

[Stewie521]

We could probably defend our northern sovereignty better if we weren't spending so much time and resources on putting troops in other countries.  Then again, we wouldn't be Canadians if we ignored requests for help in other countries.  It's weird to see how many different places we've put a handful of troops: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/index-eng.asp

Hmm I wonder if that could be in our favor.... If the country was attacked while they where deployed they would have the opportunity to run a rescue from the outside?

Well we could probably get help from the people we trained, but if the US attacked us, they'd attack our troops in Afghanistan too, same with Russia too probably. Also, you don't think they'd think of that? They know we have troops out of the country, their first target would probably be airfields and ports. Take them, our troops have nowhere to arrive. I've often thought of that myself, but then again, if the US attacked us, Russia would probably declare war on US just to have an excuse to attack them...