[Craic] Should Canada leave NATO?

[Allan Baker]

Letters to the Editor
The Toronto Star

Friends at The Star;

Thank you for posing this very important question at this time when the pandemic is causing us to re-evaluate the public-policy path we have been following.

In the 20th century humankind attempted to solve international problems through the use of force. Sadly, millions upon millions of people died during two great wars, and subsequent military conflicts. The use of violence, which we teach our children not to use, failed to bring peace and security to the international community. That is not the path to stability and peace. Canadians need only to look south of our border to see how much so called “security" comes from the barrel of a gun.

The path to peace and security involves changing our attitude to our world-wide problems, and how we deal with them.

In the 21st century peace and security will not come about through the use of violence. We remember the Berlin Wall crumbled because of a popular movement of peaceful resistance, and an authoritarian regime disappeared. Building healthy, educated, stable societies will be the way to peace in the 21st century.

On Saturday, Luprecht and Sokolsky attempted to argue that Canada’s membership in NATO will assist in “imposing costs on other countries’ bad behaviour” and "neuter whatever limited latitude Canada has to promote a more stable and peaceful world by engaging in operations.” The “operations” in Lybia and Iraq, not to mention Afghanistan, ought to expose this as faulty reasoning. Those countries are not better off after foreign “operations”.

Right now the Canadian government plans to  purchase 88 new fighter jets, at a cost of at least $19 billion. It also plans to spend an additional $77 billion on new warships. Just imagine how we could strengthen our health care system; build up our public educational system, and provide affordable housing for Canadians through the use of close to $100 billion. The diversion of funding from NATO demanded purchases of military hardware can provide greater security for Canadians. We could become an example of positive policy priorities by demonstrating to other nations that human life matters in Canada.

Peace and security do not come from the use of the gun. It is time for Canada to part ways with the gun club called NATO.

Allan Baker
30 Bournville Drive
Scarborough, M1E 1C5

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