Canadians must think outside box

Dear Editor: Canada, as always, is beset with seemingly intractable problems.

Among them: Donald Trump accuses us of failing to meet a rash commitment to dedicate two per cent of our gross national product to defence.

Meanwhile, Greyhound is abandoning the business of transporting passengers in Western Canada and our provincial ferry system is running a fleet nearing replacement time. What shall poor Canada do? Let us think “outside the box.” Let the federal government purchase a fleet of buses (built in Canada) to be run by the ministry of defence under a new “Internal Security and Personnel Mobility Department.”

These vehicles would, incidentally, carry passengers and charge fares while awaiting future military conflicts.

A whole new fleet of ferries could be built (in Canada) to replace our aging fleet. The new ferry fleet could be painted gray, given numbers and declared to be the “Auxiliary Naval Personnel Transport Fleet” under the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of war, readiness would be maintained by transporting passengers and vehicles between British Columbia ports.

Each captain could be provided with a shotgun so the fleet would be “armed” and prepared for combat. Naturally the cost of establishing the new bus and ferry fleets would be accounted for as “defence” expenditures, thus placating our dear friend and ally Donald Trump who might then forgive our prime minister for being “weak and dishonest.” James Loughery Prince George