We have a duty to global security

Re: Don’t spend on Canadian military — U.S. will protect us, by Bob Lucyshyn, May 16. It is a wonderful privilege that Mr. Bob Lucyshyn has to think that the Canadian military is unnecessary.

What he fails to realize is that our organization exists to contribute to the overall defence of a globalized world.

The world we live in does not allow for countries to not be involved in security matters worldwide and that’s only going to become more robustly true as time progresses.

Just as we cannot successfully or safely disengage from the global economy, we cannot disengage from global security.

As technology develops and advances, so, too, do the threats. Our military assets are used for more than just going to war. Our ships provide assistance to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in patrolling our sovereign territories, ensuring our fishermen’s livelihood is protected. They proceed to sea at a moment’s notice for any search-andrescue missions and the army regularly deploys to locations in Canada hit by disasters.

In this era, with many global powers shifting, we can no longer count on the U.S. solely for support. Under Donald Trump, the U.S. will absolutely expect us to contribute to the overall defence of North America. If we don’t, we can’t expect them to expend the resources to defend us.

You may not like the military, and that is your prerogative; no one is asking you to serve.

In fact, I serve specifically so that my other family members don’t have to.

Just because you dislike the military, doesn’t make us any less necessary in the modern era. Marc Parent, LaSalle