(¥ Public smoking should be banned (¥ Canadians deserve better equality across the provinces And more! WAR OF THE WORDS Davie Wong Sports Editor Come has recently revealed a plan to increase the military budget by 70 per cent in the next decade. While some would argue that increased military spending is bad for the country, I would argue the exact opposite. An increased military budget is absolutely necessary, and is long overdue. A large amount of that budget is being spent on a much-needed upgrade of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Canadian government is planning to replace their current Air Force fleet with new age fighters. That project would cost $15-18 billion, which is the entirety of the current defence budget. Canada’s current Air Force fleet is McDonnell Douglas CF-188’s, which were introduced in 1982. Canada’s best planes are 35 years old. While upgrades and renovations are a possibility, it doesn’t come close to replacing them with a much better model. Without going too deep into details, it’s safe to say that the country is long overdue for an upgrade. Why is it important that a peacekeeping country such as ours spend on weapons of war? Well, the short answer is “Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)}.” This concept has kept the world at a relative state of peace for years, and Canada falls short of the line. However, without a fully-functioning nuclear program, it becomes very difficult to Canada’s increased spending on military is a good thing > Canada must improve its military maintain the status quo, unless you have powerful allies. That’s where the neighbours down south come in. With America providing Canada with some nuclear backup, Canada puts itself up there with the other big players in the world. Throughout the Cold War, and even after, the US has always been the proxy by which Canada can declare themselves a player in the game of MAD. However, as recent foreign relations with the US have dipped after the election of Donald Trump, so has this pressure. This takes away from Canada’s ability to be a global power on the world stage. Canada needs to be able to stand on its own, and without a proper military, it will never be able to do so. That starts with defence spending. In terms of global status, Canada is one of the members of NATO (North American Treaty Organization) that spends the least amount of money of military spending. Yet it remains one of the most active players in military endeavors. Our military spending doesn’t even allow the military to remain up to date with technology, but we insist on sending our soldiers out to keep the peace. It doesn’t make sense to limit our soldiers in the field. As it stands, the current defence budget does nothing but hinder Canada on the global stage. If growth is the Canadian ideal, then the military needs to grow as well. Boosting the military budget does not help our country > Continuous spending will not lead to benefits Cazzy Lewchuck Opinions Editor Cm currently spends $18.9 billion on the military. Over the next 10 years, it is set to increase that budget to $32.7 billion, nearly doubling in scale. Tam not anti-military, and I understand the country needs troops to exercise peace and conflict resolution around the world. However, I feel that many missions, particularly in conjunction with our allies, are immoral and unnecessary. How many civilians are killed in air strikes by Canadian bombers? How many Canadian missions have ended up unsuccessful in causing any sort of permanent damage to the enemy? How many missions do we participate in simply because all of our friends around the globe are also bombing that particular country? Many Canadians join the military for personal benefit. A lot of military spending goes towards recruitment and benefits of those in active service, particularly in the field of higher education. If some of the increased spending went towards benefitting all Canadians, the military wouldn't need such a high budget. If education in Canada was free to begin with, the military wouldn't need to spend so much on soldier tuition. A portion of Canadian military spending goes to the arms industry, an area fraught in immoral trade. Justin Trudeau was heavily criticized for selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, and these arms were used on video against civilians. A lot of military spending, in a world of a global military-industrial complex, goes towards funding this sort of horrible thing. Ally-ship is complicated, but we should all be able to agree that killing innocent civilians is never justifiable. In this War of the Words, my opponent argues Canada insists on sending soldiers out to keep the peace. Perhaps it’s time Canada determined whether its priorities really lie on bombing people overseas or keeping our own country secure. Canada can have an effective and strong soldier population while being selective and rational about the conflict they choose to engage in. Soldiers have many duties aside from overseas missions, and it is there where the costs are greatest to the country. We can have a strong military without having an unnecessary and often immoral war presence, or an inflated budget. My political beliefs do play a strong role in this opinion. I believe that Canada needs to spend much more on everything, particularly in taking care of its citizens. I believe the entire tax system needs an overhaul where super-high earners (multi-millionaires) and large corporations are taxed higher. I think more money should be spent on funding Canada’s poorest areas and people, and less on aircrafts designed to bomb poor people and areas in other countries. Military spending is a complicated affair, but I believe there is enough room in the budget for everyone. However, other areas deserve the same kind of budget that the military gets. / Government sponsorship of mental health 1s the only vehicle to change > Private citizens and corporations do not solve the issue Cazzy Lewchuck Opinions Editor TT" topic of mental health has been much-discussed lately—as it should be. Two high-profile celebrity suicides have contributed to a renewed discussion of the importance of mental health and speaking up. The stigma and misinformation surrounding mental health in our society is truly detrimental, and suicides are a tragic reminder. Many of us do our part to speak up when the conversation rolls around again. We post the numbers of crisis hotlines, discuss frankly the statistics or our own struggles, and promise to be there for others who need help. Nevertheless, the rate of those with mental illness remains stagnant, and may even be increasing, and far too many people remain too afraid to seek help or simply dont have access to the resources they need. Mental health is just as important as physical health, and the two go hand in hand. Even so, mental health is not taken nearly as seriously by those involved in health care. In Canada, the government pays (partially) for our visits with doctors. It does not pay nearly as much for counselors, psychologists, or other mental health professionals. It doesn’t pay for the prescriptions many need to regulate the chemical imbalances in their brains. Health Canada does not provide nearly the same amount of resources for mental heath as it does on physical ones. It is the government's responsibility to support its citizens in all matters of health care. It is not the individual's responsibility to step in to help others fix the broken system. It isn't fair that support centres and mental health organizations struggle to receive adequate funding. It’s wrong that we even have to have the discussion about mental health being important. It’s an injustice that private corporations like Bell have to run campaigns to fund these organizations because the government wont do so. The only way we can successfully make a difference in mental health care is to hold the government accountable. Mental health care needs to be funded and planned immediately. We deserve better from the health care system. Our health deserves better.