A TRUE NORTH STRONG DOESN'T COME FREE anadians often dismiss the ongoing debate about this country’s NATO commit- ment to defence spending with a shrug and the belief that wars are faraway things that don’t happen here. Why should we put our tax dollars and personnel toward fighting European conflicts? The answer is becoming increasingly clear. Much as the wars happening now are being waged far from. our shores, the new reality is that Canada is indeed vulnerable to the territorial ambitions of our neighbours — especially in the Arctic. Outgoing Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre summed it up after a meeting of defence staff of Arctic Allies in 2022: “As the Arctic changes, phys- ically and strategically, our nations is key to safeguarding our sovereignty and upholding the international rules-based order. “We have witnessed in Ukraine the belligerence of our Arctic neighbour and we must be vig- ilant. What happens in Europe and across the globe has impli- cations in our own backyard,” this nation’s top soldier said in a 6 WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2024 IIS '=S' 9 Sa MITCHELL ADVOCATE feo LA Bd ESA D 18:60 ANDY BADER, EDITOR Published weekly by the Mitchell Advocate, a division of Postmedia Network Deadline for letters to the editor is Fridays at 9 a.m. the week prior to sates E-mail to: abader@postmedia.com statement. Yet our government still drags its feet on defence funding. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week that we'll meet the defence-funding target of 2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product — set by NATO — but not until 2032. Perhaps ifwe ask | politely, Russia and China might hold off invading for eight years. And Trudeau can be comfortably | assured he won’t be the prime minister held to account when this country misses that target again. | More encouraging was news | that Canada will team up with Finland and the US. to build ice-breakers for the Arctic ~ | waters. Dubbed the “Ice Pact,” the deal could see as many as 90 ships produced by the three countries in the next few years, Russia and China have increas- ingly been flexing their muscles recently in the Arctic, both for commercial and military rea- sons, and NATO is concerned | over their incursions. This led to the unusual step of the federal government purchas- ing an aircraft hangar in the Arc- tic community of Inuvik recently for $8.6 million. The Globe and Mail reported the hangar, adja- cent toa NORAD air base, had come under security scrutiny | when Russian and Chinese visi- | tors to Inuvik expressed interest | in military installations. | Weare the North. Andwecan- | not be complacent. | Postmedia | up without making sound ‘| remember moving without ‘making sound effects ANDY BADER Season's Pass With Homecoming and my son’s wedding quickly approaching, and trying to strike some holi- | days off my calendar, I don’t have much time to bang out a column to fill this space ... so I’m cheat- ing. Again. I found this list of statements that are pretty self-explana- ry. And no, unfortunately I can’t take credit for any of them although I'd certainly like to. I hope you enjoy them. = When one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in prison. = Tome, “drink responsibly” means don’t spill = Age 60 might Be ie new 40, but 9 p.m. is the new midnight. a It’s the start of a brand new day, and I’m off like a herd of turtles. = The older I get, the earlier it | gets late. = When I say, “the toad a I could be referring to between yesterday aaa 15 ae ago. = Iremember being able to get effects. = Thad my patience tested. 'm | negative. | | = Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn’t fit any of your containers. = If you're sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare ae sas a gets “Did you bring th ney?” = © When n you asked me what I was doing today and I said ae ade it does not mean Iam means I am doing Leia = I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever. = Irunlike the winded. = [hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the begin- ning and don’t know whose side Tmon. = When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, “Why, what did you hear?” = When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with cele: = Idon’t mean to interrupt peo- ple. I just randomly remember things and get really excited. = When I ask for directions, Please don’t use words like . non ‘t bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That'll freak you right a8 = Sometimes, someone w pected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes yous forever. We call those people cop: = Myluckis ikea bald guy who just won acomb. See you at Homecoming!