On The Line: How much military can Canada really afford?

Today on On The Line, host Matt Gurney is joined by two guests for conversations about Canadian preparedness — both military and medical.This episode of On The Line is brought to you by Dominion Dynamics. Canada has never had true sovereign awareness of our North. Vast parts of our country are a blind spot. And when you can’t see your own territory, you can’t defend it, secure it, or respond when threats emerge. Dominion Dynamics is changing that. Dominion is building a sovereign command and control capability that lets Canada and its allies see, respond, and defend across every domain. We started in the Arctic, where extreme conditions demand technology no one else can deliver.Threats don’t wait for bureaucracy. They are moving faster than our institutions. Dominion is closing that gap. Speed is now the strategic capability, and Dominion Dynamics is proving you can build capability at the speed of the threat.Defend the dominion. Dominion Dynamics.Learn more at DefendTheDominion.com.First up is Richard Shimooka of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and The Hub for a discussion about the future of Canadian defence. What does the military actually need to rebuild itself after decades of neglect? Why will restoring real capability take the better part of a decade, even under ideal conditions? They also discuss what Canada’s defence industrial strategy needs to get right if the country is serious about rearmament, and why the costs involved may soon collide with political and fiscal reality.This episode of On The Line is also brought to you by Electro-Federation Canada. Canada’s clean electricity grid gives us a competitive edge in attracting global investment — but to maintain that advantage our system needs to break down barriers and unlock the grid. Aging infrastructure, supply chain constraints, and outdated regulations threaten our ability to expand and modernize the grid — essential components of meeting future capacity needs. Electro-Federation Canada has developed a research-backed roadmap for grid readiness focused on smart policy and regulatory alignment. To learn more, visit MakeTheSwitch.ElectroFed.com.Then Matt is joined by Dr. Isaac Bogoch of Toronto General Hospital and the University Health Network for a rapid primer on Hanta virus, the recent cruise ship evacuation that drew headlines, and why evacuation isn’t the same thing as quarantine. They also reflect on the lessons of COVID, what Canada learned, what it failed to learn, and what public-health systems need to get right the next time a serious infectious disease threat emerges.This episode of On The Line is also brought to you by ACDC. Canada’s defence industrial base is fragmented. Critical platforms are owned and controlled abroad. That model doesn’t work anymore.The Alliance of Canadian Defence Companies is rebuilding Canada’s sovereign defence-industrial base. ACDC champions Canadian-owned, Canadian-controlled companies that design, build, sustain, and export next-generation defence systems. Change requires new processes, new policies, and new behaviour. ACDC membership is open to Canadian-controlled defence companies ready to lead that change.To join, email [email protected] that, plus the usual On The Line conversations about risk, preparedness, and the systems Canadians rely on more than they often realize. Oh. And shotguns.YouTube:Video goes live in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.We hope you enjoy the episode — and don’t miss us next week. We’ll be back with more On The Line.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded. No federal subsidies, no bailouts. If you value our work, please consider supporting us by subscribing or making a donation. Donations are not subscriptions and do not unlock paywalled content, but they help keep The Line independentTo contact The Line with a general inquiry or comment, please email [email protected]. For other ways to connect with us or to follow us on social media, please see our LinkTree. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe