I wrote the words in italics below more than a year ago, in mid-January 2023. For whatever reason, I never finished the post. Which, as it turns out may have been a good thing – I would probably have looked pretty silly to anyone reading the post today, as I will explain once you’ve read the year-old words.

Canada announced last week it was spending $400 million for an air defence system – for Ukraine. Where it is no doubt sorely needed as the war with Russia about to hit its first anniversary.

What make the purchase ironic is that the Canadian Armed Forces retired its air defence system in 2012, The understanding was that a new one would be purchased soon. However, as seems to be the norm when it comes to needed new equipment for the CAF, that has not happened.

Which is fine if our troops are never involved in operations in a war zone. Air defence capabilities aren’t required to shovel snow off of Toronto streets, fight forest fires in British Columbia or dole out medication in Quebec nursing homes.

But what if we were to actually ask our troops to be involved in a war zone? They don’t have any ammunition or equipment. It would be a disaster. The current government has shown no desire to adequately fund our armed forces. But they have shown a willingness to help out countries like Ukraine.

Maybe what our military needs is to say they are buying equipment for needy allies, then just keep it for themselves. As long as nobody mentions it to the politicians, we could meet Canadian military requirements after years of neglect.

I no longer believe we could re-arm our military by pretending the weapons purchased would be given to an ally. Not that I think the idea was wrong, just that the passage of time shows it wouldn’t have worked.

More than a year after the announcement that Canada was buying that air defence system for Ukraine, it hasn’t shown up on the battlefield. The whole situation is so murky that it is uncertain if the system has even been ordered from the supplier.

So much for Canadian promises. It is a national embarrassment. Or would be if Canadians paid any attention to what is happening with our armed forces. We generally don’t care, and generations of politicians have banked on that.

If the system has been for Canadian use, the delay would be no big deal. After all, we have ships and planes coming supposedly, that will come into service decades after they were supposed to. Our troops aren’t fighting a war at the moment, so the lack of an air defence system is no big deal.

But this wasn’t for us. The system was a gift to a country that is fighting a war. No-one will ever be able to say how many lives would have been saved if Canada was better at following through on its commitments.

The situation is a reminder that there are real world consequences to political action and inaction. With lives at stake, let us hope Canada can get its act together quickly and keep its promises before many more lives are lost.