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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the horrors of war home to most of us. Every day, we’re confronted with shocking images, videos, news stories and social media posts about the conflict, making us mindful of how fortunate we are to be spared the atrocities of war. But it also raises questions about whether we could defend ourselves as Canadians if we found ourselves in the same situation as Ukraine.
Today in The Conversation Canada, Andrea Riccardo Migone and Alexander Howlett of Ryerson University argue that Canada’s decrepit military does in fact leave us vulnerable. The war in Ukraine has simply underscored just how desperately our military needs to be beefed up — and they explain how and why consecutive governments have failed to invest in defence and security.
The $8 billion in additional funding announced for defence as part of the 2022 federal budget doesn’t come close to resolving the military’s funding crisis, let alone meet NATO’s two per cent funding minimum. Migone and Howlett write: “Canada cannot meet its international commitments, including humanitarian and peacekeeping missions, without new equipment.”
Also today:
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Lee-Anne Goodman
Politics, Business + Economics Editor
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A crew member throws a line ashore as the Royal Canadian Navy’s newest Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, docks in Victoria after arriving from Vancouver in October 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Andrea Riccardo Migone, Ryerson University; Alexander Howlett, Ryerson University
Canada cannot fulfil its international defence commitments, including humanitarian and peacekeeping missions, without new equipment.
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People march in Saskatoon, Sask., with the flag of Ukraine during a rally mourning the deaths of civilians killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
Marta Dyczok, Western University
Canada has played the role of a global peace advocate before. Rarely has the world needed it more than right now.
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Hemodialysis treatment can be efficient at replacing some lost kidney function, but patients can experience complications and side-effects.
(Shutterstock)
Amira Abdelrasoul, University of Saskatchewan
Hemodialysis filters kidney patients’ blood through a machine. Improving the membranes that mimic kidney function could reduce complications and side-effects, with better treatment results.
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Staten Island’s Amazon distribution centre union organizer Chris Smalls celebrates with union members after getting the voting results to unionize their warehouse on April 1, 2022.
(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Jordan House, Brock University; Paul Christopher Gray, Brock University
Staten Island’s Amazon union has proven that one of the most powerful anti-union companies in North America can be unionized.
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The forced slow down the pandemic offered may have long-lasting effects on children and families’ activities.
(Shutterstock)
Monika Szpunar, Western University; Trish Tucker, Western University
Parents in a study discussed barriers and opportunities in encouraging children’s physical movement during COVID-19 — from arguing about warm clothing for outdoor play to finding local hiking trails.
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La Conversation Canada
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Des femmes restent à côté d'une voiture après un bombardement à Odessa, en Ukraine, le 3 avril 2022. Comme dans d'autres conflits, les femmes sont utilisées comme butins de guerre et sont victimes de violences sexuelles.
(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Sandrine Ricci, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Les violences sexuelles commises par les soldats russes en Ukraine ne sont pas de simples « dérapages » individuels. Ce sont des armes de guerre et les femmes en sont les principales cibles.
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Anastasia Parshkova tenant une affiche qui dit « Tu ne tueras point », devant la cathédrale du Christ-Sauveur, à Moscou, le 15 mars 2022, peu avant son arrestation.
(Résistance féministe antiguerre)
Maria Silina, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Affiches et graffitis sont quelques-unes des façons dont les membres de la Résistance féministe antiguerre en Russie s’expriment contre la propagande.
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Ukraine Invasion
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Jeffrey William Knopf, Middlebury Institute of International Studies
There are unconfirmed reports that Russia has used chemical weapons in Ukraine. Syria’s recent chemical weapons use offers context for understanding this tactic. Chemical weapons terrify civilians.
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Neil Bermel, University of Sheffield
‘Vranyo’ is the Russian word for a lie that you tell to make yourself look good, whether people believe it or not.
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Frank Ledwidge, University of Portsmouth
Ukraine and Russia have already been facing off in Donbas for eight years. Now the stage is set for a crucial confrontation there.
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Business + Economy
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Zhanna Lyubykh, University of Calgary; Jennifer Bozeman, West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Nick Turner, University of Calgary; Sandy Hershcovis, University of Calgary
About 1 in 7 workers say their managers are abusive, whether it involves ridicule or a failure to provide credit when it’s due.
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COVID-19
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Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield
The British prime minister, his wife and the chancellor of the exchequer are all in legal trouble over lockdown gatherings.
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Politics
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Claude Patriat, Université de Bourgogne – UBFC
The first round of the French presidential elections leaves the country’s party system in tatters and voters divided along three poles. What will happen in the second round is now anyone’s guess.
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