• bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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    5 months ago

    Nobody is seriously talking about mandatory service in Canada are they? The draft and conscription have been political suicide in Canada for basically the country’s entire history as an independent nation. To my knowledge, the only countries where national service has any political traction are countries with a threatening neighbour right on their doorstep like Korea and Israel

    • streetfestival@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      The incumbent (Tory) party in the UK has included national service in their campaign leading up to next month’s federal [edit: national] election.

      https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c988jdxl02vo

      The proposed new scheme would not be conscription, where people are legally required to join the armed forces for a period. But it would compel people by law to complete a community programme over a 12-month period, or enrol in a year-long military training scheme, when they turn 18.

      • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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        5 months ago

        Yeah the article mentions that. And it mentions some conservative newspapers here are supporting the UK tories. But is anybody seriously talking about it for here?

      • Z3k3@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Sorry to be that guy but it’s just too jarring to me

        We don’t have federal elections it’s a general election.

        • streetfestival@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          Apologies, corrected to national. More importantly, how do you feel about the incumbent party in your country planning to introduce soft conscription?

          • Z3k3@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            I don’t think conscription is really the way to go. Make people do a thing they don’t want to do then hand them a gun makes me nervous.

            Besides how is he paying for it pretty sure the military is one of those things they constantly want to make more “efficient”

    • Yorick@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      Switzerland does have a mandatory service for all men, and doesn’t have belligerent neighbours… But the Swiss army is still very much stuck in the cold war mindset of being afraid of an invasion. Last time there was a vote, the people refused to abolish the militia system.

      Tbh I don’t think military service is a problem as long as it’s only used for defence and is properly setup, instead of have nutjobs running the small professional army and wanting war because they trained their whole life for it…

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      Nobody is seriously talking about mandatory service in Canada are they?

      The NatPo article that this article is responding to is the first time I’ve heard about it in recent years.