Tragic Snowbirds crash shows Canadian Armed Forces deserve better funding, equipment

The flight of Snowbirds over Canada was meant to provide a message of hope amid the CCP coronavirus health crisis and our economic collapse.

Sadly, the crash has turned a moment of hope into a moment of mourning.

Amid our national grief, there is a growing recognition that our heroic armed forces members deserve much better equipment, both for their safety and for the effective defence of our nation.

On Twitter, Dr. David Jacobs made a very important point: “Our Snowbird planes are 57 years old. We've had 2 crashes in 2 years. Tragically, this last crash was fatal. Sending our pilots up in equipment that dates back to the Vietnam War is not acceptable.”

It may not be "nice" to say this, but by sending pilots to fly in ancient equipment, the government is putting those pilots at risk.

That’s why cutting military spending and leaving our defence weakened is not simply a "theoretical problem." There are real, and in this case, deadly consequences.

In an increasingly dangerous world, in a new era of great power competition between free democratic nations & communist China, nobody can afford to neglect national defence.

Yet, Canada’s armed forces is suffering from something more than just basic neglect.

Things are so bad that the Canadian Armed Forces are in dire straights, with our nation almost entirely undefended.

Just consider the fact that the Snowbirds are meant to be a unifying and impressive national showcase. If the best the government can do is give them ancient planes that keep breaking down and crashing, what does that say about our overall defence, and our overall priority in our armed forces?

And further, what does it say about our respect and commitment to our heroic armed forces officers?

It’s easy for us to say good things about those who serve our nation. It’s easy to say "we support our Canadian heroes in the Armed Forces." But true support means making sure they have the best equipment possible. True support means that we don’t add to their already dangerous job by making them use ancient, substandard equipment.

Instead, we must stand together as Canadians and make sure that our nation is protected, and our Canadian Armed Forces members are given the best equipment.

The tragic crash of the Snowbirds plane must serve as a wake up call for our country. We cannot honestly claim to love and support our Armed Forces members until we make sure they have modern and effective equipment.