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Ottawa Citizen

Today's letters: Canada no longer stands a chance against Trump

Article content Canada no longer stands much chance Article content The failure of world leaders to earlier recognize, unite and respond to the relentless political and economic threats of President Donald Trump's 'economic divide and conquer warfare strategy' is enabling the achievement of his goal for political, economic and commercial subjugation, exploitation and dominance. Article content Article content His determination to ensure the placement of America at the top of the power pyramid through tariff tyranny is succeeding. Article content Article content Unfortunately for Canada, the die has now been mostly cast, and we will be limited in our avenues of defence or retaliation. Our geographical sovereignty may be preserved but the underlying engines that sustain our nation's economy, self-reliance, political strategies, social and cultural mores may be forever changed. Article content In what remains of 2025, the Canadian Navy plans to decommission eight of the Kingston class inshore patrol ships (and four more over the next three years, while the Canadian Coast Guard (now being considered for NATO expenditure purposes as part of the Canadian Armed Forces) could do with at least some of those ships. Article content The Coast Guard is still tasked to provide ships for fisheries patrols on behalf of DFO Conservation and Protection; it is still responsible for search and rescue; and it is involved in the intervention of contraband (drugs mainly) and human trafficking. Article content Article content The Kingston class ships were built in 1994-98 and are about the same size as CCGS Chebucto (built in 1966 and retired in 1997), a near-shore fisheries patrol vessel. The Kingstons are powered by diesel/electric to two propellers in pods that rotate, making the ship very manageable in close quarters. With modifications to deploy a rigid inflatable motorized boat easily, and a good towing bollard so that distressed fishing boats and small ships can be salvaged, these ships would make an excellent addition to the Coast Guard fleet, which was severely diminished when many ships reached end of life and were not replaced. Article content Article content A transfer of naval ships to the Coast Guard would not only be cost-effective but also would demonstrate that the Canadian Coast Guard is a para-military organization and worthy of being considered in Canada's allotment of military expenditures. Since the 12 ships of the Kingston class are virtually identical, it would be reasonable for the Coast Guard to accept more ships than it actually needs and put the excess in 'moth balls' for later use or cannibalization of parts. Article content