Toronto: The Canadian military has been looking a decade ahead as it tries to prepare for various worst case scenarios that it may be faced with in the future, and some are pretty scary.
The Toronto Star reported Saturday that a report by the Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre lays out likely trends, as well as hypothetical situations that could occur — emphasis on could.
The centre predicts oil prices could quadruple by 2019, unmanned attack aircraft will police the skies, and the Arctic will become the zone of interest for the world’s great powers.
An all-commando Canadian army will fight terrorists in a region called the “arc of instability,” stretching from western Africa, through the Middle East and into Southeast Asia.
The report also talks about the introduction of national military service for new Canadians in 2016 to tackle large immigration flows and a depleted military.
There’s a scenario where war between India and Pakistan sparks clashes in B.C.’s Lower Mainland and Ontario suburbs between refugees and immigrants from the two countries.
And another has a Taliban sleeper cell poisoning the Montreal water system, killing and sickening thousands — hospitals are swamped, the U.S. border closes and tourism plummets.
Though seemingly improbable, a University of Ottawa study earlier this year that looked at security threats to Canada in 2020 came up with similar outcomes.
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