Letter: Suffield still holds great, important potential
By Letter to the Editor on July 25, 2024.
I read with great interest Collin Gallant’s articles on ‘Operation Snowball’ in last week’s Medicine Hat News online addition. On July 24, he raises an interesting question, what is to become of Suffield? This question has hung over the facility for years. I remember well the plan of James Richardson and Pierre Trudeau government’s plan to shut DRES and shift the scientists, engineers and technicians working there to various points across the country. His ultimate goal was to build a research facility in his riding near Winnipeg. Thankfully, for DRES and the City of Medicine Hat, a local group of DRES employees took it upon themselves to challenge the plan and lobby the government – successfully – to cancel the planned closure of the facility. I do not know what the overall economic benefit is to the city by having the research facility and military base on its doorstep, but it most certainly is significant – C$80 million the last figure I can find according to the Medicine Hat News (27-08-2020). As the economic contribution of the oil and gas industry in southern Alberta declines, this contribution must be increasingly important to the economic well-being of Medicine Hat and southeast Alberta. The ‘intangible’ benefits of maintaining DRES and CFB Suffield must be obvious to even the most naïve observer. Canada’s political commitment to the country’s defence has been, quite frankly, a joke for decades. Under the current regime, even more so. There current prime minister has no credibility on the world stage, especially in matters of defence. Despite the seeming indifference of the country’s federal government to the nation’s defence and NATO commitments, someone in the country must begin to mount a strong challenge to the current status quo. In an increasingly unstable and dangerous world, and as the way wars are waged, there is golden opportunity to repurpose Suffield to accommodate training in modern technology, tactics and techniques. In my travels, I have met soldiers from several countries who have trained at Suffield. All had nothing but positive comments about the facility, the training the got there and their experiences in Medicine Hat when the training was done. I would hope local MPs, MLAs and city council are already fast at work lobbying the feral governments in Canada and the U.K. to modernize and repurpose the facility as required to ensure its long-term survival. Duncan Laidlaw Aberdeen, Scotland 13-12
Duncan Laidlaw’s recent comments along with Colin Gallant’s original question of “what is to become of Suffield?…has spurred me to comment further:
First, I think Colin’s initial question is a very legitimate one, given that it is obvious to me at least, that it will no longer be used by the British for Tank Training, Especially since, the war in Ukraine has shown that Tanks are no longer an effective warfare tool.
However, before we let the British leave Suffield, I believe that the Canadian Government should require the British to do an environmental cleanup of all left over artillery shells, other dangerous unexplored weapons, and other metal shrapnel scattered across the base, before they leave, or at least make sure that they agree to pay to have the environmental clean-up done.
This is important no matter whatever use is made of this area, after they leave.
Also, given the poor state of affairs that the the Canadian Military is In, I question whether they will ever have the need or financial ability to make use of this large area.
While DRES and the British tank base have certainly had an historical financial impact on the local Medicine Hat Economy, I think that that Canadian Military will never be capable of ever, having a similar impact on our local economy in the future
Perhaps it is time to make more use of this area, for cattle grazing, a use that is certainly more environmentally sustainable, and probably more economically viable than anything our Canadian Military will be able to come up with in the future!
Don McLennan
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