Bitt, I thought that Scott Free was from some guy named Scott (last name) who "got off" for something due to a technicality... I should have paid more attention in high school..

EDIT: Any btw, those were Canadian soldiers, not civilians. It is tragic for sure. Unfortunately, this stuff happens a lot because of the sheer volume of military exercises that are conducted everyday. Thankfully, it happens far less than it used to.

There are two reasons that Canada can offord to have such a light military (IMO). The first is because Canada has virtually no enemies (the whole Terrance and Phillip thing is water under the bridge). This is partly because Canada isn't in a "power position" so they do not have to engage in foreign policy that conflicts with other powers. Now, while the US has certainly had some foreign policy blunders, if you look at things in the context of the cold-war, the "big picture" makes more sense. The cold war that most of us grew up in was quite stale compared to that of the 50's and 60's.

But the second reason (again IMO) that Canada can have such a light military is because it neighbors the USA. The border between the US and Canada is the longest (in mileage) non-militarized border in the entire world. Not only would a foreign power have to cross an ocean to attack Canada, they would have to get past the USA. And if anyone ever attacked Canada (or the UK or other NATO nations such as Germany) the US would respond with immediate action (with the support of the attacked nation). So Canada sort of has a proxy military. And why we keep bailing France out of messes when they turn a cheek to us, I have no idea (and I'm 25% French), but I assume it is because we were just affraid that the UK was next.

How's that for steering this Off-Topic AND generating Flame Bait!