Imagine If We Spent the Money on Healing 💔

 Imagine If We Spent the Money on Healing 💔

Today I read a sentence that stopped me cold.

“Canada is quadrupling its defence spending.”

Quadrupling.

Not doubling.
Not a small increase.
Four times.

And my first reaction wasn’t strategy or geopolitics.

It was:

How many homes is that? 🏠
How many meals? 🍲
How many detox beds?
How many youth centres?
How many elders cared for with dignity? 👵🏽
How many people wouldn’t have to write “Emergency contact: NONE” on a form?

Because that’s what security looks like to me.

Not jets. ✈️
Not submarines.
Not bigger guns in the Arctic.

Security is a warm place to sleep. 🛏️
Security is food in the fridge. 🥖
Security is mental health care when you’re spiralling. 🧠
Security is knowing someone would pick up the phone if you called. ❤️

We’re told defence spending keeps us safe.

But safe from what?

And safe for who?

If even a fraction of those billions went into housing, treatment, and community care, we wouldn’t just be “defended” — we’d actually be stronger.

Healthier.
Kinder.
More connected. 🤝

I keep thinking about that young person entering assisted living with no family listed. No emergency contact. No one.

And I wonder what would protect them more:

Another fighter jet?

Or one stable adult.
One affordable apartment.
One counsellor who isn’t overwhelmed.
One system that doesn’t abandon them. 🌱

Sometimes it feels like our priorities are upside down.

We keep investing in how to fight wars.

But not in how to prevent despair.

If we really wanted security, we would defend people first.

Homes are defence. 🏠
Food is defence. 🍲
Care is defence. 🩺
Community is defence. ❤️

Imagine if we spent the money on healing instead.

Maybe that’s the kind of country I still hope we can build. ✨