and equality, and increased agricultural production by 40%. Canada's involvement in .
both World Wars was vital to Canada's independence and today's constant effort for .
world peace. .
The Great War (W.W.I) created many problems that have made Canada's .
involvement in the war seem trivial. Conscription2 was introduced when there were not .
enough volunteers in Canada to replace those killed or wounded. This was aimed mostly .
at Quebecers and French Canadians, who shared the common belief that Canadians .
should not be endangered because of connections to Britain. Many English speaking .
Canadians viewed this opposition to conscription as unpatriotic. In Quebec, conscription .
became a symbol for the tyranny of the English-speaking majority. The bitter feelings .
caused by conscription created a unity crisis in Canada that is still evident today. .
The first world war cost Canada 3 billion dollars. This exceeded the federal .
budget by six times what was usually spent. The first income tax was introduced to help .
pay for this debt. World War II was a slightly more expensive ordeal, costing Canada 20 .
billion dollars. Many argue that this money could have been used to make Canada a .
more prosperous country, and income tax could have been prevented. .
The largest and most irreplaceable loss from any war is loss of life. Billions of .
children grew up in the war era without fathers, brothers, and grandfathers. Other .
children were never given the chance to meet their fathers before they were slaughtered .
in trench warfare or taken prisoner. Husbands, sons, and other loved ones were taken .
from innocent citizens by the most extreme act of hate and misunderstanding; war. .
The cliche "In every cloud there is a silver lining" applies to both world wars. .
Before W.W.I Canada was a member of the British Empire and had no control over .
foreign policy. W.W.I proved that Canada was not just made up of pawns to fight for .
Britain. The unity crisis created by conscription showed that Canada was developing a .
