The South African government and Chile have expressed a lively interest in the British subs, but so far no deals have been concluded. However, unless Canada seizes the initiative quickly, a sale to one of these countries is likely. Under the proposed Canadian deal, which the British have agreed to in principle, no cash would change hands. Avoiding costly refits for the existing Oberons would save millions of dollars. But the largest part of the deal could be financed by Canada waiving for eight years the annual rentals Britain now pays for training facilities in Suffield and Wainwright Alberta, and Goose Bay, Labrador.
Submarines are powerful weapons and their torpedoes can inflict great damage.
What Canadians must decide is whether our military ought to be taken seriously, or remain a token force mainly useful for Remembrance Day parades. We've never been a military country despite or glorious record in two world wars. Probably the wisest statement ever made about Canadian defence was by historian Desmond Morton, currently the Director of the Institute of Canadian Studies at McGill University in Montreal. By no imaginable effort could 30 million Canadians protect themselves from either of its two powerful neighbours by their own unaided efforts. At the same time, no one is going to attack Canada without taking on the world's greatest military power.