Join the new world

I am running for Congress in the December elections for the CNC, although at present I have not decided on the region in which I shall run. Rather than try to summarize my platform into a few well chosen catch-phrases I have decided to present a series of articles on issues of importance. The first part of this appeared here.

My first inclination was for this second part of my platform to deal with the Canadian Armed Forces, but recent developments have led me to discuss infrastructure or constructions first. The Ministry of Industries recently informed Congress of the completion of a new Q5 Hospital and a Q5 Defense System. This means that we currently have two Q5 Hospitals and three Q5 Defense Systems available to be deployed, the third Q5 Defense System being a gift offered to Canada by the United States at the beginning of November but which has not been place in the nearly two months since it was offered.

Entrenched thinking of deployment of Hospitals and Defense Systems within Canada is tied to a Fortress mentality, which view Hospitals purely as a defense asset. Advocates of the Fortress strategy claim that it is “proven,” and that it is what our Brolliance Ally the United States is using. I am not convinced of the notion that it is “proven” but if so the USA is hardly the best example, considering how close they came to the fate that Canada endured during the battles of the summer (reduced to the state of Florida before an agreement with Portugal ended that part of the war).

Fortresses are fine but they can be reduced, less by assault than by depriving them of supplies, although as we saw during this past summer, assault can work. I tend to prefer something more akin to a real world “Defense in Depth” in which the areas adjacent to potential enemies are lightly held Observation Zones, while the interior areas are either more heavily defended Battle Zones where the main battles are fought and the Reserve Zones where attacks will be launched from. I tend to believe that having more Q5 Hospitals will aid our defense by increasing the depth of our defense – allowing more strong points to retreat to.

There is another reason for increasing the number of hospitals that we deploy, but it is one that I hesitate to bring up because it tends to draw ridicule, and that is regional loyalties. Yes, I realise that the game as it exists makes regionalism within a country a non-issue, and yes I realise that the Ministry of Immigration is doing a great job of moving new citizens to locations with Q5 hospitals. The problem is that it is effective in moving citizens who WANT to move. I am not entirely convinced however that not having some sort of hospitals in the regions is not hurting our attempts to increase the population of Canada. I think that people who come into the game might feel that the game is not for them if their region isn’t provided with some sort of hospital. We can see some of that in areas where we have Q4 hospitals; British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia in the game has a healthy population both in terms of size and wellness, while New Brunswick has slightly more than a third of the population of Nova Scotia and most of them are dying. Is this because people who are e-born in New Brunswick are leaving for Q5 regions while those who stay in Nova Scotia are 2-clickers who are playing the game “wrong”? Or is it because psychologically casual players – who could become serious players – from New Brunswick who come into the game feel that it’s not for them because they feel that Ontario and Quebec are “running” the game? Regionalism may not have a place in the game but it does have a place in the way that people think. As someone who appeared first in a region which had only a Q1 hospital I can say that it was a very close call as to whether or not I stayed in the game. I’m not sure I would have if there had been no hospital there at all.

Building more hospitals is a passion of mine. I do not believe that the project of expanding the number of hospitals in Canada is an instantaneous project. In the November budget, it was suggested that the next hospital – the one that has most recently been completed – should be offered for sale to supplement the budget. Currently the thought is that perhaps the hospital could be offered to the Australians to replace a hospital that they lost in the recent fighting (although it is worth noting that with the exception of Tasmania every current Australian region has a Q5 hospital – more in fact than Canada has). I don’t disagree with the potential for using a hospital as a diplomatic sweetener. Indeed my preference would be to sell or use as a diplomatic tool every other Hospital construction. What I disagree with is the attitude that says that we shouldn’t build more hospitals when so many other countries, including The UK, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Roumania and Brazil have have hospitals of Q3 or better in all or most regions. Who is doing it “wrong”; them or us?