Jennie Carignan is Canada's top soldier. She is building a 400,000-strong civilian-defence force of volunteers aged 16 to 65—heavy-equipment operators, drone operators and cyber specialists—to support the Canadian Armed Forces in the event of a military attack or natural disaster. She dispatched a team to Finland to study that country's extensive civil-defence system. Ms Carignan argues the plan should please the United States, as it meets Donald Trump's demand that America's allies look after more of their own defence.
Let me put it this way: today is going to be a learning experience.