"The wars that soldiers fight do not end when we return home; they stay alive within us..." - Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire

Yes they do. Even if soldiers remain physically unscathed, subjecting them to the depravities of war will take a grotesque toll on their minds and spirits. When they return home, they will bring the horrors with them.

It follows that no civilized society would ever send its young people to war short of a crisis of such magnitude that all hope is lost otherwise. No country that professes to be humane would send its soldiers into a war of opportunity; or over commercial interests; or over political ideology; or when an ally makes war for those reasons. They're not nearly sufficient to justify the enormous cost in innocent lives ruined.

There is another country on the planet- a highly respected one- that short of being attacked will not engage in armed conflict. Canada would be well-advised to follow that example.