Editor's note: As a valued reader, our editorial team want to share this gift article with you. Hope you find value in our journalism and the work we do! | | Canada's 'Preppers' Are Ready for Anything in Uncertain Times | David Arama sits in the restaurant at the Marble Lake Lodge campground he owns in Cloyne, Ont., on Oct. 15, 2024. Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times | By Tara MacIsaac CLOYNE, Ont.—The term "prepper" is not in every Canadian's vocabulary. But when you pair it with "doomsday," many people picture bomb shelters, canned goods, and post-apocalyptic fiction. "I'm not a doomsday, apocalypse-type prepper," said David Arama, as he sat in his lodge in Cloyne, a small village about three hours north of Toronto. A few paces away was the door to his concrete cellar stocked with food and water. He's ready for almost anything, but not everything. He's not prepared for some of the events other preppers have in mind, he said—such as a massive geomagnetic storm that could wipe out power for years (like the one that hit Earth in 1859). Or the eruption of Yellowstone's supervolcano, which could wipe out much of North America. "To what level can I actually prepare and predict something that big?" Arama said. He and many other preppers are thinking more along the lines of extreme weather events, like the tornado that left a path of destruction in Tweed (about 40 minutes south of his home) two years ago. Prepping is like having insurance, he said. This idea was echoed by Terry Blackmore, another prepper and one of the organizers of Canada's Annual Prepper Meet. "You've got to think of being prepared as just a common-sense thing," Blackmore told The Epoch Times in an interview. "If you've got insurance in case your house burns down, you've got insurance in case your car crashes, or you've got CAA in case your car breaks down. Well, having a little bit of extra stuff on hand is your insurance in case the power goes out for a week," he said. Blackmore lives in the rural town of Kawartha Lakes, Ont., and is prepared to be self-sufficient for about six months, he said. Arama said he keeps enough food on hand for two years, and he's set up to live off-grid. Boris Milinkovich, who lives in downtown Toronto, told The Epoch Times he's prepared to be self-sufficient for a week. He has a battery bank that can be recharged using solar power, has water stored up, and has the tools to capture rainwater and purify it. Recent uncertainties in Canada and globally have driven more people to the Annual Prepper Meet in recent years, Blackmore said. The pandemic was the biggest driver. | Black Friday Super Sale Only $10 for an entire year! According to a recent public survey, only 32% of Canadians have trust in the news media to make decisions in the best interests of the public. It doesn't have to be this way. Instead of sifting through biased news that leaves you feeling frustrated, start receiving quality reporting and in-depth analysis that helps you make sense of the world and brings peace of mind.
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| Offer ends on Nov 29 | For new customers only Cancel anytime | "I make a point of asking people 'what brought you here?'" he said. The typical answer, he said, is "COVID and the things that are going on. I don't like what's going on." "A lot of them are a broad cross-section of society too—fairly well-off executive-type people all the way down to, you know, your basic guy on the street," Blackmore said. Many are ex-military or emergency workers such as firefighters or paramedics, he said. Such people have seen the critical difference a little preparedness can make when the unexpected happens. | The trunk of David Arama's car is always packed with all the gear he'd need in practically any kind of emergency situation. Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times | Wool clothing and blankets are among the emergency supplies David Arama always keeps handy in the trunk of his car. Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times | Why People Prep The specific unexpected events each prepper is most worried about differ. During the pandemic, some saw the empty store shelves and supply chain disruptions as a bad omen. Some lost trust in the government and the stability of society, Blackmore said. Blackmore himself got more serious about prepping after the Great Recession of 2008. He had already long maintained some level of preparedness; growing up in the Cold War era instilled in him a sense of pending doom, he said. And being raised in a rural area, loss of power or getting the car stuck in the snow were common occurrences. "As young people, we always brought a little extra stuff, a blanket, extra boots, and maybe a little bit of something to eat, just in case," he said. "I'm just kind of carrying it on in a little bit more depth." | More Popular Stories: Get unlimited access for just $10 for an entire year! | Offer ends on Nov 29 | For new customers only Cancel anytime | In a Facebook group called Preppers & Survivalists of Canada, which has almost 19,000 members, a member recently posted the question: "What is your number one concern that made you start thinking about prepping?" More than 160 people responded. A potential economic collapse and a general sense of decline were common answers. Some mentioned the Y2K scare, when people feared the digital world would collapse as computer time-counters turned from 1999 to the year 2000. Some are worried about a nuclear attack, or nuclear plant accident if they live near one. Extreme weather events, wildfires, power outages, terrorist attacks, and electro-magnetic pulse attacks were other possibilities mentioned. Some cited a traditional ethos of self-sufficiency. "I prepped before I got concerned. We call it homesteading," one respondent said. | David Arama shows his "bug out bag," which contains all the supplies he would need to survive in the wilderness. Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times | For Arama, it grew naturally out of an outdoorsy lifestyle. Being ready to camp in any weather isn't so different from being a prepper, he said. The trunk of his car is always packed with all the gear one might take on a long back-country camping trip. But the satellite phone and some other items give him away as someone a little more prepared than your average camper. He pulled out his "bug out bag"—a term for a sort of survival kit with everything needed to make a rapid evacuation—and other supplies stashed in his car. Wool blankets and clothing, first aid supplies including antibiotics, fishing line, bear mace, tarps (a lighter-weight option for shelter than a full tent), heat packs, a compass, a tin can for boiling water to purify it, and more. Arama grew up in Toronto, in a rough neighbourhood in North York. "Pretty much everything I saw was negative," he said. "Rather than go and become a drug dealer … I kind of had a dream that someday I might do something better." Gordon Lightfoot's music inspired in him an appreciation of Canada's natural beauty. A Lightfoot CD sits at the top of a bin of discs in the passenger side of his car, beside the tangle of communications gear always at hand. "That'll keep me alive too during a worldwide apocalypse. Got to try to be happy," he said. | David Arama keeps communications equipment in his car, including a satellite phone. Many preppers have familiarized themselves with Morse code and the use of various communication devices, such as HAM radios. Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times | He worked as a tree-planter in the 1980s—a job that includes living in a tent, working in all kinds of weather, and traversing rough terrain. That's when the seeds of his future as a survivalist were planted. Arama now teaches wilderness survival courses, including training for law enforcement and military officers. He also owns a restaurant and campground, Marble Lake Lodge. "I can survive for a long time. I did a lot of survival training where I spent up to 60 days with nothing, just a knife and a tin can," he said. It takes a little suffering for people to realize how important it is to prepare, Arama said. When you experience a disaster, when you see what it's like to go a couple days without water, you're more likely to think prepping is a good idea, he said. "People generally in Ontario and in Canada are less prepared for disasters than anyone in the world because we live a good life." What to Have at the Ready The preppers have some advice for Canadians who may not wish to become full-on preppers, but who would like to be more resilient if the power goes out for an extended time or some unexpected event happens. Arama and Milinkovich have both written books on the topic. Arama's is titled "How to Start a Fire With Water." Milinkovich operates a personal security consulting firm called True North Tradecraft and his book is titled "True North Tradecraft's Disaster Preparedness Guide." Continue reading for free --> | Subscribe Today for Just $10 and Get Unlimited Access! | Copyright © 2024 The Epoch Times. All rights reserved. 195 Allstate Parkway, Markham, Ontario L3R 4T8 Phone: 1-800-766-0157 Help Centre | Support Us You are receiving this email because you subscribed to Epoch Specials email list. Unsubscribe | |
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