OTTAWA — Defense Minister Bill Blair says the military has no responsibility beyond protecting Canadians and the government will continue to call up the military to respond to emergencies as needed.
OTTAWA — Defense Minister Bill Blair says the military has no greater responsibility than to protect Canadians and the government will continue to call upon the military to respond to emergencies as needed.
In an interview on Wednesday, Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked about comments by military leaders that the government was overly reliant on the domestic military, putting training and other tasks at risk.
“I think it’s fair to acknowledge that it’s putting tremendous pressure on the Canadian Armed Forces and its capabilities,” Blair said.
“But when Canadians need the Canadian Armed Forces, my expectation is that the Canadian Armed Forces will be there for them.”
In a year-end interview in December, Lieutenant-General Bob Auchterlony, commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, expressed concern about the military’s ability to respond to what he called the worsening security situation around the world.
“The reality is that there appears to be an increasing demand for the presence of Canadian troops, not just within Canada, but across the continent and around the world,” he said.
The military has struggled to recruit and retain personnel in recent years.
Inside the military, rebuilding the military has become a top priority from the end of 2022 as senior leaders seek to resolve what they are calling a personnel crisis.
As of last fall, officials said there was still a shortage of more than 16,000 soldiers, with a total strength of about 115,000 soldiers, and about 10,000 more soldiers on duty. He said he did not have the proper training to do so.
Secretary of Defense Gen. Wayne Eyre said that even if the numbers stabilized, it would take years to resolve the problem.
At the same time, there is a huge domestic demand for the military for everything from flood and firefighting to staffing long-term care facilities hit by COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.
Mr Eyre spoke openly about the fact that the government does not see the military as a last resort and believes it sends them in far too often.
In 2023, more than 2,000 military personnel were deployed to fight wildfires across Canada for 131 consecutive days.
“We sometimes have to prioritize, but there is no greater responsibility for the Canadian Armed Forces and our government than to protect our people,” Blair said.
Meanwhile, Canada and its allies are responding to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, China’s aggressive posture in the Indo-Pacific, conflicts and coups in Africa, and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Canada plans to double NATO’s eastern presence in Latvia over the next two years, while also sending ships to the U.S.-led coalition operating near the Taiwan Strait.
The United States and Britain have pledged to send officers to the Red Sea, where they are leading the offensive against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and to continue training Ukrainian troops in Latvia and Britain.
Auchterrony said in December that demand for military services cannot increase forever “without giving up something.”
But when asked if Canada needed to reduce its involvement overseas, Prime Minister Blair said: “Over the years Canada has had a reputation as a country that says yes when asked.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2024.
Sarah Ritchie, Canadian Press
