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Like a student who hasn’t been paying attention during class, the Canadian Armed Forces are unprepared and hoping they don’t get called on.
Driving the news: Just 58% of Canadian troops who are meant to respond to a potential crisis in a NATO nation are actually ready to do so, per a Department of National Defence report seen by the CBC, mainly due to a lack of personnel and a lack of ready-to-use equipment.
- Nearly half of the Canadian military’s equipment set aside for use in European combat is (much like us on a long weekend) "unavailable and unserviceable."
- The report found that the air force was doing the worst, with 55% of its members and equipment in no shape to be deployed. The navy came in at a close second.
Why it’s happening: A considerable membership shortage is the main reason for military unpreparedness, as flagged by the report. The armed forces were short 15,780 members as of the end of last year — an issue exacerbated by a tendency to reject permanent residents.
- Underfunding for ammunition and parts was also mentioned, as Canada continually fails to meet NATO’s target of spending at least 2% of national GDP on defence.
Why it matters: As a NATO member, Canada could be pressed into action at the drop of a hat if a fellow member is invaded. Its military unpreparedness is putting it on bad terms with some peers who fear that this hypothetical could become a reality amid Russian aggression.
- "It impacts our credibility at NATO for sure,” former ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck told CBC. “It's in our security interest to be a credible contributor to NATO."
Bottom line: It’ll take more than extra cash to fix things. The military will need to embrace fiscal responsibility (like a push to reallocate spending for ammo) and initiatives to create better working environments (like a crackdown on pervasive sexual misconduct).—QH