Reliance on Canadian Forces for COVID Response Lowers Military Preparedness Against International Threats, Committee Hears

A staff member escorts members of the Canadian Armed Forces in to a long term care home, in Pickering, Ont., on April 25, 2020. Chris Young/The Canadian Press

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced domestic reliance on the Canadian Armed Forces, which risks lowering Canada’s military readiness against international threats coming from China and Russia, a parliamentary committee heard on Nov. 23.

As the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence continues looking into the impact of the pandemic on Canadian Armed Forces’ operations, an expert warned against unnecessarily overtasking the CAF.