Neglecting the Military Will Have Repercussions Down the Line, Warn Retired Officers

HMCS Fredericton, guided by tugs, returns to Halifax on July 28, 2020, after completing a six-month deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

Canadian military bases are chronically understaffed and have suffered substantial funding cuts since the Liberals took power in 2015, according to a report produced in 2020 by the National Defence Department. Military experts and retired officers say neglecting the Canadian Armed Forces will have repercussions down the line.

“The military suffers if senior levels of government do not value the military,” said retired lieutenant-colonel John Selkirk, currently executive director of Reserves 2000, a national alliance of Canadians dedicated to furthering the army reserve and citizen soldiers.