Canada鈥檚 military forces are 鈥渞eady鈥� to meet their commitments should Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine spread to NATO countries, but it would be a 鈥渃hallenge鈥� to launch a larger scale operation in the long term, with ongoing personnel and equipment shortages, according to Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre.
Eyre told Joyce Napier on CTV鈥檚 Question Period in an interview airing Sunday that while the forces in Europe are 鈥渞eady for the tactical mission they鈥檝e been assigned,鈥� he has larger concerns about strategic readiness. He said there鈥檚 a lack of people and equipment, and further concern around the ability to sustain a larger scale mission in the longer term.
The Canadian Armed Forces are still struggling to retain staff, with nearly 10,000 fewer trained personnel than they鈥檇 need to be at full force, and equipment stocks below what they require.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got challenges in all of those,鈥� Eyre said, adding the numbers reflect what鈥檚 been 鈥渓et slip over decades, as we鈥檝e focused on the more immediate (needs).鈥�
Eyre said Canada鈥檚 military would be 鈥渉ard pressed鈥� to launch another large-scale operation like it had in Afghanistan, as an example, without having to redistribute its resources around the globe, as threats evolve.
鈥淭he military that we have now is going to be increasingly called upon to support Canada and to support Canadian interests, to support our allies overseas, but as well at home,鈥� Eyre said, citing Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, climate change impacting the landscape in the Arctic, and an increase in digital and cybersecurity threats.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a case of prioritization and balancing our deployments around the globe, not just with what, but when, and with who 鈥� and getting that balance right is something that that we're working on,鈥� he said. 鈥淐ould we use more? Yeah, absolutely. But we operate with what we have.鈥�
鈥淲e prioritize and balance based on what our allies need, and what the demand signals, just to make sure that we achieve the strategic effect the government wants us to achieve,鈥� he also said.
Meanwhile Defence Minister Anita Anand said on CTV鈥檚 Question Period last week that Canada should 鈥渂e able to walk and chew gum at the same time,鈥� and balance its NATO commitments with securing the Arctic and promoting peace in the Indo-Pacific.
Eyre said his number one priority is getting Canada鈥檚 armed forces up to full strength, with an attrition rate of 9.3 per cent between both regular and reserve forces, up from 6.9 per cent last year. The Canadian Armed Forces Retention Strategy was released just last month.
鈥淲e are facing the same challenge that every other industry out there is facing in terms of a really tight labor market,鈥� Eyre said. 鈥淓very other military in the West is facing the same challenge.鈥�
He explained the organization is working on streamlining its recruitment process, among other changes, to meet the increasing need, with the goal to get numbers up 鈥渁s quickly as possible.鈥�
鈥淚deally, would have been yesterday,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e're looking at where we can accelerate the recruiting, the training, and optimizing our training pipeline.鈥�
