Canadian Armed Forces Pushed to Limit Responding to Climate Change Disasters

General Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, says the Canadian Armed Forces are being pushed to the limit with responding to climate change emergencies in Canada.

This year alone there were more soldiers deployed in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick dealing with flooding and wildfires in Alberta than were deployed overseas.

Vance said that it takes a personal toll on soldiers who may have less time with their families. They may come back to Canada on a six-month deployment only to be called to respond to a climate disaster.

The armed forces have increasingly turned to reservists to assist in disasters.

One of the roles of the Canadian Armed Forces is to assist in times of natural disaster at home.

Presently there are 68,000 regular force members, 27,000 reserve force members, and 24,000 civilian members. The government has a plan to grow the number to 125,000 personnel.