To Truly Honour Canadian Armed Forces Day, Canada Must Finally Fund Our Severely Depleted Military

When it comes to supporting the military, words from politicians don’t mean anything. Only actions count.

Today is Canadian Armed Forces Day.

“Canadian Armed Forces Day is a time for us to salute the brave men and women at home and abroad who have devoted their lives to protecting our freedom. #CAFDay”

Many politicians will share their praise and support for the military.

Among those politicians, is Justin Trudeau:

“The brave women and men of the @CanadianForces represent the very best of what it means to be Canadian, and protect the values we hold dear: peace, freedom, & democracy. On #CAFDay & every day, we thank you and your families for your service and sacrifice.”

Harjit Sajjan also Tweeted:

“Today, on Canadian Armed Forces Day, we pay tribute to our brave women and men in uniform and thank them for their service to Canada. We also celebrate our military families who truly are the strength behind the uniform. Thank you @canadianforces. You make Canada proud. #CAFDay”

Those are nice words, nice photos, and nice videos.

But at the end of the day, what matters is actions, and those actions are sorely lacking.

After, Trudeau is one who said Veterans were asking for too much.

And beyond that insult, the state of the Canadian Armed Forces is severely troubled.

Our military is far too small and under-equipped.

Our Air Force lacks quality fighter jets, the replacements for the old CF-18s are more old F-18s the government bought from Australia, and there’s a serious pilot shortage.

Our Navy is unable to adequately travel in the North, even as other nations advance their influence and strength in that region.

Our Veterans have been repeatedly betrayed and disrespected by the federal government, which is not only a disgrace, but also discourages others from joining the military in the first place when they see how Canada’s wounded heroes are treated by the government that’s supposed to have their back.

Some nice words, Tweets, and videos does nothing to change that.

Celebrating Canadian Armed Forces Day should be about taking real action, and actually strengthening our depleted armed forces.

Right now, the Canadian Armed Forces is in horrible condition.

The horrendous treatment of Vice-Admiral Norman, and the fact that Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance has acted like a Trudeau stooge gives an awful impression. And the only other time Vance talks about the military is when he’s talking about serious internal problems.

The procurement process is a total failure. It takes forever to buy anything for the military, and when things are bought, the equipment is outdated, terrible, and far below the standards of many other nations.

In short, because of endless disrespect and under-funding from politicians, our armed forces are a total mess.

Fixing that will certainly require a significant financial investment.

However, that investment is worth it, considering that defending the Canadian People is the most sacred duty of the Federal Government, and considering that our Veterans defended our freedom and deserve the best.

When we can finally say that the Canadian Armed Forces is getting the funding it needs, and when our Veterans are finally taken care of properly, only then can we truly celebrate Canadian Armed Forces Day.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – Twitter