Climate disasters will be part of defence update as strains grow, minister says

Defence Minister Bill Blair affirmed Thursday that weather-related disasters will be a large part of the renewed vision set to be laid out for the Canadian Armed Forces in a promised defence policy update.

At the same time, the country’s defence chief says the military needs to be the “force of last resort” and called for more response resources to be handled municipally and provincially.

Blair was asked by NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen, “Can you confirm that whenever we do see the defence update, whenever that may be, will a large part of that deal with the existential crisis that we are seeing in terms of climate change?”

“I can confirm that,” Blair said. “I think we’ve all learned a great deal from our experiences in the last three years. The last year being the most intense, extraordinary and unprecedented — I get tired of using that word unprecedented, but there’s no comparison.”

Mathyssen had pointed out the last update in 2017 did not include any measures on how the military responds to climate change beyond mentions of it being an issue.

Blair said that this year saw the longest continuous deployment of military resources assisting in natural disaster response, with 130 consecutive days spent assisting with wildfires that gripped the country.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre stressed that calling on military assistance in dealing with climate-related disasters should be a measure of last resort, but it is becoming increasingly common.

“The demand is going up. We’ve seen a doubling every five years over the last decade and a half for assistance for response to natural disasters,” Eyre told the committee.

“What is missing is capacity. I believe the Canadian Armed Forces will continue to be called upon, but what we truly need to be is that force of last resort. What we need is that intermediate capacity at the municipal and provincial levels to be drawn upon first.”

1:29 Canadian military airlifting residents out of Northwest Territories amid wildfires

Conservative members of the committee focused in on the government’s push to cut approximately $1 billion from the defence budget as part of broader fiscal measures, which Eyre has testified he was asked to find.

Blair emphasized that they are working to ensure any budget cuts don’t impact operational capacity, saying instead they are focusing on finding savings in consulting, professional services and travel.

In this atmosphere, Eyre made the case that having the CAF being increasingly called to help with climate-related disasters is not financially sustainable.

“We train for the worst of situations, high-end combat. If that capability is being used much lower-end, more frequent business, it’s not economically viable,” Eyre said.

“Those other tasks, if you take a look at the world security situation deteriorate around us, the demand signal for those primary tasks that we’re responsible for is only increasing but our readiness to do that is decreasing.”

Eyre says this is due in part to the “incessant” demand for domestic operations.

“It’s an expensive response. It may not in all circumstances be the best response, but for us it’s it’s been the best choice. And they’ve always answered that call,” Blair said.

1:56 Canadian military mobilizes to help B.C. fight wildfires

Blair leaned on his prior cabinet post as emergency preparedness minister to say the military ultimately decides what services they can offer when a disaster assistance request comes in.

The defence policy update has been delayed numerous times since it was first announced in early 2022 amid a rapidly worsening global security situation, with increasingly strained relations with Russia, China, and the rise of authoritarian regimes. It was originally expected to be released last fall.

At a summit hosted by Aerospace Industries Association of Canada earlier this month, Blair said he’d recently met with the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss changes to the update.

As for when that will come, Blair told the House of Commons national defence committee it will come when budgetary discussions are complete.

“We are in a situation that has to recognize the fiscal environment, but at the same time, the urgency of additional investments in defence is also clearly part of those discussions, and so it will come … when we complete those budget discussions,” Blair said.

— with files from The Canadian Press.