OTTAWA—Canada’s understaffed and resource-stretched navy is in “a critical state” and might not be able to carry out its basic duties next year, the top admiral said in a YouTube video released this week.
The comments by Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee are an unusually blunt expression of unhappiness from the military over the state of the armed forces. Canada only spends about 1.3 percent of its annual gross domestic product on defence, much less than the North Atlantic Treaty Organization target of 2 percent.
In the video, which runs just under six minutes, Vice-Admiral Topshee said the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) had not hit its recruitment targets for more than a decade.
“Colleagues and shipmates – the RCN faces some very serious challenges right now that could mean we fail to meet our force posture and readiness commitments in 2024 and beyond,” he said.
“The situation is serious but our problems are not unique and I know that the air force and army are facing similar challenges,” he continued.
The West Coast fleet is “beset with a shortage of qualified techs” which means ships cannot meet operation and maintenance targets, he said.
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