Canadian soldiers play a key role in domestic disasters—but they shouldn’t

Instead of tasking Canada’s professional warriors with disaster cleanups, perhaps it’s time to create a separate volunteer civilian force.

Rescue swimmers and other members of HMCS Margaret Brooke remove debris from the shoreline in La Poile, Nfld., on Sept. 29. The all-too-familiar response in the face of the growing number of natural disasters isn’t an effective use of highly trained, specialized combat troops, writes Scott Taylor. DND photograph by Cpl. Kuzma

Opinion

BY SCOTT TAYLOR

October 3, 2022

OTTAWA—In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, the Canadian military was quick to deploy more than 700 personnel to the Atlantic provinces to assist in the cleanup. This is fast becoming an all-too-familiar response in the face of the growing number of natural disasters that have hit Canad...

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