Canadian United Nations soldiers at a base in Gao, Mali, in August 2018 (SEYLLOU / AFP)

No, deployed Canadian troops did not have to return their sleeping bags

This article is more than one year old.
Published on November 20, 2018 at 22:57
2 min read
By AFP Canada

Online posts misleadingly suggest that Canadian soldiers were told to return some of their equipment due to a $2.3 billion cut in military spending in 2017. While an order to return certain equipment was issued to allow for supplies to be reallocated to those who needed them most, it did not apply to troops deployed or likely to be deployed in the near future. Moreover, the unspent $2.3 billion was allocated for new projects, not costs of basic equipment.

According to a Facebook post shared over 17,000 times since its publication in July, Canadian soldiers “were ordered to return their sleeping bags and rucksack,” because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government “spent $2.3 billion less than planned on military gear.”

Screenshot taken on November 20, 2018 of a misleading Facebook post

The post is misleading. On May 28, 2018 the entire Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) received an order to return their rucksacks and sleeping bags so that they could be redistributed “where it is needed most.” However, the order did not apply to currently deployed CAF members, operational units, or those who could be deployed in the near future.

Philippe Le Bouthillier, spokesperson for the Department of National Defence, explained to AFP in an email that, “There are numerous personnel in the CAF that have, over the years, moved into positions that no longer need this type of equipment or deploy as often,” hence the decision to recall some of the equipment.

The photo below shows a Canadian soldier in Mali wearing a rucksack on August 1, 2018, two months after the order was issued.

A Canadian United Nations soldier at a base in Gao, Mali, in August 2018 (SEYLLOU / AFP)

Defence budget

In 2017, the Liberal government introduced a long-term defence policy it calls “Strong, Secure, Engaged”. That year, $6.2 billion was earmarked for capital investments in defence, although only $3.9 billion was spent, as Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan pointed out in May 2018 at CANSEC, a Canadian military industry conference.

Bouthillier told AFP that the Department of National Defence “chose not to request $2.3 billion in capital funding last year, because we realized that we would not be able to spend the full amount.”

Furthermore, the $6.2 billion was specifically meant for purchases and investments in new projects. The roughly 250 projects funded with this money can be searched on this website detailing the Defence Capabilities Blueprint.

“Sleeping bags have nothing to do with the budget, because their cost was already accounted for,” Jessica Lamirande, another communications officer for the Department of National Defense told AFP.

The Canadian Armed Forces ordered a redistribution of sleeping bags from CAF members unlikely to need them in the near future. The unspent $2.3 billion was allocated for new projects under Canada’s new defence policy, and was unrelated to the military’s costs for sleeping bags and rucksacks. Defense spokesman Le Bouthillier also told AFP that the CAF is in the process of buying new rucksacks and sleeping bags, though they will not be available until mid-2019.

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