Forces’ reserves to get $250M for facilities

FIVE-YEAR PLAN

HALIFAX • Canada’s military reserve units will see $250 million in repairs and upgrades to their armouries and training facilities over the next five years, changes Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says are long overdue.

Sajjan announced the funding Thursday at Artillery Park, a reserve facility in downtown Halifax.

He said approximately $38 million of the total is expected to be spent on immediate maintenance and repairs across the country this fiscal year.

“This investment will have meaningful impact on reservists across Canada,” Sajjan told a gathering of reservists from the Halifax area.

The minister said training areas such as firing ranges would be upgraded, while many aging armouries will see repairs to things such as plumbing, electrical wiring and leaky roofs. Heating and cooling systems will also be upgraded to make buildings more energy efficient.

“Maintenance may not seem glamorous, and it should have been done a long time ago, but it wasn’t,” Sajjan said. “Under-investment leads to simple things like washrooms not working or roofs starting to leak. A reservist that gives up time from their employment and from their families deserves to have a proper working environment.”

Sajjan said a regional study will also be conducted to assess longer term infrastructure needs. The study will begin by looking at facilities in Vancouver and Edmonton with an eye to future modernization.

The Liberal government has committed to increasing the size of the primary reserve force by 1,500 people to reach a total of 30,000.

Investments planned this fiscal year include an estimated $15.8 million for Quebec, $5.2 million for the West region, $3.8 million for the Pacific and $1.2 million for Ontario. Atlantic Canada’s estimated share for the year is about $3.7 million.

Brig.-Gen. Roch Pelletier, commander of the Atlantic Canada-based 5th Canadian Division, welcomed the funding for the Atlantic region. Pelletier said it’s a required move given that the reserves are being asked to do more under Canada’s defence policy in both supporting the regular force and in assisting communities.

He highlighted recent missions such as the assistance provided this spring during the second-straight year of severe flooding along New Brunswick’s Saint John River.