Article published by the Canadian Military Family Magazine, 15th of May, 2020:
At the end of March, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated at a daily press briefing that 24,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces stand ready to support provinces in the event that they request their assistance fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our women and men in uniform have always been there for Canadians in their time of need and this pandemic is no exception,” he said.
Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance also mentioned the troops were sequestered and stayed healthy so they can be ready in the event of being asked to support communities.
CAF’s presence in Long-Term Care Homes:
Less than one month later, on 20th of April, 2020, the first appeal for help came from Quebec’s Premier François Legault and Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford, asking for teams of military personnel to assist with the coronavirus outbreak in long-term care homes, which emerged as especially deadly sites in this pandemic.
Ontario’s request came after an online health staffing portal failed to find enough health-care workers for the nursing homes, where more than 1,000 staff got infected with COVID-19 and many were off in self-isolation. “Every set of boots on the ground will make a difference in this fight,” Premier Ford said.
In Quebec, as well, Premier François Legault stated the long-term-care homes were short staffed and struggling to cope with the virus.
Therefore, as a response, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have been supporting civilian authorities in Quebec since April 20, 2020, and in Ontario since April 28, 2020, as agreed between the provincial and federal governments.
The CAF personnel are currently active in Long Term Care Facilities where they collaborate with the medical staff for helping with the COVID-19 infection control and prevention.
Situation in Quebec:
Starting with April 20th, 2020, following the request for assistance, the CAF has sent more than 1,020 personnel committed to support twenty long-term care facilities in Quebec.
Of this number, over 670 medical and support personnel are contributing inside the facilities, while nearly 350 individuals are providing essential day-to-day support.
In the coming period, additional CAF members will be deployed to support Quebec’s most vulnerable residents.
There are expected approximately 1,350 CAF members dedicated to support up to twenty-five facilities when the deployment will be complete.
As requested by Quebec, the Canadian Armed Forces are currently serving in the following long-term care facilities:
· Grace Dart Extended Care Centre (Montreal),
· CHSLD Vigi Reine-Elizabeth (Montreal),
· Résidence Berthiaume-Du Tremblay (Montreal),
· CHSLD Vigi Mont-Royal (Ville Mont-Royal),
· CHSLD Floralies-De-Lasalle (Lasalle),
· Centre d’hébergement de Saint-Laurent (Saint-Laurent),
· CHSLD Argyle (Saint-Lambert),
· CHSLD Benjamin-Victor-Rousselot (Montreal),
· Manoir de Verdun (Montreal),
· Centre d’hébergement Yvon-Brunet (Montreal),
· CHSLD Hôpital Sainte-Anne (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue),
· CHSLD Valéo (Saint-Lambert),
· CHSLD Villa Val des Arbres (Laval),
· CHSLD Auclair
· CHSLD de la Rive
· CHSLD Eloria-Lepage (Montréal)
· Centre d'Hébergement Jean-De-La-Lande (Montréal)
· Centre d’Hébergement Saint-Andrew (Montréal)
· CHSLD Denis-Benjamin Viger (L'île-Bizard)
· Le Bellagio (Longueuil)
These teams were generated by the CAF from military bases across the country.
They previously received instruction in how to integrate with health services staff, were trained on the use of medical-grade personal protective equipment, and they also received a mandatory long-term care facility orientation facilitated by Quebec.
Situation in Ontario:
In response to the Request for Assistance from the Province of Ontario, starting with April 28th, 2020, the CAF has started to assist in five Long Term Care Facilities across the Greater Toronto Area.
While the exact number of deployed personnel fluctuates, the CAF is employing approximately 265 medical and support personnel.
As requested by Ontario, CAF members are now serving in the following long-term care facilities:
· Orchard Villa (Pickering),
· Altamont Care Community (Scarborough),
· Eatonville (Etobicoke),
· Hawthorne Place (North York), and
· Holland Christian Homes Grace Manor (Brampton)
The conditions at these LTCFs and others across the country are being monitored by the provinces and CAF support may be reassessed as required.
Canadian Rangers’ presence in remote areas:
Since the beginning of April, 2020, the Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance stated that the military was ready to deploy to remote Indigenous and northern communities to combat an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
“The main planning effort right now (…) is to be able to deploy a large task force to a community that is difficult to access. That would meet the requirements of an Indigenous community or any of our isolated northern communities,” he said.
The military plans included the air-medical evacuations to get people to hospital and provision of supplies, nursing stations and small field hospitals. The military also provides self-isolation quarters for people who test COVID-19 positive and live in tight quarters where they could expose others.
Currently, approximately 1,200 Canadian Rangers are employed throughout many communities across Canada, to offer support in their fight against COVID-19.
In Quebec, the Canadian Rangers were deployed to Nunavik, Côte-Nord and Basse-Côte-Nord, They work towards stopping the spread of COVID-19, facilitating the work of healthcare personnel, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations.
In Northern Saskatchewan, the Canadian Rangers are providing support in wellness checks, transportation and distribution of local supplies to community members.
They are also supporting the community food security through hunting, gathering and fishing. Some are also assisting community elders by cutting and delivering firewood, hauling and refilling water, and delivering medications and groceries.
In British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii archipelago, in Yukon, in the Northwest Territories and in Nunavut, the Canadian Rangers are providing support in wellness checks; gathering data on the COVID-19 relief efforts; and delivering goods to people in need, groceries and prescription medications.
The honourable work of the Rangers provides valuable information to the Canadian Government about the on the ground situation in Northern, Indigenous and remote communities across the country.
“Our country is going through difficult times during an unprecedented health crisis, and I want to salute the efforts of our troops as well as that of all frontline workers dedicated to ensuring the safety of their fellow Canadians”, the Minister of National Defence Harjit S. Sajjan said.
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