(LifeSiteNews) — Canadian troops overseas have been forced to purchase their own helmets and food as the Trudeau government has failed to provide proper supplies.
Canadian soldiers deployed in Latvia have been left to buy their own military gear while the Canadian government has provided recently arrived Danish soldiers with supplies, according to CBC News.
“In general, it was concerning verging on embarrassing to see the differences in issued soldier equipment between us and the Danes,” Lt. Col. Jesse van Eijk, the Canadian battle group commander in Latvia, revealed in a May 12th email.
“This was only exacerbated by the fact they were carrying more advanced Canadian-made Colt Canada rifles, mounting more advanced Canadian Elcan DR sights, and the fact that most of the systems our soldiers lacked were easily available on the open market and not some sort of closely guarded technology,” he added.
The Canadian troops sent to bolster NATO operations have been forced to buy their own helmets equipped with built-in hearing protection that can double as headsets.
Soldiers have also been forced to buy their own rain gear, vests, and belts to carry water and ammunition. Furthermore, there have been a growing number of complaints by female soldiers over the ill-fitting body armor issued to them.
While Canadian soldiers have been forced to fend for themselves, allied soldiers from Denmark have arrived equipped with Canadian government-purchased gear.
The Canadian military outpost in Latvia of 1,500 soldiers, including more than 700 Canadians, is also lacking modern anti-tank weapons, systems to counter drones and a short-range air defense system to guard against helicopters and attack jets.
Canadian soldiers fighting to defend their homeland were similarly abandoned this year in Poland when the Trudeau government declined to pay for their meals due to a massive backlog of the Canadian forces to reimburse other soldiers for similar costs.
Despite publicly assuring NATO that Canada intends to provide military funding, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught admitting Canada will never meet the military alliance’s defense-spending target.
Conversely, the Trudeau government recently announced that it is giving $1.5 million to LGBT organizations to increase security at “pride” parades over the summer.