A federal audit released Thursday says National Defence has overstated ammunition needs for some training and deployments, leaving significant gaps in Canada’s strategic combat munitions stockpile.
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A federal audit released Thursday found that only about half of the ammunition the Canadian military acquired for training and exercises was actually used, and that a strategic reserve maintained for emergencies and combat has “significant gaps” between required and actual inventory levels that will take years to fix.
The audit said only 56 per cent of the Canadian Armed Forces’ “regular use” ammunition for training and deployments was used over the past three years. It pointed to “overstated” requests for ammunition and the cancellation of planned activities such as training exercises as key reasons for the shortfall.
Auditor General Karen Hogan told a Thursday news conference that National Defence did not track the reasons for “limited or cancelled activities.” She said the department had indicated in an analysis in March that key equipment—including tanks and ships—was “often out of service” when needed, and Hogan said the audit showed the department “weren’t tracking why.”
The audit also found weaknesses in how the department manages ammunition information, including reliability around inventory details such as expiry dates. Hogan said her office has flagged similar issues in financial audits for more than two decades.
National Defence, the audit said, does not centrally track ammunition expenses, which prevents it from providing detailed dollar amounts broken down across ammunition types and groups.
Hogan said some excess ammunition inventory can still be used in an emergency, but not all training ammunition is lethal. The audit also stated that, as of March this year, National Defence determined the Canadian Armed Forces’ readiness level to meet NATO commitments was well below target, and that ammunition was one of the factors contributing to shortfalls, particularly the strategic munitions stockpile.
On procurement, the audit examined 15 contracts and found deliveries took an average of almost 19 months after signing, with most material delivered late.
In a media statement released Thursday, federal Conservative MPs James Bezan, Jeff Kibble and Pierre Paul-Hus said the report “confirms a serious lack of action” by the Liberal government and called for immediate steps to rectify ammunition stockpiles and accounting.
Defence Minister David McGuinty said the government takes its responsibilities seriously, telling the Thursday news conference that the audit shows “progress” is needed and that it is working to merge tracking systems for ammunition storage and distribution.
The federal government has also said it plans to bolster domestic ammunition production as a top ten priority under its defence industrial strategy released this spring.
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