Harper Vows to Equip Canadian Rangers with New Firearms

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Stephen Harper has reassured the lightly armed Canadian Rangers, who are currently equipped with rifles from Second World War era, that Ottawa is content to buy them new firearms to keep patrolling Northern Canada. The Prime Minister took time to spend time with the Rangers, part-time reservists in the Canadian Forces, during his annual tour of Northern Canada. PM Harper visited Canadian rangers in the Arctic hamlet of Gjoa Haven.

The Rangers are tasked to keep a military presence in the sparsely populated north of the country, from where they report to the Forces in case they spot something such as a foreign submarine. The government initially attempted to buy more than 10,000 firearms for the Rangers, although the project faced several issues that were reported in recent years. However, on his recent trip, Mr. Harper persistently mentioned that the Rangers should get new firearms. He stated that “I am told there is no difficulty in servicing the weapons at the present time, but this is a concern, and we believe it is time.” It was highlighted that “The Department of National Defence is in the process of scoping out a program for replacement and I expect that to happen over the next few years.”

Apart from promises to buy new weaponry, PM Harper did not actually have any real update on the government’s much-delayed project that intended to buy new search-and-rescue planes deemed as vital for northern Canadians. The auditor-general of Canada highlighted in a recent report that Ottawa’s search-and-rescue capabilities are in trouble in part because its fleet of specialized aircraft is becoming too old.

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