Canada’s military is on standby to help in the COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking in Ottawa this morning, defense minister Harjit Sajin says the Chief of Defense staff has been instructed to develop a plan to allow the military to support any domestic response based on 3 priorities.

That could mean supporting the efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, providing support to vulnerable communities across Canada, and assisting provincial and territorial partners with logistics, including directly supporting municipalities, if needed.

He added the response to COVID-19 would not hamper their ability to respond to other calamities like flooding or forest fires.