Canadian military bases are chronically understaffed and have suffered substantial funding cuts since the Liberals took power in 2015, according to a report produced in 2020 by the National Defence Department. Military experts and retired officers say neglecting the Canadian Armed Forces will have repercussions down the line. “The military suffers if senior levels of government do not value the military,” said retired lieutenant-colonel John Selkirk, currently executive director of Reserves 2000, a national alliance of Canadians dedicated to furthering the army reserve and citizen soldiers. “Let’s face it. Unless there’s a threat to our way of life, I guess people don’t get excited about the military, unfortunately,” he said in an interview. Retired Colonel J. Paul de B. Taillon, an adjunct professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, agrees with the view that the government does not see the military as a priority. “Let’s just be perfectly blunt. There’s only …