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Quebec and Ontario both requested military assistance on Wednesday. It was the first request for Ontario, which says it needs help at five (to be identified) long-term care homes grappling with major COVID-19 outbreaks. Quebec had already requested and received military support, and has now requested an additional 1,000 troops. The additional troops will not be needed in explicitly medical roles, said Premier François Legault, but could assist the facilities in non-medical tasks. It is a sign of how badly COVID-19 has impacted some care facilities that we need infantry acting as orderlies and cleaners, but it is that bad, and the military is one of the only sizable reserves of raw manpower available to Canadian governments.

Whether it’s sizable enough is something that remains to be seen.

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The military has been preparing for the worst since the pandemic threat to Canada became clear — well before it actually arrived here. Any province can request military aid, and the request does not need to go through the federal government for approval. The provinces themselves have the right to directly request military assistance, and the military must respond (though the military leadership determines the nature and scope of the assistance — a premier can’t simply demand a squadron of tanks and expect to receive them). In both Quebec and Ontario, the challenge seems to be sheer exhaustion among overworked care facility staff, where employees desperately need a break while colleagues become ill and the demand for their services soars in facilities with outbreaks. That kind of hands-on physical work is something soldiers can do as well as anyone — better than most, really — and they’re available.