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Some Canadian soldiers will no longer have to buy their own boots as a new policy introduced Friday provides them with cash for combat footwear.

The Canadian military provides boots to its personnel but for at least the last decade there has been a problem with getting enough footwear and some soldiers have been using their own money to buy combat boots, Lt. Col. Robin Chenard, a staff officer working on logistics operations for the Canadian Army, told Postmedia.

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But the military is hoping its new policy, which will provide up to $340 a year to personnel to purchase boots, will solve such shortage problems.

“Some soldiers are buying boots but they are not being reimbursed,” said Chenard. “This is an acknowledgement that the problem needs to be fixed.”

Chenard said around 50,000 military personnel could end up using the new funding.

The entitlement for boots depends on the job being done by personnel. Troops assigned to what Chenard called “fighting formations” as well as those involved in high-intensity training will be allowed the allowance each year for new boots if needed. Other personnel, involved in headquarters or support work, would qualify for the allowance either every two or three years, depending on their jobs.