(OTTAWA) The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is under fire for its plan to cut without notice a stipend received by thousands of soldiers to help them make ends meet.

The army announced last week that about 7,700 of its members would no longer receive this money from July.

The CAF is instead introducing a new housing allowance that it says will better help those who need it most.

Some military personnel have since taken to social media and online forums to express their dissatisfaction with the new plan and its rapid rollout.

Charlotte Duval-Lantoine of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute says the new development illustrates longstanding concerns about how the military treats those in its ranks, when many members relied on the allowance to supplement their ends of the month.

Retired Lt. Gen. Guy Thibault points out that members of the armed forces are increasingly angry about the way they are treated by the government and their superiors, which he says is raising the stakes lack of staff.