Military to buckle down on recruiting

OTTAWA • Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre is ordering an immediate halt to all non-essential activities in favour of boosting military recruitment and retention, with the Canadian Armed Forces facing an unprecedented personnel crisis.

Eyre issued the sweeping order to senior commanders across the country on Thursday, saying dramatic action is needed to ensure the military has the troops it needs to respond to growing demands and threats at home and abroad.

The reconstitution order sets a completely new direction for the military after years of high-tempo deployments and operations in Canada and overseas by making the recruitment and retention of personnel its top priority.

“The interim goal is to address shortcomings that are preventing the CAF more specifically from being in the position it needs to (be) in order to excel as a modern and combat-ready military force,” the order reads.

It later adds: “The rebuilding process needs to occur on an accelerated timeline given the geopolitical environment that we find ourselves operating within, especially in light of the invasion of Ukraine.”

Expected for several months, the order follows a period of unprecedented activity by the military. That includes deployments to Iraq, Mali, Ukraine and Latvia as well as helping with the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters in Canada.

It also coincides with lagging recruitment rates and a shortage of experienced personnel to train new recruits and lead actual missions, which Eyre said “continue to imperil our ability to recruit, train, employ and retain diverse Canadian talent, thus jeopardizing the readiness and long-term health of Canada's defence capabilities.”

The Armed Forces is supposed to be adding about 5,000 troops to the regular and reserve forces to meet a growing list of demands, but is instead short more than 10,000 trained members, meaning about one in 10 positions are vacant.

The problem has become so acute that some senior offers have started using the word “crisis” in interviews with The Canadian Press, including the commander of the navy and the officer responsible for military recruitment and training.

Eyre's order reflects on the seriousness of the situation, saying: “Owing to personnel and staffing levels that have been compounded by the CAF'S heavy commitment to operations, the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a culture crisis, National Defence continues to lose its ability to deliver and sustain concurrent operations at the scope and scale necessary.”

Commanders will take a closer look at what missions and other activities are no longer critical, whether certain positions in their units are no longer needed, and even whether certain recruitment targets are still realistic.