Canadian Military’s Readiness, International Relevance Tested by Current Shortcomings: Internal Report

Members of the Jamésie-Abitibi-Témiscamingue Operational Force prepare for a day of work as part of Operation LENTUS 23-03 in Matchi-Manitou, Quebec, on June 20, 2023. (Sergeant Vincent Lafond, 35 Canadian Brigade Group, Canadian Armed Forces)

Canada’s military is facing “significant challenges” on a number of fronts which threaten its ability to fulfill its mission, an internal report by the Department of National Defence has concluded.

While those findings are not new and have been previously voiced by various stakeholders and observers, they summarize a strategic view held by the Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services), the department’s branch in charge of providing independent reviews of the military’s policies and activities.

In the report, which was produced in March but only made available in government publications at the end of June, Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services) Julie Charron paints a bleak picture of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

“Current deficiencies in key readiness areas related to Personnel, Equipment, Training and Sustainment pose a threat to both current and future readiness,” says the report, titled “Ready Forces Integrated Strategic Analysis.”

It adds that CAF is facing “significant challenges” in fulfilling its commitments under the Strong, Secure, Engaged  (SSE)  policy and the 2018 Force Posture and Readiness directive.

The SSE is Canada’s defence policy, which the Liberal government presented in May 2019. It aims to provide “unprecedented support” to CAF members from recruitment to retirement, and to make important investments in equipment.

The impact on improving recruitment and retention has not been evident to date. Recruiting numbers dropped 35 percent last year, according to a Department of National Defence (DND) note reported on by Blacklock’s Reporter. The forces’ attrition rate, or loss of personnel, also reached the highest level in 15 years in 2022. A leaked document obtained by The Epoch Times showed the attrition rate was over 12 percent in May last year.

The issue of personnel recruitment and retention and the impact this has on serving members is addressed in Ms. Charron’s report.

It notes that in fiscal year 2020/2021, 51 percent of occupations had “critical shortfalls,” and the Regular Force and Reserve Force were respectively short 7 and 20 percent overall.

“People are at the centre of military readiness. If DND/CAF is unable to recruit, train and retain required skilled personnel, readiness is diminished, which could ultimately impact the success of operations,” says the report.

This is also having a negative impact on the health and wellness of the troops, it says, with domestic deployments leading to employee burnout and delays on training.

In addition, the increased reliance on the CAF for domestic operations is increasing wear and tear on equipment, which is already in short supply.

International Commitments

Canada’s international commitments have also put pressure on the CAF, with the provision of weapons to Ukraine leading at one point to a depletion of stocks.

“I believe that we have exhausted inventory from the Canadian Armed Forces to the extent that we are able to provide weapons,” Defence Minister Anita Anand said in March last year.

While CAF is being overstretched domestically, Ms. Charron’s report says Canada’s standing globally could be diminished if it doesn’t meet its international commitments.

“As DND/CAF continues to fall short on personnel, equipment and its ability to completely fulfil partner requests, there is an increasing risk that Canada may become less relevant to its allies,” it says.

In April, The Washington Post reported that according to a leaked Pentagon assessment, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told NATO officials that Canada would never meet the alliance’s 2 percent of GDP defence spending target. Canada’s defence spending levels are currently 1.29 percent of GDP, according to NATO.

The House of Commons defence committee’s report on the changing threat environment tabled in June 2022 has as its first recommendation that the government increase annual defence spending to meet the 2 percent target.

In its response, the government said it agrees to “to continue to move toward” the target and increase defence spending “as the fiscal context permits.” It added having made significant investments in the military, including to improve continental defence.

Last year the government announced having earmarked $38.6 billion over the next two decades to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Recommendations

The Assistant Deputy Minister’s report provided a number of recommendations. Ms. Anand’s office has not returned a request for comment on the review.

The report says that DND/CAF recognizes “many of these challenges and is taking steps through various Departmental initiatives to address some of them.”

Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre raised similar concerns outlined in a report last fall.

“I’m concerned about our ability to respond at scale at [the] speed required,” he told CBC News. “And so we’re working on addressing elements of our readiness, whether it’s people, whether it’s training, whether it’s equipment ... everything else that makes us able to respond with the right size and the right speed.”

Gen. Eyre ordered a halt to all non-essential activities last fall to respond to the personnel crisis.