Defence Minister Says Personnel Shortage a ‘Death Spiral’ for Military, Presses for Speedier Recruiting of Non-Citizens

National Defence Minister Bill Blair speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 6, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Sean Kilpatrick

Defence Minister Bill Blair says the personnel shortage plaguing the Canadian Armed Forces amounts to a “death spiral.”

“Over the past three years, more people have left than have entered,” said the minister after his speech which opened the 92nd Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence on March 7.

“That is frankly ... it’s a death spiral for the Canadian Armed Forces, we cannot afford to continue on that pace.”

Mr. Blair made several announcements at the conference, including on boosting the domestic production of 155mm artillery shells and launching a new policy on artificial intelligence. But he said the top defence priority always needs to be the people who serve in uniform.

“We’re taking meaningful steps to build a more diverse and inclusive and supportive institution that can attract and retain the talent from all segments of Canadian society,” said the minister in his speech.

The Liberal government is looking to change the culture of the military and expects it will improve recruitment and retention. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have adopted ideologies like critical race theory, a post-modern quasi-marxist ideology, to guide its culture change.

So far the new policies have not helped to turn around personnel issues. Figures provided by the Department of National Defence (DND) in late January indicate the attrition rate in the CAF was at 9.7 percent in the last financial year, the highest rate in over 15 years.

Even if recruitment catches up, skilled and experienced soldiers, which play a key role in training the new troops, are leaving the ranks in greater numbers. As of last September, the CAF had incurred a net loss of 380 troops in 2023 when counting new recruits and soldiers quitting.

Mr. Blair said the CAF is lacking almost 16,000 troops. “We’re short of a lot of people,” he said.

DND’s departmental plan for 2024-2025 released on Feb. 27 says that the percentage of force elements ready for operations dropped from 71 to 61 percent from financial year 2021-2022 to 2022-2023. The department’s seeks to achieve a target of 90 precent by March 2025.

‘We Can’t Be Patient’

After his conference speech, the minister was asked during a discussion with a Global News reporter whether he thinks his government bears any responsibility for the personnel issues.

“Of course,” he said. “I think all governments; mine, previous governments, for decades bear some responsibility for the current state of preparedness of the Canadian Armed Forces.”

To address the personnel issue, Mr. Blair spoke of the new measure to allow non-Canadian citizens to join the CAF, which opened a new path to citizenship.

The minister expressed frustration at the slow speed to process applications from permanent residents, which face more stringent security checks.

The minister said the CAF has told him to be patient with the recruiting effort but he said “we can’t be patient” and there is a “sense of urgency” to change the process.

Mr. Blair says he’s asked military leaders to find ways to expand eligibility by abolishing “outdated medical requirements,” creating a probationary period to enrol new members—especially permanent residents—and streamlining the security screening process.

The minister said 16,000 permanent residents applied after the new measure came into force and less than 100 were let in.

“Quite frankly that’s unacceptable,” said Mr. Blair. “It’s an opportunity lost and we can’t afford to lose those opportunities, and so we are going to have to do the work necessary to change.”

DND told The Epoch Times in a statement that the streamlining measures mentioned by Mr. Blair impact the enrolment medical standards, which it said are being updated to ensure the department “can medically ’screen in' the maximum number of applicants who are likely to meet the demands of basic training” as well as meet the standards specific to their intended occupation.

Regarding the probationary period, DND says an interdisciplinary working group began its work on this in the fall, and that other government partners are being leveraged to “optimize the security screening” process.

Despite these planned changes, Mr. Blair said he has “absolutely no intention of lowering the standards” of the CAF.

Many standards have already been lowered in recent years, including in dress regulations. Soldiers are currently allowed to sport coloured mohawk hair and have face tattoos, as long as those do not promote things like racism, ableism, or misogyny.

Some candidates also do not need to undergo an IQ test when applying to dozens of CAF trades, according to the “expedited application trial.” Those meeting certain criteria can skip the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test, which measures verbal skills, spatial ability, and problem solving.