Mr. Chair, we did hear testimony on the value of being able to have retired members return as reservists for the purpose of mentoring. This is obviously a critical component, not only to implementing some of the provisions in this act, but also to the training and future development of new members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
It's a particularly valuable service that the reservists are able to provide to remote and rural communities where backfill, leave, and medical needs need to be met, particularly given the time period it takes—six months—to train recruits in Canada. By the time you bring new recruits in, you are able to fill some of these positions. A little bit longer term would be helpful, without actually affecting the people who are coming out of retirement by affecting their pension terms or by unnecessarily interrupting that term of service. If it were a one-day break, it might not be too critical, but the two-week break can really change the structure of a detachment, the staffing needs in rural and remote areas, and the mentoring programs. The testimony from all sides was pretty positive to this change.