Public Accounts committee  Not really, no; it's been pretty much standard for some time.

Public Accounts committee  That will get larger as we have a larger Canadian Forces. It's also what we are mandated to do. During the period of time that's reflected in the Auditor General's report we were not mandated to expand; we were mandated to sustain the numbers we had. I think we were actually mandated to grow by about 200 a year, and that's exactly what we did.

Public Accounts committee  But you see, if we're losing 4,000 to 5,000 a year, that's 20,000 out. So the net increase is about 700 over that period.

Public Accounts committee  The period of time you're referring to was when there were a number of government reductions across the board. The Canadian Forces also shared in those reductions. One of the most efficient means at the time was to reduce people. What they did was what's called a force reduction plan, where a number of members of the Canadian Forces had an opportunity to retire or exit earlier than planned.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, exactly.

Public Accounts committee  One would like to think that, but that's not the case. During the period of the nineties, I think we were lucky to look ahead for a couple of years. There was no anticipation that we were going to turn around and expand the Canadian Forces in 2005. We were certainly aware that it was going to be a challenge at some point in the future should we have to expand.

Public Accounts committee  This is all based on a foundation of defence policy and what force structures are required to deliver on those capabilities to meet the policy. Right now, work is ongoing on a defence capabilities plan. We will match our force structure in accordance with meeting the missions that are a result of essentially a capabilities plan or defence policy.

Public Accounts committee  We are entirely dependent upon what support we receive and what direction we receive from the government.

Public Accounts committee  With the youth in Canada today, it's quite an interesting phenomenon we're dealing with. What we've experienced in the Canadian Forces is a higher than normal rate of failure for physical fitness. As you know, to be a member in the Canadian Forces, you must be physically fit. Instead of having the physical fitness test during the recruitment phase—another way of speeding up the process, by the way—we've taken that physical fitness test and moved it to just prior to basic training for both officers and non-commissioned members.

Public Accounts committee  It's truly a function of the ability of that provincial system to be able to support it. I know that across the country—and for an example, my own children were able to attend French immersion at all the postings we experienced—most of the cities and towns that Canadian Forces personnel are posted to can support the immersion.

Public Accounts committee  That is correct.

Public Accounts committee  I can't completely answer that question because I'm uncertain what provincial regions provide; that's the provincial responsibility.

Public Accounts committee  I think the Canadian Forces in general makes every effort to accommodate the language needs of the children of their members, to the extent that it is possible. I can't cite for you any specific situations. For the time that I've been chief of military personnel and for the time that I've been in this organization, I certainly cannot recall situations where we had issues with respect to the parents of families who had difficulty seeking language instruction, or that--

Public Accounts committee  I think I mentioned earlier that there's a requirement to achieve functional bilingualism at the rank of lieutenant colonel and commander. If they do not achieve a functional profile at that rank level, they will certainly be restricted from advancing. They have to maintain a certain level of bilingualism within the Canadian Forces.

Public Accounts committee  I could certainly ask for it. We are aware that our first nations Canadians are targeted by specifically the United States Marine Corps, I think, and word does get around that there's an opportunity there. But we want to make that opportunity here in Canada, so we intend to start to reach out to all of the aboriginal communities.