Well, I will be very candid, Mr. Bezan, and say that I think there is no such thing as universality of service. I'll be very candid again. I'm not in uniform anymore, but I think it is a figment of the Canadian Forces' imagination to think that every soldier, sailor, airman, airwoman is put up against the same standard in order to validate their physical and mental ability to serve their country. I know for a fact that if you are a corporal at 2 RCR in Petawawa, in order to demonstrate your ability to serve against universality of service standards, it is significantly different from if you are, let's say, an air frame tech serving in Trenton, which is why this paradigm of ours has to change. If you are an infantryman and can no longer demonstrate universality of service in Petawawa, where the standards are much higher than in Trenton, let's stop kidding ourselves. Give that person a chance. Let the person go to Trenton, and I bet you that person will meet the universality of service. It is the biggest misnomer, in my estimation, that we have to wrap our minds around, and the ombudsman is completely correct.
On March 25th, 2013. See this statement in context.