I completely agree. At this time, candidates fill out the same forms, whether they are applying for the reserve or regular force. That is not the problem. The problem has more to do with the medical exam and the security check. If we could solve that problem, we could easily enrol candidates.
Filling out forms can be done rather quickly. The person just has to come in and fill them out.
As for the medical exam, in my view, if a doctor believes that a candidate is fit for military service, that should be enough. However, the file has to be sent to Borden, in Ontario—I'm not sure if that is where they are still sent—and it takes three or four months for a decision to made regarding whether that individual is fit for military service. The person making the decision never even sees the individual. That is one problem that could be solved.
Furthermore, as I mentioned, the security check takes a really long time. I've been told that, out of all the security checks that have been done for the entire reserve force, no enrolment application has ever been rejected for that reason. Although, take that with a grain of salt; that is just what I've heard.
We are told that we have to make sure that young soldiers in training don't have access to certain documents, but they don't have access to any secret documents during their training.
As for weapons handling, I acknowledge that we teach that to soldiers when they first get into the reserves, but they can also get this kind of training from private companies, right here in Canada.
These arguments mean that the entire process is delayed between six and eight months. If we ask a young student to wait, he won't; he'll find something else.
Recruitment is a major problem.