National Defence Committee on Feb. 9th, 2017

[Leona Alleslev, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

How is naval strength calculated? How do you decide what it is? Is it an absolute number, or is it a ratio of the regular force navy, and therefore how you're going to effectively augment it?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

That is exactly the work of the establishment review that's under way right now.

It's a little of all the things you just said. The former establishment was geared to delivering the ships' companies of 10 Kingston-class ships and the supporting functions around that. You can do a calculation based on ratios and the like to force-generate the required numbers.

We're adjusting that now to eventually meet the 10% augmentation target across the surface warship fleet of the navy. A lot of the calculations are based on that and the supporting functions around it. In a nutshell, it's essentially a very complicated task that some very good staff are working on right now.

[Leona Alleslev, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

It's a combination of both, then. Now we're looking at a 10% augmentation of the regular force navy, as well as fulfilling and continuing to fulfill the role of the Kingston class. Did I understand you correctly?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

No, not quite. We are going to start to draw down—

[Leona Alleslev, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Oh, you are.

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

— in the Kingston class, so the Kingston class will also be accrued to a 10% target.

[Leona Alleslev, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Oh, brilliant. Okay, thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Stephen Fuhr]

Ms. Gallant is next.

[Capt(N) Chris Ross]

I could just jump in, it's—

[The Chair, Liberal, Stephen Fuhr]

I'm going to have to hold you there, Captain Ross. We might be able to circle back. I think we will have time, but I'm going to have to yield the floor to Ms. Gallant.

Thank you.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Is there something our allies do in terms of their naval reserve that we should be emulating here in Canada?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

That's an interesting question, because we all started roughly the same—the like-minded nations, the allies, and all of their reserves—approximately 90 to 100 years ago, and we have all evolved entirely differently, which is very interesting. The Canadian naval reserve is the only one I'm aware of that has a model of training sailors recruited off the street, for all intents and purposes. Other navies focus exclusively on reserves that are built upon former regular force folks.

Part of our shift right now toward the new augment mission, as I mentioned—and it's in the chief of the defence staff's directive as well—is to increase the strategic reserve of former regular force folks. In fact, in the last year we have seen an uptick in the number of component transfers of regular force members who are retiring before they have served a complete 35-year career and are joining the reserve, which is fantastic. Those folks are, just as much as all the other reservists, able to be employed in the future if they choose, back in their former occupations at whatever level they were at. They are a continuing asset now for the navy as well.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Are there any issues facing the naval reserve that are unique to your branch of the armed forces?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

That's a good question. I can't think of any off the top of my head. However, I'll look to my command team to see if we have an opportunity here.

[Capt(N) Chris Ross]

I'm not sure I completely understand the question. I'm sorry.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Are there any issues facing the naval reserve that are unique to your branch of the armed forces services?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

My chief just mentioned that by the very nature of what we do, we go to sea in ships, and the ships are located on the coast. As part of our budget, we have to have sufficient funds, always, to ensure we can travel to the coast, which we do. It's not a problem at all; it's just a factor that perhaps makes us a little different from our army, militia, or air force colleagues.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

How is the naval reserve perceived by the civilian population? What kind of relationship do you maintain with the civilian population?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

One of the four roles of the naval reserve within the navy is to connect with Canadians in our communities. It's that strategic outreach, the strategic communication with the communities.

One of the original intents of the naval reserve in having units across the country, as I mentioned in my opening comments, was to remind Canadians that we are a maritime nation and that there is a navy. We take that role very seriously. The units are fully participating in community events. They are essentially the flagships for the navy in their community. They contribute to formal ceremonial commemorations, but they also want to have a good rapport with the municipal structure, the mayors, and any other key leaders. It helps us in terms of visibility and in increasing people's understanding of the value of the navy. It helps us in recruiting as well, but it is also the right thing to do—to understand and be part of a community.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Apart from what you've already described, how can we make a career in the Canadian Armed Forces more appealing to youth and recent graduates?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

That is the eternal question. I think we are doing a pretty good job of it right now, with the changes we're making in the recruiting strategy to expedite enrolment.

I would emphasize that there is no change in standard between reserve and regular force through this expedited enrolment process. It remains the same standard. The job is going to attract people who—and there are many ways to do this—want to be part of something bigger than themselves and have a unique part-time job that will potentially take them around the world and certainly across Canada, and have some very extraordinary experiences through their military service, as well as professional development opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, part of our issue is to make sure that this is properly communicated and better understood.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

I've just been cut off with the yellow sheet there. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Stephen Fuhr]

Mr. Fisher, go ahead.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, folks, for being here.

I think we've seen that many of us have the same questions, the same types of interests, and we want to talk about retention and recruitment. I apologize if I haven't scratched out everything that has been asked. Some of the questions I might just word a little differently.

You talked about the decline over the last 10 years. I'm really interested in the reasons for that decline. You spoke about a number of factors for the decline, and you mentioned budget reductions. Was there a policy decision to reduce budgets strictly for the reserves, or was it that you were just doing the best you could with the budget you were given?

[Cmdre Marta B. Mulkins]

That's a question that I'm not sure I can directly answer. I would also submit, though, that this was the period of the defence reduction action plan and the post-Afghanistan rationalization of the number of reservists who were working in full-time service. I think part of the initiative within the department was to make sure the overall number of primary reservists who were working in full-time service was brought back down closer to the pre-Afghanistan level. That probably worked its way into some of the policy decisions that were made at the time.