Thank you very much for what I think is one of our most important questions because, as I said in my opening remarks, people are our most important asset. As I've already commented, I've expressed very sincere concern that losing more people than we're able to take on is not a successful strategy, and we have to turn it around.
I am very pleased to report to this committee that there has been some outstanding work done by the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Department of National Defence to significantly improve our onboarding and our recruiting processes, and I think they have demonstrated real openness and commitment to doing what is necessary to resolve our hiring and personnel issues.
There's some very important work that's going on with the new CDS. I think it's more appropriate for her to perhaps come before this committee and outline the nature of her plan, but as I have been briefed, it includes, I think, significant new measures. It includes the introduction—as was recommended not only in our new defence policy but also in Justice Arbour's recommendations—of the establishment of a probationary period.
That's going to allow them to bring people in much more quickly to begin their basic training and, then, to complete some of the important security background checks, for example, before the person is in a sensitive position, but it enables us to get started and to really expedite the processes.
We're also seeing a very comprehensive re-evaluation that's going on, not in any way to compromise the very high standards that we require for everybody joining the Canadian Armed Forces and for their combat readiness, but at the same time, it's going to enable us to address, I think, more appropriately some of the impediments that we have identified in getting people in the door.
There has also been some really good work done because, as I know this committee has been advised, permanent residents were given the opportunity about two years ago to make applications to join the Canadian Armed Forces, and about 20,000 of them immediately signed up. We saw that the intake was impeded by some of the challenges in doing over again the security background checks for those individuals. There has been some really good work done among the Canadian Armed Forces, IRCC and others to expedite those processes, and I'm very encouraged by the path that we are currently on.
I believe that we have turned a very significant corner and that we will see an increase in recruitment, but we're not done. There are a number of really important initiatives I think we can undertake. I think the opportunity we can give Canadians to serve their country in the Canadian Armed Forces and to engage in real national public service for this country is a great opportunity for those young people, and it's a great opportunity for the Canadian Armed Forces, so we are committed.
One of the things that I have asked the CDS to look at is that there are a number of bottlenecks in those recruitment processes. Our capacity to put people through basic training is one of those bottlenecks, so we are looking at how we address that and how we increase that capacity.
We also have a very extensive and comprehensive review of our military colleges going on at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and at RMC in Kingston. Those, I hope, are going to give us a number of recommendations that will enable us to make those more efficient and effective in getting the cadre of leadership that we're also going to require for the Canadian Armed Forces.