Evidence of meeting #15 for National Defence in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was family.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Thank you very much for that, Ms. Lambropoulos. I'll take that 40 seconds with Ms. Lane, if I could.
What does this most recent Russian aggression do for recruitment? I'm from the era of Top Gun, when that drove U.S. recruitment through the roof. Does this hinder it for Canada or does this enhance it?
Defence Scientist, Centre for Operational Research and Analysis, Defence Research and Development Canada, As an Individual
I think it remains to be seen. As Dr. Okros said, people join the CAF for all sorts of different reasons. We did see a bump during the conflict in Afghanistan from people who really wanted to serve their country in particularly a combat way. I think we can expect there to be more awareness of the Canadian Armed Forces as a career, and if the anticipated procurement projects come into force, new kit is always an exciting thing that you can promote in recruiting ads and that sort of thing. I'm not sure if the F-35 counts as a “top gun” or not.
Yes, I would suspect that there will be an increase in interest in the CAF, but I think it remains to be seen whether that will actually lead to an increase in recruitment. More importantly, are the people who are interested in joining the CAF because of the war in Ukraine likely to remain in the CAF when the war in Ukraine goes away? I think that's again a different question.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Thank you, Mr. Fisher. You've now ruined all those Top Gun movies for me and for probably everyone else on the committee. My goodness.
With that, I want to thank both of you. You were extraordinary witnesses. You've certainly helped launch our study on recruitment and retention in a positive way, and both of you have set out the complexities that are faced by the government, by the military and, indeed, by Canadian society. Again, thanks to both of you for this hour of your time. It has been hugely valuable.
With that, the meeting is adjourned.