National Defence Committee on April 15th, 2026

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

That's not correct. If they don't pass basic training, we will take them back home. They don't need to pay out of pocket to go back home.

My limiting factor, as I mentioned earlier, is the training capacity. Every bed at those recruit schools is important to me because that's how I'm going to grow the forces. Therefore, if we retain those people, it's because we see value in them, and we have the tools to rehabilitate them. It's also not in two years or five years; it's in the next course or the course after. Otherwise, they would be expelled.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Okay. Thank you for that.

I'm assuming that I'm over my six minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

You're a bit over your time.

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

It's my pleasure.

Monsieur Savard-Tremblay, I'll be generous with you too.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

You’ve been that many times before, but I won’t refuse. We’ve happened to catch you on a day when you’re in an exceptional mood, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Simoneau, you mentioned earlier the caveats that still exist regarding training. For example, I don’t know if you were referring to this, but an article was published in a newspaper in Ottawa. A journalist reported in 2021 that, for francophone units, career advancement courses were often bilingual or conducted solely in English. I don’t know if this is information you were aware of.

In the case of bilingual courses, it frequently happens that francophones are placed in English-speaking sections. In such cases, francophones may fail the training if their English is not good enough. We are referring, for example, to phase 3 for officers or PP3 for non-commissioned officers.

Once again, how can a situation like this be possible?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

I’ll start by answering, and then I’ll turn the floor over to my official languages champion, since he tracks the issues and challenges we face.

To start, I would say that, for basic training courses, the Canadian Forces offer 30% of courses in French, even though francophones make up 24% of the workforce. We therefore have excess capacity to ensure that francophones can complete their basic training in their first language.

I know that the air force is a bit of a special case. I’ve mentioned this before; it’s because of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s program. It’s different.

The army offers courses in both languages.

I will now give the floor to Mr. Gros-Jean.

[MGen Martin Gros-Jean]

I understand your question very well, sir. We’ve all been there. Things have improved, and they will continue to improve.

As for our plan regarding the modernization of official languages, which aims to support the act, we really want to focus on these issues and resolve them. That is what I can say.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Nevertheless, when it comes to courses, there is still a truly glaring imbalance. When you look at it, it’s almost discriminatory.

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

I believe the courses are offered in both official languages. As for the air force, once again, that’s a separate issue.

In the military, basic training is offered in French. Francophones have access to all courses in their first language. Perhaps that wasn’t the case in 2021. If it wasn’t, we’ve improved significantly. We don’t claim to be perfect. That’s why we’re modernizing the Official Languages Act.

We truly want francophones and anglophones to be able to work and be served in their first language.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

It’s good if things have changed since 2021. I couldn’t ask for more, and I’m delighted.

Is there an actual overview, any figures on this? For example, is there data on programs inaccessible to francophones or on bilingual courses taught solely in English? Can we get an overview? If you don’t have the document with you, can the committee obtain it?

[Anne Rahming]

I don’t have the data with me. I don’t know if we have a complete picture for the whole organization. That said, I can always provide the committee with the data we do have, if there is any.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

That would be helpful.

Thank you, Mr. Savard-Tremblay. In my haste to satisfy you, I skipped over the Liberal members.

It's over to you, Ms. Romanado.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I don’t mind, because it was Mr. Savard‑Tremblay. I always share my time with him.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Why are you all being so nice to me today? You must want something from me.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

No, not at all.

Mr. Simoneau, we have talked a great deal about the army and the air force. In Quebec, we have an air base at Bagotville. We also have an army base in Valcartier. We have several naval reserves, but we do not have a naval base in Quebec.

Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, who commands the Royal Canadian Navy, suggested that it might be a good idea to have a French-language naval base in Canada to attract more francophones. Do you have any comments or suggestions on this? If we had a naval base in Quebec, would that help you recruit francophones into the navy?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

I am the product of someone who saw the helicopters flying from Valcartier when I was a cadet. Every year, we were offered a helicopter ride. Having a base nearby is important.

That said, whether or not to open a new base in Quebec is not within my authority. However, I do see the value of having a base nearby. When we have a presence somewhere, we interact with the local population. I experienced this when I was the wing commander at Bagotville. I had interactions with the community of La Baie, but also with those of Saguenay and Lac-Saint-Jean. In this way, we generate interest and are able to talk about what life is like within the forces. Proximity is therefore important.

As for the navy, in particular, we should not underestimate the Quebec Naval Reserve. We often see its members in Quebec City, Montreal and all over the place. It’s a good unit to have in Quebec, I believe, and it generates interest in the maritime component among the population. The army or the air force aren’t necessarily for everyone, but people can see the navy in Quebec.

I’m not sure if that answers your question. I see benefits in having bases as close as possible to the communities we’re targeting.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

That’s great.

I know you told me that you don’t specifically target French speakers in your recruitment. That said, are steps being taken to recruit some? Do you advertise in French-language media? Are there specific measures being taken to enlist potential French-speaking recruits in Quebec, and also outside Quebec? I just want to know.

I know the website is bilingual and that there are recruitment centres. Are there also proactive efforts being made to reach out to francophones where they are?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

We really want to increase the numbers of the Canadian Armed Forces. To do this, we are putting a lot of effort into advertising and promotion. That is what we have been doing for the past two years. However, this isn’t necessarily aimed at francophones in particular. That said, everything we do is in both official languages.

We are putting the same effort and energy into a population that represents 21% of Canada. I think we have put as much effort and energy into the French language as we have into the English language in the rest of Canada. Perhaps that is why we are succeeding in attracting more francophones to the Canadian Armed Forces relative to the Canadian population.

Where we really need to focus our efforts is on promoting certain roles. At present, attracting people to the Canadian Armed Forces is not a problem, but it is for certain key roles. I will, in fact, be discussing this in more detail on Monday at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

That is where we need to focus our attention. We have 107 different types of jobs, yet very few people in Canada are aware of this. People think you join the Canadian Armed Forces because of the image of the helicopter we see on television at the moment, with people rappelling down on ropes. The Canadian Armed Forces are much more than that. You know this personally, Ms. Romanado, but the Canadian public does not necessarily know it.

That is where I really want to focus our promotional efforts.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

You mentioned specific jobs. Can you give us an example of a job where you are looking for more French speakers?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

I am looking for French speakers in all roles. For example, there are roles such as naval technician, signals operator or weapons engineering technician.

We also face difficulties in recruiting for medical roles and within the military police. This is often because our salaries do not match those in industry or the rest of society. These are challenges we are currently looking at closely.

Previously, we were unable to meet our targets, but we are now achieving them. However, we realize that we need to fine-tune things for certain roles. That is where things stand regarding our progress.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Rahming, you mentioned that as soon as people pass language tests, they must achieve the CBC profile. Are bonuses given to bilingual staff, to those who reach the required level of bilingualism? If not, would this be a way of motivating unilingual English speakers to learn French?

[Anne Rahming]

Let me clarify the question: The bilingualism bonus policy is a policy for the public service. I cannot, therefore, speak on behalf of the Canadian Armed Forces in that regard.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Understood.

Mr. Anderson, it's over to you.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

For the benefit of Canadians—I know the military loves acronyms—can you tell us what “CBRN” is? You used the acronym before.