National Defence Committee on April 15th, 2026

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

A commander must be able to communicate in the language of the troops and staff. This is very important.

By extension, I will also answer the previous question regarding whether we encourage English speakers to learn French and French speakers to learn English in order to be leaders within the institution and among their staff.

It is extremely important that they make an effort and meet the bilingualism requirements. We take this very seriously. In fact, bilingualism is one of the assessment criteria considered by the national promotion boards, which ensure our members’ advancement. Once you reach a certain rank, if you aren’t bilingual, you cannot advance.

That’s why I say that francophones learn English more at the start of their careers when they have to learn how to do their jobs, whereas anglophones need to learn French when they start to be in command. However, they’re already pretty busy by the time they get there. Waiting to take the courses puts them at a bit of a disadvantage, so we need to make that happen earlier in their careers to allow them to do it.

It all comes down to diversity within small teams. The complex problems they have to solve are found within these teams and at the tactical level. That’s where we need diverse mindsets and opinions to come up with innovative solutions. That’s really where we’re focusing our efforts.

[Tim Watchorn, Liberal, Les Pays-d'en-Haut, QC]

Do you see any conflicts between people who speak different official languages? Do some people get upset because a certain group doesn't speak English or doesn't speak French? Do you see this on a daily basis, or not really?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

I would say no, but that's just my opinion. I would have experienced that as a francophone. What I see is an institution that firmly believes in bilingualism and diversity, especially since the cultural storm took place. We truly recognize the importance of diversity now, which includes both official languages and more.

I don’t really see any friction. However, what I often see are missed opportunities early in one’s career, when people have fewer responsibilities and a little more time. Moreover, let’s face it, when you’re younger, your brain is more flexible and capable of learning, whether it’s languages or something else. That’s really where the focus should be.

[Tim Watchorn, Liberal, Les Pays-d'en-Haut, QC]

I have one last question. If I understand correctly, you're an engineer. I'm an engineer, too. I therefore attended an engineering school, the École polytechnique de Montréal, which is a French-language university. During my studies, I'd say that 80% of our textbooks were in English.

Do you face the same challenges, for example regarding the training materials you're required to translate in advance? What difficulties do you encounter?

[MGen Martin Gros-Jean]

That's a very good question. I earned my bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at Laval University. Back then, there wasn't much available in French.

Within the Canadian Forces, a huge effort is being made to support francophones who need to learn material available in English. Naturally, there are trades and professions that require a command of English. I'm thinking, for example, of a pilot.

Yes, we face those challenges, but I can assure you that we take this extremely seriously. Bilingualism is seen as the cornerstone of our national identity. That's how we view things. With the upcoming legislative modernization of official languages, we will double down on our efforts in this area.

[Tim Watchorn, Liberal, Les Pays-d'en-Haut, QC]

That's an excellent answer, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you.

Mr. Savard‑Tremblay, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Allow me to welcome the witnesses and thank them for being here today.

If I'm not mistaken, the last review of official languages in the Canadian Armed Forces was conducted in 2021. In any case, the most recent data published on the Department of National Defence website is from 2021—at least as far as publicly available data is concerned.

We can see that several positions where French is essential were held by unilingual English speakers or English speakers who did not have a sufficient level of French for the position. For positions designated as “French essential,” 12.3% of these were held by English speakers who did not meet the minimum BBB language proficiency level. Even for positions designated bilingual, 63% of employees did not meet the BBB language proficiency requirements for a second language in the public service.

Has there been another review since 2021? Is another one planned?

[Anne Rahming]

I'd say that we're currently reviewing the results of the first year of implementation of the modernized Official Languages Act. Our plan directly addresses what you just described, ultimately.

First, a joint directive has been available on our website since last October, I believe. This directive includes a realistic, phased approach over 10 years to implement the CBC profiles, at least for essential service occupations—that is, health services, police services and administrative services. This would be the BBB profile for the operational level of competency, and CBC for the rank of sergeant.

We also have a plan to implement a phased approach for warrant officers with the BBB profile. This plan will give us the full capacity to implement this approach over a 10–year period. That said, we have already begun the work as part of the first year of the plan. As the general just mentioned, we're ensuring that those moving up the ranks, receiving promotions or taking on new positions must go through a process where we review their language profile and try to find someone who can either fill a bilingual position or supervise those in bilingual regions.

To do this, we have two strategies to ensure that everyone in bilingual regions has a supervisor with a CBC profile.

This is our plan for the next ten years. That said, we understand there may be some gaps in the early years. We're doing our best to ensure this is the policy and practice in place for the coming year.

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

I'd still like to understand something.

In the Canadian Armed Forces, there are quite a few francophones—in fact, a higher percentage, to be precise. How is it normal or even possible for someone who doesn't meet the necessary language requirements to hold a position designated as bilingual or even exclusively francophone? In my view, even one such position is too many. This isn't normal. It is an anomaly from a statistical standpoint.

[Anne Rahming]

I thank the member for his question.

Once again, we're talking about a framework of mitigation measures. Yes, it's true that there are people already in positions who may not have the required bilingual rating. However, they're currently being trained. When these people are already in a position, we do our best to prioritize bilingualism. If a position becomes vacant, that position will be offered to someone who isn't currently in a position but who is bilingual.

Indeed, it's truly a gradual approach, but we're moving forward by prioritizing bilingualism and the oversight of bilingualism in bilingual regions. Is that clearer?

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

Currently, is there still an official target regarding the percentage of employees who meet the job requirements? You mentioned ten years, but is it—

[Anne Rahming]

The policy applies to everyone.

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

At least it applies to everyone, because it seems to be the norm. It's simply the way things are.

In the same review, there's also a difference between the number of positions where French is essential and the number of positions where English is essential. We're talking about 6,484 positions compared to 31,795 positions. That's a total imbalance. So that means only 16.9% of non-bilingual positions are held by francophones, even though francophones make up a much higher percentage of the Canadian Armed Forces.

How can we explain that as well?

[Anne Rahming]

I will turn the floor over to the Lieutenant‑General. I believe this is a question concerning the structure of our organization rather than policy, if I understand correctly.

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

Indeed, Ms. Rahming is in charge of policy.

The policy is clear: We want to close this gap. The 24% figure really applies to the Canadian Armed Forces. The positions you're referring to, I believe, pertain to civil service positions. That's where job offers are made to people who often don't meet the requirements needed to obtain the bilingual rating for the position.

From the Canadian Forces' perspective, positions aren't designated individually. It's the entire unit that's designated as francophone. For example, I come from 430 Squadron in Valcartier. That unit was considered bilingual. We could send both English-speaking and French-speaking personnel on missions, whereas other units in the west, in Edmonton, are English-speaking only.

I believe you were referring to public service positions. As a department, however, we acknowledge that we are not perfect in this regard. We really need to do better in terms of providing the right training, on the one hand, and hiring people with the right language proficiency, on the other.

I don't know if that answers your question. I just wanted to distinguish the 24% of armed forces members from those in the public service. It really is 24%.

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

We'll come back to this in the next round, since I'm out of time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Charles Sousa]

Thank you.

Ms. Gallant, it's over to you for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Through you, how is the CAF expanding indigenous youth involvement in our military using existing programs like the cadets and the junior rangers on reserves?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We are rolling out new programs. They're still new in my mind. There's the ILOY, or the indigenous leadership opportunity year, that we have at our Canadian military colleges. We offer a year to indigenous people to come and learn and live the military life, and then they can elect to continue in the regular forces, to go to the reserve force or to be released, but at least they're being offered those opportunities. I should also state that in the program, we have 31 on a yearly basis, and it's just the beginning for the ILOY program.

It's the same with indigenous summer camps. For the indigenous summer programs, every year we host around 200 people, and we try to generate interest in the Canadian Forces.

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

Okay, but the CAF isn't doing any outreach on the reserves, where the young people have nothing to do. This would provide them with direction and perhaps steer them away from things they shouldn't be involved in. Is there nothing like that going on at this point? Are there no attempts to get a cadet corps or a ranger cadet corps going on the reserves?

[LGen Erick Simoneau]

We are looking into this, in fact, Mr. Chair. We're looking into expanding our recruiting centre footprint and sending them to where those communities are, or closer to those communities, for example, in Saskatoon and Yellowknife; I could go on listing them. We're trying, by proximity, to place ourselves closer to them.

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

Does the current retention crisis CAF is facing extend to the Canadian Rangers?

[Anne Rahming]

Through you, Chair, the Canadian Rangers' representation rate went up by 5% between 2021 and 2026. In 2021, it was 22.8%, and currently, it's 27.7%. There has been a significant effort made within the organization to improve and build on what has been successful with the rangers.

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

Russia's Wagner Group often recruits mercenaries from friendly West African juntas, such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where people mainly speak French.

Now Ukraine alleges that there are almost 1,700 African mercenaries fighting for Russia in Ukraine. With the new stream that's opened up through immigration to encourage new Canadians and give them priority in the military, how will CAF ensure it won't be letting these mercenaries into the Canadian Armed Forces?