Mr. Chair, in the fiscal year 2005-06, we have achieved 106% of our strategic intake plan, effectively increasing the strength of the Canadian Forces by more than 1,000. Over the course of this fiscal year, a larger force expansion was announced. This new plan will see the Canadian Forces move to a total paid strength of approximately 75,000 regulars.
Advertising plays a huge role in the attraction process. After all, if people do not know we are hiring, they are less likely to apply. The Canadian Forces advertising budget was recently increased from $8 million to $15.6 million, which is similar to a comparable allied nation such as Australia.
With respect to retention, we continue to develop and build a retention strategy with a view to enhancing the Canadian Forces culture for retention. From quality of life initiatives to fair compensation and education and training opportunities and to family and member support initiatives, we know that all of these types of initiatives contribute to establishing a two way commitment that is essential for creating and sustaining a culture of retention.
To establish conditions for success, the military human resources group has undergone an internal reorganization consistent with the chief of defence staff's principle in which we have established a command-centric, operationally focused entity known as the military personnel command, led by the chief of military personnel.
Internally, we have reorganized the focus on specific lines of operations and to separate policy from service delivery. This new structure is more in keeping with the military personnel generation function and provides the command-centric view so necessary for providing clear direction.