Mr. Chair, in 2006, the Conservative government announced sweeping changes that would see several thousand more people hired over the next five years. The Canadian Forces indicated that such an increase was vital if they were to be able to meet operational requirements.
In May 2006, the Auditor General reported that in four years, National Defence had succeeded in recruiting 20,000 members, but that its ranks had grown by only 700 soldiers who were trained during that same period. The Auditor General added that recruitment and attrition problems were putting the Canadian Forces' expansion plans at risk.
Can the minister say how personnel are being recruited at present?