National Defence committee  Could I add to that?

National Defence committee  The military family resource centres are part of morale and welfare services, which is under my organization. I'm glad you raised this, because they're one of our great resources. On those bases they often have extraordinarily good links with local community systems, whether it be sexual assault response centres or whatnot.

National Defence committee  Yes, thank you very much. That is an interesting question. The army is the service that employs most reservists in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff was the former army commander. One of the things he did during his mandate was to work to increase the number of reservists.

National Defence committee  I imagine so.

National Defence committee  We have just released a DAOD, which is a departmental administrative order and directive, that talks about disabilities. We do have some folks with disabilities in the Canadian Armed Forces. Those are related mainly to how they learn, for example. Also, as you all know, if we have members who have been injured in operations—we've had quite a few who have successfully carried on, including people who have returned to active duty and to theatres of operations with prosthetic limbs and the like.

National Defence committee  [Inaudible—Editor] used to fly, as well.

National Defence committee  I would like to add to that. Coming back to the meme that is circulating, of course, all those people who might have different careers, they all get the same pay. It's always been that way and it continues to be because we're conscious of not having any of those barriers, but thank you for your words.

National Defence committee  I certainly would, and that extends throughout all of our units, our service battalions and the army, our large organization, some 600 strong. Quite a few of them have been in the command of women, who have done extremely well and continue to do well in the progressions for their careers, getting promoted to general officer ranks.

National Defence committee  These days, that is just as much an issue for men as for women. That is why we have established very generous policies for those who have to take care of their children. Maternity leave lasts for twelve months and can be extended to up to 18. That allows parents to take care of their children and to create a solid bond with them before sending them to daycare, like all other Canadians.

National Defence committee  Absolutely. We can see people's interest in the Canadian Armed Forces on our website. People read what we post there and the ability to ask questions is very popular. They ask whether they can do this or that if they join the forces. It interests Canadians greatly. We also know that a lot of women visit our site.

National Defence committee  Thank you very much. Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question, Mr. Robillard. We conduct surveys. We make sure that our recruiting personnel keep track of who is entering the Canadian Armed Forces. The annual recruiting process corresponds to the financial year.

Public Accounts committee  Perhaps I could just add a bit there to re-emphasize what the deputy minister just said. Not only does the chain of command have a responsibility to do this, they have a great interest and a passion to do so, and that point can't be forgotten. When it comes down to it, whether you're on a ship or you're deployed anywhere around the world, or if you're in Canada, the effectiveness of your unit depends on the ability of each member of your team to feel like they're part of the team.

Public Accounts committee  I would also like to answer Mr. Massé's question. As for the necessary processes, we can take disciplinary measures against anyone who has broken the rules, either by a summary trial or by taking the case to a court martial. Then, certain steps would have to be followed. If a person is found guilty, disciplinary measures would be possible.

Public Accounts committee  That was a pretty thorough answer. I would just say, also, to put a bit of an emphasis on operations, that as a former director of staff for operations, we also pay special attention to contingents deploying. When you're gathering up a task force to go overseas and they get mandated to undertake specific training, Operation Honour gets there too, along with the requirements for reporting and everything else.

Public Accounts committee  We apply our rules and regulations so that people are subject to them. All members of the Canadian Armed Forces when they deploy are subject to these. Civilians who deploy with us are then subject to the code of service discipline or it's written into the contracts they have what they can or cannot do.