National Defence committee  I'm not sure which of the two of us that was directed to, so I'll start on this one, if I can. All employers have some issues with regard to employees who choose to stay. However, I would suggest that the majority of CAF members acquire valuable work skills that can allow them to move to other jobs if they choose to leave the military, so I don't think the idea that they can't get another job is the reason why they may not leave.

National Defence committee  The Canadian Armed Forces rate is roughly between 6% and 7%. Among NATO allies, the rate is anywhere from 8% to 10%, and some are higher. For example, for the U.S. Marine Corps, it's over 10%, and that's expected. Other militaries are used to more young people joining, doing a couple of tours and then leaving.

National Defence committee  Certainly, universality of service requires that all members in uniform be able to meet a series of primarily physical standards that enable them to deploy to a vast range of environments to do a vast range of duties. It's a common set of standards that is applied to everybody in uniform.

National Defence committee  My basic comment is, yes, I think there is value in considering this. There are other countries that have differentiated individuals, so some countries have more domestic response capability, either in the military but with different conditions of service or in a different organization.

National Defence committee  There are two parts to this. There certainly are some individuals who are required to leave the military because they are not a good fit for the military. This usually happens in the first year to three years of military service. On occasion it's because they're unable to meet the training requirements or meet the performance requirements.

National Defence committee  My comments would be that people join for a number of different reasons. Some are attracted to earn qualifications, advanced education, to improve their work skills and their qualifications. Some people are attracted to adventure and travel. There are people who want to challenge themselves.

National Defence committee  I would suggest there is a value in reviewing universality of service and how it's applied. It can, on occasion, be an impediment to people joining, and it can also cause people who were serving in the military and who have developed highly valuable skills and experience to have to leave the military.

National Defence committee  I'll answer, and perhaps the other witness might be able to chime in on this one as well. I would agree that the military has been trying to do so. I think there have been challenges in terms of the messaging. There are challenges reaching into the communities. To reach diverse communities, I think the military really needs highly tuned, tailored, niche communications to make sure not only the individuals but their families and other community members understand what decisions they're making and support them in making the right decisions.

National Defence committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's my pleasure to provide comments to the committee on CAF recruitment and retention. I’m speaking from Toronto. I have provided my land acknowledgement in my written submission. My comments will be in English. I’ve been engaged in aspects of research, policy and delivery related to CAF recruiting and retention since serving in recruiting in the late 1970s.

Status of Women committee  I have two comments. First of all, I definitely agree that it is important, and I definitely agree on the evolving. One of the challenges of Operation Honour was that there was an end state. There is no end state to the way in which Canadian society has continued to evolve and, therefore, to how the Canadian Armed Forces has to continually evolve.

Status of Women committee  Again, I would make two quick comments. This is part of self-insight and self-understanding. I think the more we can do to facilitate people.... I will say that I'm the best representative on the screen. Old white men like me in particular need to really open up our eyes and start learning.

Status of Women committee  This is urgent. We have people who are still hurting. We have members internally within the military. It's been stated. They have lost trust. That needs to be rebuilt with urgency. Canadians need to have confidence in their military. They need to have confidence that when particularly young women, young men and people of diverse identities choose to serve Canada in uniform, they will be treated with respect and have good, full, meaningful careers.

Status of Women committee  The only comment that I think I would make about that is that I've heard a couple of witnesses here and in other committees making assertions or allegations of assuming blame in the middle of something that has yet to be finalized and decided on. I would suggest that it's important for people to be aware of the importance of making sure that, for example, in the present time, investigations are completed.

Status of Women committee  Very briefly again, there was a reference previously. General Eyre has referred to the listening phase, and I'll disagree with my colleague slightly. It started last summer as the Black Lives Matter movement went forward. I think senior leaders have recognized that they have not been hearing diverse voices and that they've not been hearing the experiences of many members across the military.

Status of Women committee  I will speak to two parts. When I was in uniform, I was responsible for the team that developed the current leadership doctrine, so I know it quite well. It was developed in 2003-04. At the time, we did seek to inform it using gender perspectives and gender understanding, but I will say it's incomplete.