Facing a shortage of over 13,600 members, Canada’s Armed Forces is starting to loosen its historically strict enrolment rules.
Driving the news: Canada’s military will start giving applicants with medical conditions like ADHD, anxiety, and asthma a chance to enrol — a shift in policy that could remove what some experts say has been a major recruiting barrier.
- The policy — which has long been criticized as outdated — automatically disqualified Canadians with many common health conditions, regardless of the job.
- That meant an applicant who was medically unfit to be a fighter pilot was deemed unfit for any military role, including clerical work.
Why it matters: Last year, Defence Minister Bill Blair said that the military’s recruitment was in a “death spiral”, noting that over the past three years, more people have left the Armed Forces than joined.
- One defence expert told the CBC that while the health condition policy isn’t the only barrier to recruitment, it does make a difference.
Zoom out: A recent report found that because of personnel and equipment shortages, only 58% of Canadian troops could be deployed to respond to a potential crisis if needed.
Bottom line: Pressure has been mounting on Ottawa to meet NATO's defence spending target, but former Defence Minister Anita Anand has pointed out that the Armed Forces don’t have enough military personnel to use the equipment it already has.—LA