Defence Team

Description

Recruit, develop and support an agile and diverse Defence Team within a healthy workplace free from harmful behaviour; support military families; and meet the needs of all retiring military personnel, including the ill and injured. Strengthen Canadian communities by investing in youth.

Planning highlights

People are at the core of everything the Defence Team does to ensure that Canada remains strong at home, secure in North America and engaged in the world. Our mission success depends on having a sufficient number of healthy, resilient, well-trained and motivated Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel supported by talented and dedicated defence public servants working within the Department of National Defence (DND). This integrated civilian-military Defence Team is the heart of our institution.

National Defence will continue to build a Defence Team that supports the wide-ranging perspectives, cultural and linguistic diversity, gender balance, age and other distinctive attributes of our Canadian society. A Defence Team with these characteristics will be more effective and continue to attract and retain the people we need to ensure that DND/CAF are successful into the future. Investing in our people and empowering employees to learn, work and communicate in both official languages remain the most important commitments we can make and our focus on our people must be unwavering throughout their entire careers within the Defence Team. This includes implementing an in-house second language training and testing strategy for public servants to help build linguistic capacity internally within the department.

A strong Defence Team is one where its members feel safe, supported and accepted. Safeguarding these principles is contingent on preventing harmful behaviours in the workplace and ensuring robust conflict and complaint management processes are in place to address these behaviours when they arise. Modernized policies and approaches to resolving workplace issues and harmful behaviours will focus on resolutions that occur early, locally and informally when appropriate and ensuring the availability and efficiency of formal complaint mechanisms when they are required to resolve an issue.

There are over 4 000 Defence Team members, and their families posted outside of Canada (OUTCAN). After receiving several complaints, the Ombudsman launched an investigation. In December 2020, the Ombudsman published the report Engaged in the World: A systemic investigation into the administration of postings, assignments and employments of Defence Team personnel outside of Canada making 13 recommendations. As a result, in FY 2022-23 DND/CAF will continue to progress: digitizing OUTCAN administration and screening, scoping the absence of medical support for DND dependants while OUTCAN, and improving in Foreign Service Benefit policies.

The Defence Team will continue to strengthen the CAF Professional Development System by adapting Professional Military Education to ensure its relevance, addressing long-standing institutional infrastructure issues, and modernizing the curriculum in some establishments.

In FY 2022-23, DND/CAF will:

• Continue to strive to achieve a representation in the CAF of 25 percent women by 2026 by drawing up recommendations on how the CAF can increase the recruitment and retention of women, including in non-traditional occupations where women are underrepresented;
• Find innovative solutions that will motivate and support individuals who are outside the formal, language training system to acquire, use and retain their second official language;
• Enable Defence Team members through Total Health and Wellness Strategy. It will require strong leadership and role-modelling to create compassionate work environments and working relationships;
• Prioritize support for ill and injured members and their families as they work to reintegrate into their military duties or transition to civilian life;
• Advance Operation TRANSITION through the gradual, phased rollout of Military-to-Civilian Transition services at bases and wings across Canada, which will be available to all members leaving the CAF by 2024;
• Work with our partners at Veterans Affairs Canada in support of advancing the Government of Canada’s Veteran’s Employment Strategy;
• Support survivors and witnesses of military sexual misconduct, harassment and discrimination, as part of the department’s broader effort to change the culture of the CAF and prioritize the safety and well-being of all members;
• Continue development of improved promotion selection processes which are critical to ensuring the best leaders are selected for our members – ones who will truly embody CAF values and are driven and motivated to effect positive change throughout our organization; and
• Transition to the Performance and Competency Evaluation system for all CAF members to bring CAF Human Resource practices into alignment with CAF doctrine. In addition, we will develop an evidence-based framework for character-based leader assessments that complements Performance and Competency Evaluation, to provide a broader lens in support of selection and promotion processes.

The DND/CAF is committed to supporting and expanding the reach of the Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers programs so that more Canadian youth can benefit from these positive development opportunities. Canada continues to be strengthened by the presence of the Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers Programs in its communities.

The CAF is working to refresh and optimize the Cadet Program and the cadet experience today’s youth across Canada by leveraging the lessons learned and best practices from operating this program during the COVID19 pandemic. This will also provide the opportunity to reinforce the fundamental program aims of developing in youth the attributes of good citizenship and leadership, promoting physical fitness, and stimulating the interest of youth in the sea, land and air activities of the CAF.

The year 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of the Canadian Rangers and 2023 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Junior Canadian Rangers. Canadians can expect to see special events and commemorations accordingly.

Operation DISTINCTION is the CAF’s support to Government of Canada-led military commemorative events. Events are held throughout Canada and in key international locations to meet Government of Canada and Veterans Affairs Canada national commemoration objectives. Activities are planned to mark the 77th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands (May 2022) and the 80th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid (August 2022). The National Sentry Program (April – November 2022), meanwhile, will resume.

In FY 2022-23, the Judge Advocate General will continue to provide legal advice and services in all matters related to military law and to superintend the administration of military justice in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The strategic intent is to advance the modernization of the military justice system through a series of initiatives, work on which will continue throughout FY 2022-23, and will include:

• Providing legal services in support of the implementation of recommendations pertaining to military justice from the report of the Third Independent Review Authority, the Honourable Morris J. Fish, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada C.C., Q.C. The review was made pursuant to subsection 273.601(1) of the National Defence Act. Upon tabling of the report, the Minister of National Defence (MND) accepted, in principle, all 107 of its recommendations and directed that implementation begin on 36 of these. The Office of the Judge Advocate General (OJAG) will have a significant role to play in supporting implementation, including: responding to requests for information, supporting the Government of Canada’s commitment to providing updates to Parliament relating to the progress on implementing the recommendations; working with partners across the whole of government; and providing legal advice on specific recommendations. The OJAG will also provide advice to and support the Judge Advocate General as she works towards implementation of those 12 recommendations for which she is primarily or jointly responsible;
• Providing legal services in support of the Independent External Comprehensive Review by the Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour, C.C., G.O.Q., of current policies, procedures, programs, practices, and culture within the CAF and DND. The Review is expected to shed light on the causes for the continued presence of harassment and sexual misconduct despite efforts to eradicate it, identify barriers to reporting inappropriate behaviour and to assess the adequacy of the response when reports are made, and to make recommendations on preventing and eradicating harassment and sexual misconduct. To that end, a review of the military justice system’s policies, procedures and practice to respond to such allegations will also be conducted. The MND is committed to implementing the Independent External Comprehensive Review recommendations as received throughout the review, requiring DND, the CAF and the OJAG to be organized to support and be responsive to its work;
• It is expected that An Act to amend the National Defence Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts (the Act), formerly Bill C-77 will be brought fully into force in 2022 along with the required Phase 1 regulations. During FY 2022-23, and as part of broader Defence efforts to implement the Bill, the JAG will contribute to the development of additional regulations to supplement the set of regulations made in Phase 1 and address any regulatory gaps. This also includes continuing consultations and developing necessary policy instruments and training in order to further support the significant changes to the military justice system brought about by the full implementation of Bill C-77. This enduring effort to enhance the performance of the new military justice system is aimed at constantly remaining responsive to the needs of the CAF and expectations of the Canadian public; and
• Continuing to progress the Government of Canada response to the Auditor General’s 2018 Report 3—Administration of Justice in the Canadian Armed Forces through the ongoing development, along with the department's Information Management group, of the Justice Administration and Information Management System (JAIMS), a real-time centralized military justice management and data-collection system which will facilitate the administration of military justice. A new version of JAIMS (version 2.0) that reflects changes required by the full implementation of Bill C-77 must be developed to ensure that JAIMS reflects the military justice system; and
• While Defence makes every effort to deliver across the full bandwidth of operations, increased reliance on CAF resources for domestic operations can have a very real impact on Defence Readiness and the ability to contribute to other operations.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus)

The Defence Team will continue to expand the network of full-time Gender Advisors and part-time Gender Focal Points to pursue the institutionalization of GBA Plus and increase capacity and accountability for the development and implementation of policies, directives, and programs to better support members and employees on promoting a healthy work environment free of harmful behaviour. During FY 2022-23, some areas of focus will include:

• Removing barriers to career progression for groups seeking employment equity;
• Developing new and reviewing existing appointment framework, staffing tools and processes with GBA Plus to facilitate a representative, inclusive staffing regime and workforce;
• Conducting GBA Plus data collection in order to identify recommendations and solutions for addressing health disparities; and
• Ensuring program design, initiatives, and delivery are informed by GBA Plus, using disaggregated data, where possible, by user demographics.

Additional information on GBA Plus pertaining to its governance structures, human resources and planned initiatives can be found in the “GBA Plus Supplementary Information Table” in the Supplementary information tables section of this report.

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Key Corporate Risk(s)

There is a risk that failure to address misconduct, adopt an inclusive culture and provide a psychologically safe environment for current and future team members, will negatively impact operational readiness and effectiveness as well as public trust in the institution.

Departmental Result 3.1 – Canadian Armed Forces is growing towards its end state of 101 500 personnel

The CAF will continue to examine the end-to-end process of attracting, recruiting, selecting and providing individual training for new members up to the operational functional point, where new CAF members are employed in their chosen military career. Plans to meet recruiting objectives include:

• Working with defence partners to reduce the time to enrol in the CAF by increasing capacity to process personnel files through key process choke points, such as security clearances and medical exams;
• Enhancing virtual and online recruitment campaigns to promote career opportunities and key recruitment priorities offered by the CAF, particularly to ensure the safety of prospective CAF members during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Tracking and enhancing the collection of performance metrics to better understand the return on investment of recruiting campaigns;
• Prioritizing efforts to recruit members who more closely reflect the diverse nature of our Canadian society, including the development of training programs that cater to the needs of Indigenous Peoples;
• Maximizing the output of training at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in addition to continued planning for Distributed-Basic Military Qualification serials in order to sustain and grow the CAF;
• Developing the CAF Retention Strategy to be launched in late 2022; and
• Launching the CAF Reconstitution Plan to assist with the stabilization and the recovery of the CAF personnel strength which has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and to implement the shift in culture and professional conduct. With over 18 months of reduced recruitment and anticipated increased attrition, a concerted comprehensive effort to recruit and retain our most valuable asset, people, will be made.

The Canadian Army (CA)’s recruiting and individual training has been hampered by pandemic-imposed restrictions. However, these restrictions have accelerated the transition of attraction activities to virtual venues: sharing of information over social media, virtual open houses, radio, newspaper, webinar and providing an online application process at the CAF’s website. In addition, FY 2022-23 will see continued efforts to target regional Army Reserve attraction activities towards occupations or units that are below desired staffing levels. Work will also continue to update numerous recruiting videos to a more modern, diverse format, featuring not only trade specific attractors, but also work-life balance and family support.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results
3.1 Canadian Armed Forces is growing towards its end state of 101,500 personnel*	% of the Regular Force Establishment that is filled	95 – 100 %	31 March 2026	99.23%	96.5%	93%
	% of Reserve force positions that are filled**	95 – 100%	31 March 2026	77.09%	81.47%	79.78%
	% of occupations with critical shortfalls	At most 5%	31 March 2023	16.5%	17.9%	50.5%***

Notes:

* The Departmental Result of 101 500 personnel represents the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Regular Force and the Reserve Force. The Reserve Force represents Primary Reserves.

** The Reserve Force structure is currently being updated to meet Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada’s Defence Policy intent; therefore, the target will be updated once the new structure is approved.

*** As a result of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the CAF’s ability to attract, recruit and train personnel, CAF intake was less than attrition in 2020‑21. This resulted in the inability to sustain and grow the health of many occupations. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also made it difficult to project out two years to determine the status of occupations as per the normal methodology, and thus this is a snapshot as of 31 March 2021.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

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Departmental Result 3.2 – The health and well-being of the Defence team is well supported

To effectively deliver on the defence mandate, Defence will ensure the needs of our military members, their families, and defence public servants are met.

The Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture will lead the cultural transformation and ensure that behaviours of DND and the CAF reflect the very best part of the Defence Team. They will lead institutional efforts to develop a professional conduct and culture by implementing policies and procedures to meet the requirements and responsibilities set out in Part II of the Canada Labour Code that came into effect on 1 January 2021 including continuing to develop DND specific training on Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention, progress the development and implementation of additional tools to support affected employees, and streamline processes.

In order to facilitate the movement of military families across Canada, in the face of ongoing COVID-19 public health restrictions, Defence Intergovernmental Affairs monitors the COVID-19 related public health and travel restrictions in provinces and territories, and engages as required with the provinces and territories to facilitate interprovincial movement of CAF members and their families.

Implementation of the Performance Measurement Framework of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command wellness and performance strategy Optimizing Performance, Force and Family will continue. It will ensure that personnel maintain the required state of high readiness and ability to respond to operational demands.

In FY 2022-23, DND/CAF will:  

• Begin to modernize the Universality of Service principle to better respond to the evolution of CAF roles and operations and to reflect the developments in Canadian human rights law. Modernization will focus on updating a set of clearly defined and measurable minimum occupational standards and requirements. The first step is to complete the research process and data collection;
• Design, build, and begin to implement a modernized forward-looking employment model, known as the Adaptive Career Path that will assure our ability to fight in accordance with the Joint Force Employment Concept and deliver operational effects for the future, while upholding our enduring unique Ethos, virtues and Profession of Arms principles;
• Expand wellness beyond the traditional health care model to include promotion, prevention, treatment, and support, to provide a greater range of health and wellness services and programs, under the Total Health and Wellness Strategy;
• Enhance the Employee Assistance Program to better ensure employee well-being and a supportive work environment;
• Promote mental health, physical health and well-being resources, activities and training opportunities to the Defence Team; and
• Improve the management and reporting of illness, injury and impairment of public service employees in DND/CAF through the Office of Disability Management.

Continue to execute the Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) mission of providing high-quality health care to the CAF population and maintain and eventually improve overall health and wellness for CAF members, by providing in-garrison health care and health advice as well as health services support, including force production and force generation, for domestic and expeditionary operations.

The following initiatives will support future military operations increase the efficiency and effectiveness of CFHS (underpinned by value-based health care principles):

•  Invest in Health Services personnel initiatives to create a culture and environment where Defence Team members feel valued and experience meaningful opportunities for recognition, contribution and growth. This includes decreasing structural and cultural barriers experienced by uniformed health services personnel when they need to access their own health and self-care. Specific attention will also be paid to employing CFHS clinician personnel within their full scope of practice in order to enhance efficiency, make work more rewarding and further contribute to overall wellness;
• Explore targeted professional development support activities to enhance positive culture change among CFHS personnel;
• Modernize the structure of CFHS to align with the functions it performs and streamline decision-making processes. Also, undertake more deliberate health human resources planning in order to deliver the required programs and services through the right balance and amount of qualified military, public servant and contracted personnel;
• Strengthen CFHS’ performance measurement framework to support decision-making and management processes. In addition, CFHS will undertake a formal evaluation of our role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to systematically gather and analyze lessons learned. An accreditation survey will be performed to assess our health system’s overall performance against Canadian health care standards. Recommendations coming from these and other quality and performance-related activities will be actioned systematically through an updated Quality Improvement program;
• Develop and begin to implement Person-Partnered Care, leading to empowerment, trust and accountability for patients, chains of command and clinicians alike. Person-Partnered Care structures and processes will support the necessary CAF culture change initiatives, provide the foundation to many health system improvements and align with Canadian health care standards;
• Plan and develop tools to better understand the roles of sex, gender and other identity factors embraced within the CAF population on the health of CAF members. Women’s Health / Health Care for Diversity programming will be developed to build on CFHS’ existing foundation of evidence-based and best-practice standards of care for women and a diverse CAF population in order to deliver health services that enhance health, wellness and occupational performance; and contribute positively to attraction and retention in the CAF. The CFHS will establish the balanced health capability required to meet the unique clinical, occupational, and deployment health needs of women and others that identify with diverse identity factors within the CAF; and
• Continue to implement and refine the CFHS integrated governance framework – the system by which authority, decision making ability and accountability are applied through the establishment and regular exercise of health system governance functions – as a critical enabler to balanced achievement across all other strategic endeavours.

The Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group will:

• Improve the timely support for the CAF’s ill, injured, and transitioning members, veterans, their families and families of the fallen through excellence in service delivery and standardization in operations;
• Deliver transition initiatives and close the policy and process seams with Veterans Affairs Canada as outlined by the Joint Steering Committee priorities through the Seamless Transition Roadmap;
• Capitalize on the success of the Borden and Petawawa, Ontario Transition Trial, including Release Renewal, and refine transition processes, training, tools, and deliverables to shape the Military-to-Civilian transition Roll-Out plan;
• Leverage research, performance measurement and analytics capabilities to better understand the challenges faced by transitioning members and their families and to foster evidence-based policies and decisions; and
• Develop improved linkages with relevant external stakeholders, led by the Military Transition Engagement and Partnerships, to maximize positive effects for transitioning members in the seven Domains of Well-Being by leveraging the supports that exist across the Canadian transition/veteran support ecosystem.

Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services will continue to design, deliver, and evaluate essential support services to CAF members and their families. In particular, in FY 2022-23, they will:

• Deliver a broad variety of in-person and virtual services through CAFconnection.ca and referrals to partner websites addressing members’ mental, social, physical, and financial wellness. Specific examples include services in the area of fitness and sports, health and wellness, financial counselling, employment services, personal development, second language training, parental support, family violence prevention and access to health care;
• Continue to enhance evidence-based decision making by improving data maturity and performance measurement. For example, we will expand data and analytics in areas of behaviours (Sleep, Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Injury Prevention) to guide programming; and
• Launch the CAF Sports Strategy, a strategic framework that aims to align collective efforts in optimizing sport’s contribution to mental, social and physical wellness within the CAF.

The Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (SMRC) will:

• Conduct an analysis of the available research and implement a research agenda to identify individual factors and contextual/cultural factors which may enable perpetration of sexual misconduct. An initial response framework will also be developed intended for CAF leadership to effectively assess, appropriately intervene, and prevent subsequent sexual misconduct hazards in the workplace;
• Develop a Responsive Legal Options program for complainants/victims of sexual misconduct by: developing options for independent legal advice; developing a curriculum alongside the Office of the Judge Advocate General to train supporting civilian lawyers on the military justice system; developing options for alternative reporting; examining requirements for a reporting database; establishing a mechanism for offering independent legal advice; and establishing a mechanism for an alternative reporting option;
• Announce the newly expanded Community Support for Sexual Misconduct Survivors Grant Program and launch a call for proposals;
• Expand the SMRC’s 24/7 Response Line and the Response and Support Coordination Program to DND public service employees and former CAF members, and geographically to regional centres across Canada, including to the three remaining regions in FY 2022-23. This will allow the SMRC to provide ongoing support services and allow for resources to be scaled to regional requirements while broadening the client base and geographic reach;
• Pilot a peer support program, jointly developed with Veterans Affairs Canada and those with lived experience, for current and former CAF members who have experienced sexual misconduct during their service;
• Launch a trial version the Restorative Engagement program where a smaller number of engagements will occur with a range of flexible options, over the course of 10 months. The experience and feedback of class members, restorative practitioners and defence representatives during the initial trial will be leveraged to develop education tools and resources. The team will evaluate and make adjustments before scaling up to full capability; and
• Conduct, with the assistance of Statistics Canada, the third iteration of the Survey on Sexual Misconduct in the CAF.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results
3.2 The health and well-being of the Defence team is well supported	% of military personnel who are medically fit for their occupation	At least 90%*	31 March 2023	90.51%	89.84%	87%**
	% of military personnel who feel that the Canadian Armed Forces provides a reasonable quality of life for service members and their families	At least 85%*	31 March 2023	53.2%	56.7%	54.4%***
	% of Canadian Armed Forces members who feel positive about their job****	At least 85%	31 March 2023	65.7%	67.4%	65.0%
	% of civilian employees who describe the workplace as psychologically healthy	At least 80%	31 March 2023	59%	79%	66%

Notes:

* Targets are revisited yearly, as further data becomes available, to better understand the realities and drivers of these indicators.

** The discrepancy between the target and the actual result can be partly attributed to the system not being fully up to date because the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged the process of medical releases and the assignment of Permanent Medical Categories (both of which impact the result).

*** The 85% target was intentionally set as aspirational; it has historically been around 54% (2015–2020 average).

**** Although this is a new indicator for 2022-23, results were available from previous years and the target is aspirational.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

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Departmental Result 3.3 – The Defence team reflects the values and diversity of Canadian society

Defence needs to reflect Canadian ideals of diversity, respect, and inclusion. This means building a workforce that leverages the diversity and multicultural fabric of Canadian society. Our military and public service workforce benefit from an inclusive, positive, fair, and supportive workplace. Diversity is the strength of Canada’s population and is essential to our military’s operational effectiveness and long-term success.

The department will review the recommendations of the Heyder-Beattie and LGBT Purge Class Actions and develop an implementation plan.

The department will also reflect the diversity and inclusion values of Canadian society through commitment to the Employment Equity Act and CAF annual report, the Multiculturalism Act and annual report and the release and implementation of an updated and aligned CAF Employment Equity Plan.

During FY 2022-23 the department will:

• Identify opportunities to support diversity and inclusion throughout the recruitment process;
• Update equity, diversity and inclusion principals in a concise, CAF-centric Human Resources Strategy, scheduled for release in August 2022;
• Improve education and training opportunities, enabling each organization within the CAF to progress diversity and inclusion initiatives through their human resources management practices; and
• Increase representation of women, visible minorities, and Indigenous Peoples to be more representative of the Canadian population.

CA culture change priorities in FY 2022-23 will focus on three clusters of programs and activities: (1) Integrating “listen” activities into enduring CA activities; (2) Integrating training required to enable culture change into the appropriate CA training courses and qualifications; and (3) Developing and supporting local programs and practices that support the larger CA culture change efforts.

Indigenous Summer Programs will partner with Indigenous leaders to provide a blend of military training and Indigenous culture to hundreds of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis participants through programs across Canada: Bold Eagle, Black Bear, Carcajou, and Grey Wolf.

Recognizing the importance of healthy culture, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command will continue to progress the efforts of their recently established Unit Culture Advisory Teams and the Command Culture Advisory Board to review systemic issues and identify and implement actions that promote sustainable healthy cultural conditions.

Harassment and discrimination prevention activities related to appropriate conflict and complaint management practices (awareness, outreach and training) will continue. Harassment and discrimination complaints will be addressed in a timely manner through simplified formal harassment complaint procedures that are consistent with the requirements set out in Part II of the Canada Labour Code (introduced as Bill C-65).

The department will continue to take steps to address the Deputy Minister Corporate Commitments on Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism and meet all legislative requirements. This includes ensuring greater reflection of diversity and valuing inclusion, updating workplace programs and policies, and effecting culture change by leading and implementing the following:

• Increase recruitment and retention of equity-seeking groups and identify opportunities to support diversity and inclusion by:
  • Partnering with equity-seeking communities to attract and retain new talent that reflects Canada’s diversity and to review hiring processes to ensure they are culturally sensitive and barrier-free;
  • Enhancing the Diverse Selection Board Inventory which comprises diverse members of the Defence Team who support the candidate assessment process;
  • Using targeted recruitment and mandatory organizational need considerations to establish clear objectives and outcomes in terms of increased representation of equity-seeking communities;
  • Removing educational barriers to eliminate arbitrary/unnecessary education criteria from hiring processes;
  • Developing diverse talent through the newly launched Executive Development Program, specifically for those from equity-seeking groups
  • Improving the mentorship program to better support marginalized groups and foster diverse talent; and
  • Continuing to implement civilian Employment Equity & Diversity and Inclusion Action Plans in order to meet legislative requirements, increase representation, remove barriers and biases, and strengthen reconciliation efforts.
• Foster inclusive leadership by:
  • Increasing the representation in the executive cadre of equity-seeking communities to further build a diverse and inclusive executive cadre reflective of Canada’s diversity;
  • Ensuring all executives complete anti-racism and unconscious bias training; and
  • De-stigmatizing discussions on racism – particularly anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism – by facilitating group discussions with senior leaders on unconscious bias and systemic racism.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results
3.3 The Defence team reflects the values and diversity of Canadian society	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that self-identify as a woman	At least 25.1%	31 March 2026	15.7%	16%	16.3%*
	% of civilians in the Defence team who self-identify as a woman	At least 44%	31 March 2023	40.4%	40.8%	Results not available**
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as a visible minority	At least 11.8%	31 March 2026	8.7%	9.4%	9.5%*
	% of civilians in the Defence Team who self-identify as a visible minority	At least 11.40%	31 March 2023	8.9%	9.6%	Results not available**
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as an Indigenous person	At least 3.5%	31 March 2026	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%*
	% of civilians in the Defence Team who self-identify as an Indigenous person	At least 4.20%	31 March 2023	3.4%	3.4%	Results not available**
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as victims of harassment	At most 11.9%	31 March 2023	17.7%	16.7%	15.5%***
	% of civilians who self-identify as victims of harassment	At most 10%	31 March 2026	16%	14%	12%
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as victims of discrimination	At most 9.2%	31 March 2023	14.9%	11.8%	14.5%****
	% of civilians who self-identify as victims of discrimination	At most 5%	31 March 2026	7%	7%	7%
	Annual number of reported incidents of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces	Target to be determined.	Date to be determined.	256	356	431
	% of CAF members who agree that the culture in the CAF surrounding sexual misconduct has improved in the last 12 months.	Target to be determined.	Date to be determined.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.
	% of CAF members who agree that the CAF currently reinforces a culture of mutual respect, trust, honour and dignity	Target to be determined.	Date to be determined.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.
	Number of Canadian Armed Forces members who have attended a training session related to sexual misconduct	Target to be determined.	Date to be determined.	Results not available New indicator as of 2020-21.	Results not available New indicator as of 2020-21.	1224*****
	% of civilians in the Defence Team who have completed mandatory harassment training	100%	31 March 2026	Results not available New indicator as of 2020-21.	Results not available New indicator as of 2020-21.	31%
	Annual number of reported incidents of a sexual nature within the Defence Team civilian personnel	Target to be determined.	Date to be determined.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23.	Results not available. New indicator as of 2022-23

Notes:

* Meeting the target has been an ongoing challenge especially in the COVID-19 environment. DND/CAF are currently reviewing conduct, diversity and inclusion as a whole in an effort to improve the culture of the Defence Team and to reflect the values and diversity of Canadian society. Ongoing efforts include, but are not limited to, the Canadian Forces Employment Equity Plan 2021-26.

** The data for this indicator, provided by an organization external to National Defence, was not available at the time of the production of this report.

*** Reducing and eliminating harassment within the CAF is a continued effort. The CAF continues to analyze this complex issue and has launched a working group in March 2021 to analyze the current CAF harassment framework and to modernize and align with other related policies, where possible. The results of this work and analysis will ensure that the CAF is able to improve existing harassment policies, complaint processes, and prevention efforts. This year’s results are similar to last year, with a slight decline. We expect our continued efforts in this area to yield positive results but also recognize the complexity of this matter.

**** This year, the CAF continued to increase the number of mediations to resolve human rights complaints. These successful mediations represent positive complaint outcomes via timely resolutions that are agreeable to all parties involved. This can be attributed to the positive relationship the CAF has with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and their confidence in the CAF team to adopt a mediated approach to complaint resolution. This year, there was an increase in the percentage of CAF members who have self-identified as a victim of discrimination. This may be indicative of greater willingness to come forward to resolve issues and seek a resolution. Sustained efforts in this area are expected to yield positive results for this indicator over time.

***** Training on sexual misconduct has been incorporated into all facets of CAF training, including at recruit school and in leadership training at all levels. In addition, a formal course called “Respect in the CAF” has been developed, with over 13 000 Defence Team members attending between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2021. The data presented here represents those who have taken this course during the fiscal year. As this course is provided in a classroom setting; because of the COVID-19 pandemic workplace management measures, no sessions were given between April and August 2020. Training resumed in September 2020 with public health measures in place.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

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Departmental Result 3.4 – Military families are supported and resilient

The success of Canada’s defence depends on our people. Families are a major source of support to CAF members and integral to the success of the military – they are the strength behind the uniform. Family members also make important sacrifices, whether it be through the challenges associated with relocation or the prolonged absence of a loved one. They will have access to the support and services they deserve, to cope with the unique challenges and stresses of military life.

Through the Military Family Services Program, Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services will continue to enhance the well-being and resilience of military families at home and abroad by providing a wide variety of activities. It will also continue to remain flexible to deliver both in-person as well as virtual programs and services. In FY 2022-23, it will continue to operate and manage the:

• Virtual Military Family Resource Centre, which is a confidential, personal, bilingual and free service offering information, support, referrals, reassurance, appointment-based virtual counselling, and crisis management to the military community, CAF members, Veterans and their families. The Virtual Military Family Resource Centre also offers services for military families including the spousal employment network and career fairs; telemedicine licences for relocating families, the Military Family Doctor Network; a dedicated crisis text service for military families through the Kid’s Help Phone; the Support Our Troops Summer Camp and Scholarships Program, guidance counselling services for children’s education and education screenings for families relocating outside Canada; and support to families of the ill, injured and fallen CAF members; and
• Build military family resilience by improving military family quality of life. As specific focus for FY 2022-23 will be to enhance relocation support(s).  

The CAF will normalize and formalize its relationship with federal, provincial, and territorial partners in support of military families. This will include the establishment of the Seamless Canada Steering Committee. Together with federal, provincial, and territorial partners, the CAF will continue to address the mobility challenges faced by military families as they transfer between jurisdictions, in particular in areas of health care, dependent education, daycare, and spousal employment.

Defence Intergovernmental Affairs continues to support Chief Military Personnel’s initiatives aimed at helping Canadian Armed Forces families mitigate the pressures associated with a member’s career. This includes playing an active role in federal-provincial/territorial meetings for the Seamless Canada initiative, as well as engaging jurisdictions and supporting the development of policies and briefing material related to employment, childcare/educational equivalencies, and health care for CAF families.

Continue to expand the Military Spouse Employment Initiative Program to improve the utilization and professionalization of the program by:

• Expanding DND Careers to enable greater exposure and utilization of the Military Spouse Employment Initiative inventory. This effort will provide direct talent management of applicants through tailored and direct marketing;
• Ensuring broader representation of professional work streams with the program;
• Partially assessing military spouse candidates to support agile and flexible hiring; and
• Implementing a broadened marketing approach to Military Spouse Employment Initiative candidates, hiring managers and other government departments.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results
3.4 Military families are supported and resilient	% of Canadian Armed Forces families who feel they meet the challenges of military life	At least 85%	31 March 2023	87.6%	87.6%	87.6%*
	% of Canadian Armed Forces members who are satisfied with the overall support their family receives from the Canadian Armed Forces	At least 85%	31 March 2023	71%	67.4%	67.4%**

Notes:

* As the Quality of Life Survey for Canadian Armed Forces families is only conducted every three years, this is the result from the 2018 survey. The next survey was planned for 2021, with results available in 2022.

** Given the Retention Survey periods, this is the result from 2019. The next Regular Force Retention Survey is planned for 2022, with results available in 2023, and the next Primary Reserve Force Retention Survey is planned for 2023, with results available in 2024.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

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Departmental Result 3.5 – Youth in Canada are provided with experience and opportunities that enable a successful transition to adulthood

In FY 2022-23, the department will continue implementing the Management Action Plan in response to the Evaluation of the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers (Youth Program) conducted in 2020. In FY 2022-23, the program will:

• Improve program support and ensure that sufficient resources, capacity and expertise are in place to achieve objectives;
• Improve program management and oversight by reviewing and finalizing policies, guidance and directives;
• Review program scope to ensure consistency between resources, expected outcomes, and business planning;
• Improve communication strategies by promoting and increasing knowledge and awareness of DND’s youth Programs; and
• Implement a performance measurement strategy to define and measure outcomes to support evidence-based decision-making.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results
3.5 Youth in Canada are provided with experience and opportunities that enable a successful transition to adulthood	% of the target Canadian youth population that participates in Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers	At least 2%	31 March 2023	2.05%	2.06%	2.02%

Notes:

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Defence Team

2022-23 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2022–23 planned spending	2023–24 planned spending	2024–25 planned spending
3,738,769,207	3,738,769,207	3,752,774,854	3,798,539,154

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources

2022-23 planned full-time equivalents	2023-24 planned full-time equivalents	2024-25 planned full-time equivalents
19,127	19,123	19,166

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

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