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.

Results

People continued to be at the core of everything the department does to ensure Canada remains strong, secure and engaged in the world. Our mission’s success depends on having healthy, resilient, well trained and motivated Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel supported by talented and dedicated defence civilians working within the Department of National Defence (DND). This integrated civilian military Defence Team is the heart of our institution.

We have made significant strides in ensuring that the entire Defence Team has the care, services and support it requires, and have continued to work towards eliminating harassment and discrimination in the workplace. We have improved attraction efforts in order to recruit talented, motivated Canadians who reflect the broad range of cultural, linguistic, gender, age and other unique attributes that will contribute directly to our efforts to develop a deeper understanding of our increasingly complex world. We have continued to improve and focus on our most important commitment: investing in our people.

The CAF continued to be committed not only to its members but also to their families. As our people continue to serve in complex and challenging environments, with varying threat levels, both at home and abroad, we have consistently delivered essential programs and services to give our members comfort, knowing that their families are being looked after.

National Defence has a long and proud history of supporting youth through the Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers programs, and remained committed to strengthening support and expanding the reach of these important programs. In October 2020, the Defence Team published its evaluation of the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers youth programs. The report proposed multiple action items to expand institutional support and enhance youth programs’ effectiveness and efficiency. As a result, Defence began work to enhance the delivery of the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers programs and focus on expending the programs’ reach to areas with the highest impact on Canadian communities and youth, as outlined in Canada’s Defence Policy.

Military Family Services facilitates a Facebook group called #MyVoice^{Endnote 100}. With over 2 900 Canadian military family members, #MyVoice is an open forum that allows members to share the military family experience, which has resulted in changes to programs and services. Throughout FY 2020–21, Military Family Services developed guidance and protocols to enable all Military Family Resource Centres to adapt service delivery models quickly in order to respond to COVID-19. This included a quick transition from in person service delivery to virtual service delivery. These new programs reflect the evolving needs and concerns of our members and their families.

Because the pandemic and departmental business continuity plans, the Canadian Defence Academy’s three military colleges and the Osside Institute provided education and training remotely. The instructors adjusted the curriculum while shifting to remote learning methods. Educational objectives were met, and in some instances exceeded, despite a decrease in face-to-face interaction and the loss of the in-person classroom learning environment. The lessons learned and technologies used will benefit our institutions beyond the pandemic. Virtual learning will be used well into the future to expand access to education.

In FY 2020–21, the CAF continued to leverage the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program to advance solutions for challenges such as understanding and addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); recruiting and retaining women in the CAF; managing integrated human resources data; finding innovative methods for language learning and retention; and improving CAF members’ transition to civilian life.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus)

The Directorate for Gender Equality and Intersectional Analysis (DGEIA) was officially formed in July 2020 by merging the Directorate for Gender Diversity and Inclusion and the Directorate for Integration Gender Perspective. This merger has resulted in more coordinated and focused efforts and consistent advice to incorporate GBA Plus early when developing policies, directives and programs, and when planning and carrying out operations in order to advance gender equality and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda across the Defence Team. DND and the CAF continued their systems-wide institutional approach to integrating GBA Plus requirements and accountabilities into processes and systems, and providing expert technical support for conducting intersectional gender-based analyses. Equitable business resumption plans—focusing on how working from home is a different experience for every DND employee and CAF member—used GBA Plus to identify the intentional and unintentional impacts of DND and the CAF’s work-from-home model.

GBA Plus was also used to plan and carry out Operation LASER and Operation VECTOR, Canada’s military operations in response to COVID-19, to ensure that all of our responses to requests for assistance took into consideration the population’s intersectional needs and the suitability of the CAF members selected for the mission.

More information on GBA Plus governance structures, human resources and planned initiatives can be seen in the “GBA Plus Supplementary Information Table” in the Supplementary information tables section of this report.

Experimentation

Defence-related experimentation activities are outlined in this report under Core Responsibility 4 – Future Force Design.

Key Corporate Risk(s)

Defence acknowledges that misconduct is a critical concern and the resulting risk is currently being defined as Defence better frames the breadth of the issue.

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

Although face-to-face initiatives were not possible throughout FY 2020–21 because of the pandemic, the Recruiting Group:

• Advanced multiple customer service initiatives by establishing a scheduling function on the CAF’s website^{Endnote 101} to enable potential recruits to book time with recruiters online to facilitate conversations;
• Refined the understanding of key responsibilities, and ensured strategic and operational collaboration and consistent messaging;
• Improved social media collaboration to ensure that recruitment messaging is consistent and efforts are aligned with the many different organizations within the department;
• Enhanced the use of marketing on social media platforms, echoing all strategic-level campaigns and dates of opportunity such as International Women's Day; a social media concept of operations and an attractions plan were developed;
• Increased the use of Google Analytics to understand regional trends in user traffic to the CAF’s website^{Endnote 102} and worked to adjust content and processes to maximize the interactivity of users;
• Researched third-party analytics capabilities to recognize, analyse and respond to trends in user traffic to the CAF’s website^{Endnote 103};
• Worked with the Marketing and Advertising Directorate and focus groups throughout the year to better understand this domain; increased the representation of visible minorities in marketing and advertising programs, and leveraged a strategic advertising Indigenous campaign to achieve diversity targets;
• Synchronized efforts focused on Employment Equity goals for women by designing advertising campaigns appealing to women, improving the CAF’s webpage^{Endnote 104} “Women in the CAF”, and holding virtual recruitment info sessions for women;
• Supported the development of a program to provide near real-time tracking of military occupations by gender and by diversity targets; and
• Modernized many recruiting processes, moving into the virtual domain; while face-to-face events such as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)’s recruiting Operation KAIROS PASSANT were not possible, the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group held virtual job fairs and hosted information sessions on social media platforms.

CA recruiting and individual training was hampered in FY 2020–21 by pandemic-imposed restrictions. However, these restrictions have accelerated the transition of CA attraction activities to virtual platforms, for example information sharing over social media, virtual open houses, radio, newspapers, webinars and online application process on the CAF’s website^{Endnote 105}.

Results achieved

Departmental results	Performance 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 personnelNote *	% of Regular force positions that are filled	95 – 100%	31 March 2026	99.23%	96.5%	93%
	% of Reserve force positions that are filledNote **	95 – 100%	31 March 2026	77.09%	81.47%	79.78%
	% of occupations with critical shortfalls	Less than 5%	31 March 2021	16.5%	17.9%	50.5%Note ***

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

• Canadian Forces Health Services continued to enhance its capabilities to support concurrent CAF operations. In the midst of a global pandemic, COVID-19 testing capabilities on deployed operations and personal protective equipment procurement were critical to ensuring that Canadian Forces Health Services personnel were ready to assist Canada’s most vulnerable populations during Operation LASER^{Endnote 107}, and ensuring that deployed operations were able to operate safely and effectively in a pandemic environment. Canadian Forces Health Services carried out the CAF COVID-19 vaccine campaign in Canada and for deployed CAF members and eligible civilians, and provided support for vaccine delivery and administration in multiple vulnerable communities as part of Operation VECTOR^{Endnote 108}. Furthermore, Canadian Forces Health Services Critical Care Aeromedical Evacuation teams, in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Air Force, conducted a critical medical evacuation of a CAF member and their family from abroad, using the newly acquired aeromedical bio-containment evacuation system.
• As the principal domestic health care provider for eligible CAF members, Canadian Forces Health Services had to pivot to alternate ways of delivering primary health care using virtual means. The lessons learned will be incorporated in planning as a way to reach out to remote and rural locations where CAF members live.
• Canadian Forces Health Services continued to define and shape the organizational structure required to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of CAF operations both domestically and abroad. The Canadian Forces Health Services Headquarters made improvements in key areas such as health services quality, evaluation, policy formulation and coordination. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted problem areas in health services that will be improved through modernization efforts.
• Because of COVID-19, training opportunities were limited; therefore, the development of the forward medical evacuation capability was sustained, but not advanced.
• The CAF Transition Group continued to develop policies and procedures to provide high-quality personalized support to all CAF personnel during transitional periods in their careers, including their release from the CAF and return to civilian life.
• In pursuing greater integration between stakeholders involved in supporting transitioning CAF members, the CAF Transition Group and its internal partners updated and streamlined accountability, and determined which responsibilities and authorities affect transition. Additionally, new staff positions at the CAF Transition Group Headquarters were dedicated to the strategic management of external partnerships, including governmental and non-governmental organizations.
• Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (SMRC) provided virtual trauma-informed care training to other parts of DND and the CAF, including parts of the Canadian Forces Health Services and the chaplains, to assist them when receiving disclosures of sexual misconduct.
• While the COVID-19 pandemic prevented in-class workshops from being given, the Respect in the CAF workshop was delivered, which allowed 1 224 Defence Team members, primarily CAF members, to receive the training.
• The SMRC 24/7 line received 509 calls from CAF members (compared to 497 in FY 2019-20) and 278 calls from non-CAF members (compared to 152 in FY 2019-20), which represent a slight increase in calls from CAF members over FY 2019-20, but nearly a 100 percent increase calls from non-CAF members.
• The number of clients using the Response and Support Coordination program increased from 47 in FY 2019-20 to 91 clients in FY 2020–21, and 29 cases were closed in FY 2020–21.
• The Military Liaison Team supported 260 callers in FY 2020–21 (compared to 144 in FY 2019-20). The Military Police Liaison Officer saw a slight decrease in calls over the same period, from 103 in FY 2019-20 to 86 in FY 2020–21.
• The Defence Team met the requirements outlined in Bill C-65^{Endnote 109} and implemented the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Interim Policy. This policy aims to provide education and raise awareness in order to prevent incidents of harassment and violence from occurring; respond to incidents effectively by conducting an investigation; and support affected employees throughout the resolution process. New mandatory harassment and violence prevention training for both employees and managers was rolled out to help create a safe and respectful work environment. DND took the following actions to foster a culture of respect and fairness:
  • Promoted positive space training to foster a safe and inclusive workplace;
  • Identified respect and harassment prevention training as part of our corporate learning commitments to support a healthy workplace; and
  • Implemented the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Interim Policy in response to Bill C-65.
• CAF initiated work on the CAF Code of Professional Conduct, which will address all conduct and behaviour, and is tied to the rewrite of Duty with Honour and the Defence Team Code of Values and Ethics. The CAF Code of Professional Conduct promotes compliance and is viewed as a mechanism for facilitating culture change.
• The new CAF policy to address hateful conduct was developed and published in 2020. A supporting CAF Hateful Conduct Incident Tracker was implemented and is used to monitor incidents that occur and incidents under investigation.
• The Administrative Response Centre stood up to full operational capability in FY 2020–21, which made it easier for CAF members and the chain of command to access information on all Military personnel topics. Through the Administrative Response Centre, the grievance portfolio was reduced by five percent at the end of the fiscal year, and the backlog was reduced by 20 percent.
• The Office of Disability Management was stood up and provided support to ill, injured and impaired employees and their managers. The Office of Disability Management expanded its to support the entire National Capital Region, and regional offices were opened in Comox, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
• DND and the CAF completed the Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy and were authorized by the Treasury Board to spend nearly $700M over the next 17 years on care for DND, the CAF, and military families.
• Research and development for a new chaplain hour series was completed. This series will support the Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy and the envisioned CAF Culture Change.
• The CAF continued to take a broad approach to supporting members and family wellness. Through many interconnecting efforts across the CAF, including suicide prevention, as outlined in the Suicide Prevention Action Plan,^{Endnote 110} and programs that merged with the goals of the Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy. Engagement of subject matter experts, including a suicide prevention specialist, augmented the CAF’s range of mental health care and support services that allow for tailor support to the mental health needs of all CAF members.
• To address suicide prevention in the CAF, chaplain-led SENTINEL training was updated and 3 000 new SENTINELs were trained in FY 2020–21. SENTINEL is a peer support program comprising of military members who are given training and then supervised to detect signs of distress in their colleagues and offer them support.
• Virtual religious and outreach services were implemented in order to support the spiritual and emotional health of members and their families, and advise leadership on the Force’s moral in accordance with “Called to Serve (2020–2030), The Royal Canadian Chaplain Service Spiritual Resilience and Well-Being Strategy”.
• An evaluation of the Employee Assistance Program was conducted by an external party to determine whether DND’s Employee Assistance Program model continues to meet the needs of DND employees and their families. The evaluation results will be assessed and incorporated into the program improvement strategy to determine future service offerings. The Employee Assistance Program was also adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic response to ensure that the unique needs of employees were met.
• DND provided mental health materials, tools, resources and support via DND’s COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellness page^{Endnote 111}, the HR GO RH mobile app^{Endnote 112}, social media and other DND publications. To support employee health and well-being and enhance employee resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the department completed the following initiatives:
  • Prepared evidence-based articles on coping strategies, back-to-school considerations and parenting strategies to support the Defence Team;
  • Developed a new course on resilience for the Defence Team;
  • Developed a Mental Health and Wellness Conversations Manager’s Guide; and
  • Held virtual mental health events and webinars to support employees.
• COVID-19 dramatically transformed the work environment, and the Defence Team is now working with a varied, remote and on-site workforce^{Endnote 113}. To support this transition, the department implemented the following initiatives:
  • Présentation d’une directive sur la gestion d’un effectif civil flexible et varié;
  • Introduced a directive on managing a flexible and varied civilian workforce;
  • Launched a Civilian Flexible Work Program (FWP)^{Endnote 114} for the department to provide direction, guidance and resources on remote work to employees and managers;
  • Developed virtual onboarding and off-boarding resources and tools; and
  • Developed and implemented virtual training to support mandatory and continuous learning and development in a pandemic environment.

Results achieved

Departmental results	Performance 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	90%Note *	31 March 2021	90.51%	89.84%	87%Note **
	% of military personnel who feel that the Canadian Armed Forces provides a reasonable quality of life for themselves and their families	85%Note *	31 March 2021	53.2%	56.7%	54.4%Note ***
	% of Canadian Armed Forces members who report a high level of workplace well-being	69%Note *	31 March 2021	64.3%	71.5%	67.4%Note ****
	% of civilian employees who describe the workplace as psychologically healthy	To be determined by 31 March 2021Note *****	To be determined by 31 March 2021	59%	79%	66%

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

• The Defence Team published The Path to Dignity and Respect: The CAF Sexual Misconduct Response Strategy^{Endnote 116} (referred to as The Path) in October 2020. The Path is a comprehensive culture change strategy informed by research and evidence, reviewed both internally and externally, that uses best-practice culture change models adapted for the CAF. The Path includes a renewed focus on improving reporting processes, incident response and investigation. A formal review was initiated to seek feedback from stakeholders and subject matter experts. In November 2020, Defence Administrative Orders and Directive (DAOD) 9005-1 Sexual Misconduct^{Endnote 117} was published, establishing a unified policy on sexual misconduct within the CAF.
• Integrated conflict and complaint management services continue to be offered to CAF members, providing a one-stop shop for timely access to information, support and guidance in navigating the sometimes complex conflict and complaint mechanisms. This ensures that workplace issues are properly unpacked so that appropriate solutions can be identified quickly and effectively. Through the use of an integrated database, this service provides trend analysis and strategic visibility on conflicts and complaints within the CAF, information that directly supports the modernization and advancement of policies and processes. Furthermore, the CAF continues to review and assess the harassment complaint procedures to ensure not only that they serve CAF members appropriately but also that they remain appropriately aligned with the requirements of Bill C-65.
• DND and the CAF contributed to consultations with a class action representative, external subject matter experts and CAF stakeholders for both Heyder Beattie and LGBT Purge Class Action Litigation Final Settlement Agreements. Consultations have resulted in findings and recommendations aimed at improving support for applicable communities and supporting a more inclusive culture in the CAF.
• In FY 2020–21, the department published the CAF Employment Equity Report for FY 2019–20 and the DND Multiculturalism Report for FY 2019–20.
• More than 90 percent of the CAF Employment Equity Plan (2015–2020) action items were implemented by FY 2020–21.
• The Defence Team Pride Network was formally recognized and the first Defence Team Champion for the LGBTQ2 Plus communities was appointed.
• A strengthened CAF Employment Equity Plan (2021–2026) was being developed, building on the successes of the previous plan, and scheduled for publication in 2021. The updated plan is an extensive multi-year commitment aiming to increase representation of the CAF’s long-term goals and set conditions to support a safe, inclusive and equitable work environment for designated group members and the lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer and two-spirited communities.
• CAF initiated a CAF Human Resources Strategy to guide the transformation of the Military Personnel Management System. The Strategy is based on an analysis of the future operating environment, the emerging personnel environment (i.e. evolving Canadian society and business trends) and an internal scan (i.e. existing strengths and weaknesses of the CAF Military Personnel Management System).
• The department carried out the following actions, via our human resources management practices, to advance diversity and inclusion:
  • Implemented the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and the initiatives to support the Directive to Increase Diversity and Inclusion in the Civilian Workforce;
  • Addressed diversity and inclusion consistently at various events, such as executive town halls and executive orientation; and
  • Established an Anti-Racism Task Force to identify barriers and systemic discrimination, review existing and new human resource (HR) policies and programs, develop resources and tools for employees and managers, and promote opportunities to learn about cultural awareness, racism, discrimination and harassment.
• The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for the Executive Community has made progress in addressing employment equity and diversity gaps at the most senior levels of the department, particularly via recruitment and talent management initiatives. In FY 2020–21 the department:
• Incorporated employment equity and GBA Plus into all aspects of executive recruitment and staffing to minimize biases and promote inclusion;
  • Ensured that employment equity considerations remained the top priority when recruiting and selecting executives; this included actively advertising and promoting job opportunities through various social media forums to reach diverse talent; and
  • Launched an Executive Visible Minority Development Program and Recruitment Campaign^{Endnote 118} by conducting a targeted EX-01 process for visible minorities and Black people, that used innovative artificial intelligence technology to reduce biases while providing opportunities to increase the representation of minority groups in the EX classification.
• Opportunities to support diversity and inclusion throughout the recruitment process were identified, including:
  • Identifying actions to remove systemic barriers and create opportunities to recruit more diverse individuals who represent equity-seeking groups;
  • Establishing a framework to launch an inventory of diverse participants for assessment boards;
  • Promoting and expanding the use of combined experience and training, in addition to formal education, to reduce education barriers;
  • Launching mandatory training on anti-racism and unconscious bias in the HR community and for hiring managers; and
  • Promoting the pre-qualified pools of the Public Service Commission’s Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity program and the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities program.
• Indigenous summer programs that 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 (namely Bold Eagle^{Endnote 119}, Black Bear^{Endnote 120}, Carcajou^{Endnote 121}, and Grey Wolf^{Endnote 122}) were significantly impacted by public health measures as was the support to Junior Canadian Rangers. In order to ensure that activities can ramp back up when conditions permit, the Defence Team continued to leverage the cultural understanding, perspectives and experiences of our Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group members, drawing on their relationships and connections with local communities across the country. This advisory group also supported the Commander of the CA, as the Defence Team Champion for Indigenous Peoples.

Results achieved

Departmental results	Performance 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) who self-identify as a woman	25.1%	31 March 2026	15.7%	16%	16.3%Note *
	% of civilians in the Defence team who self-identify as a woman	39.1%	31 March 2026	40.4%	40.8%	Results not availableNote **
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as a visible minority	11.8%	31 March 2026	8.7%	9.4%	9.5%Note *
	% of civilians in the Defence team who self-identify as a visible minority	8.4%	31 March 2026	8.9%	9.6%	Results not availableNote **
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as an indigenous person	3.5%	31 March 2026	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%Note *
	% of civilians who self-identify as an indigenous person	2.7%	31 March 2026	3.4%	3.4%	Results not availableNote **
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as victims of harassment	Less than 11.9%	31 March 2021	17.7%	16.7%	15.5%Note ***
	% of civilians who self-identify as victims of harassment	To be determined by 31 March 2021Note ****	To be determined by 31 March 2021	16%	14%	12%
	% of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who self-identify as victims of discrimination	Less than 9.2%	31 March 2021	14.9%	11.8%	14.5%Note *****
	% of civilians who self-identify as victims of discrimination	To be determined by 31 March 2021Note ****	To be determined by 31 March 2021	7%	7%	7%
	Annual number of reported incidents of sexual misconduct in the Defence team	To be determined by 31 March 2021Note ******	To be determined by 31 March 2021	256	356	431
	Number and type of actions taken in response to reported sexual misconduct incidents by the Defence Team	To be determined by 31 March 2021Note ******	To be determined by 31 March 2021	256	356	431Note *******
	Number of Defence team members who have attended a training session related to sexual misconduct (Operation HONOUR)	To be determined by 31 March 2021	To be determined by 31 March 2021	Results not available New indicator as of 2020–21	Results not available New indicator as of 2020–21	1 224Note ********
	% of civilians in the Defence team who have completed mandatory harassment training	To be determined by 31 March 2021Note *********	To be determined by 31 March 2021	Results not available New indicator as of 2020–21	Results Not available New indicator as of 2020–21	31%

Departmental Result 3.4 – Military families are supported and resilient

• Throughout FY 2020–21, Military Family Services applied the evidence-based research conducted through the Comprehensive Military Family Plan in order to modernize and better align services and resources with the needs of families. The service delivery model has been changed to better align the goal of ensuring families are aware of and able to access available services.
• Strongest Families, an online coaching service for parents with children and youth who have shown initial signs of anxiety and/or depression, supported 91 families.
• Since September 2020, Military Family Services have adapted their services to be delivered on a virtual platform, expanding emergency family care support, mental health counselling, family and intimate partner violence support, virtual health care, mental health counselling for children and youth, spousal employment, and non-clinical social support. The Family Information Line provided 346 virtual counselling sessions and supported 110 family members experiencing family violence (compared to 20 in the same period in 2019). The delivery of approximately $360 000 to support virtual and in-person gender-based violence awareness training was also facilitated.
• Military Family Services applied the results of the research on families’ relocation experiences to the new service delivery model as part of the Modernization of the Military Family Services Program Strategic Framework.
• During the summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had impacts on the planned postings and relocation of CAF personnel. For example, roughly 21 percent of personnel transfers were cancelled and, in some cases, individuals were kept in their positions a year longer than planned. For those postings that did happen, significant effort was undertaken to adapt policies to the situation, such as ensuring that travel respected the public health measures at the member's origin and destination. The deadlines to complete a move to a new location were also extended so that members and their families had more of a say in their situation. As a result, moves, which are normally completed by the end of the summer, continued until December 2020.
• As a result of COVID-19, the fourth Seamless Canada meeting took place virtually in December 2020 and was supported by the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat. Outcomes included the provinces’ and territories’ willingness to solidify the structure of future Seamless Canada meetings. Additionally, the provinces and territories discussed their support for enhanced family supports related to health care, spousal employment, and education mobility for secondary students.
• The employment inventory of the Military Spouse Employment Initiative was expanded to all federal government departments and added to DND’s Careers^{Endnote 124} job matching portal, providing military spouses with a wider range of opportunities from across the federal public service. The initiative aims to provide military spouses and common-law partners with opportunities to develop their skills and pursue their careers. In FY 2020–21, DND established an organizational need on all public job postings for spouses or common-law partners of CAF members to be considered before all other candidates, except people with priority entitlements (e.g. medically released veterans or preference veterans), thus giving the Defence Team hiring managers the option to consider military spouses and common-law partners first in an effort to support military families. In FY 2020–21, 51 military spouse hires were made, within and outside the department.
• Now that the 2020+ Strategic Framework for the Delivery of Services to Military and Veteran Families is complete, Military Family Services has begun to develop the practical application for service delivery within this new model. The new model involves developing formal guidance for the board of directors of the Military Family Resource Centres, thus making the Military Family Services Program’s more accountable to federal authorities, including DND, the CAF and Veterans Affairs Canada.
• Military Family Services used research on families’ experiences with medical release transitions to refine the new service delivery model as part of the Modernization of the Military Family Services Program Strategic Framework.

Results achieved

Departmental results	Performance indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2018–1 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	85%	31 March 2021	87.6%	87.6%	87.6%Note *
	% of Canadian Armed Forces members who are satisfied with the overall support their family receives from the Canadian Armed Forces	85%	31 March 2021	71%	67.4%	67.4%Note **

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

• In response to the evaluation of the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers programs, the Management Action Plan was initiated in FY 2020–21, as planned. As outlined in the plan, a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the three Cadet Leagues. A new consultative framework was developed and implemented. Many of the completed action items will serve as the corner-stones of initiatives such as the review of the cadet program’s scope to optimize alignment between resources and expected outcomes. These action items and initiatives will lead to increased support for the department’s youth programs and ultimately to enhanced experiences for young Canadians.
• The Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers programs reviewed and refreshed their brand and leveraged internal and external communication tools, such as social media, to increase awareness of both programs within and outside DND and the CAF. Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Services members were highlighted throughout the year, including in the online video on the Defence Team Network’s 60 seconds with series^{Endnote 126}. Additionally, a new communications strategy was prepared in FY 2020–21, which will advance the objective of the programs’ identity project.
• The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ability to deliver Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers programming. In order to ensure optimal program delivery in these unprecedented times, the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers relied on their strategic national and international network to help deliver alternative programming. In addition to monitoring and sharing best practices with like-minded programs, the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers engaged with other cadet organizations to discuss virtual engagement and resumption of in-person activities. Some virtual international engagements between Canadian Cadets and Allied Country cadets were conducted to enhance the cadet experience. Finally, Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers initiated work on a Global Engagement Strategy, which will guide international cadet engagement in the years to come.
• The department’s National Student Hiring Program continued to leverage all available federal student hiring programs to employ students across the country in diverse fields. In FY 2020–21, the department hired 746 students. The department implemented several initiatives to employ students, including:
  • Leveraging digital recruitment through the DND Careers mobile App^{Endnote 127}, which has over 1 500 student profiles, to help support managers with workforce rejuvenation efforts;
  • Streamlining staffing procedures and developing virtual onboarding for the remote work environment;
  • Offering jobs on the spot;
  • Promoting targeted recruitment of Indigenous students and students with disabilities; and
  • Providing learning opportunities and resources to support students; 199 students were bridged into the public service following their employment.

Results achieved

Departmental results	Performance 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 2021	2.05%	2.06%	2.02%

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^{Endnote 128}.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

2020–21 Main Estimates	2020–21 Planned spending	2020–21 Total authorities available for use	2020–21 Actual spending (authorities used)	2020–21 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending)
3,416,850,794	3,444,253,339	4,102,372,061	4,057,640,230	613,386,891

Note: The variance is due mainly to an increase in salary and benefits costs related to Canadian Forces pay increases and a Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) actuarial adjustment.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

2020–21 Planned full-time equivalents	2020–21 Actual full-time equivalents	2020–21 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents)
20,838	18,902	(1,936)Note *