Implementation

Extensive and meaningful change is required to address the longstanding problems that have plagued Canada’s Military Colleges and to help them achieve their full potential. This change will affect the very structures and systems that have underpinned the Canadian Military Colleges (CMCs) for decades, and the Board is under no illusions regarding how difficult it will be to implement.

While it might be tempting to shy away from the recommendations in this Report that are perceived as the most challenging, or to delay addressing them and instead parse out and prioritize those that are considered more palatable, such an approach will only delay the inevitable and, if left too long, could eventually undermine the very survival of the CMCs. Not everything can or should happen at once, but every recommendation plays a critical role in ameliorating the system, and together they are intended to be mutually reinforcing. Redesigning the Cadet Chain of Responsibility while failing to streamline the degree programs, for example, or introducing the Integrated Officer Development Program without scaling up the number of Naval and Officer Cadets (N/OCdts) at the Colleges, will not yield the desired end state and will simply lead the CMCs back into a vicious cycle of reflection and recalibration with few concrete results.

Knowing what recommendations are expected to be implemented at the outset will help the institution and interested stakeholders to adapt and prepare accordingly. To this end, the Board recommends that the Minister of Defence provide a publicly available written response to this document within 60 days of receipt. This will provide clarity and increase transparency, which in turn will help build the public trust that is essential to national institutions like the Department of National Defence (DND)/Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Canadian Military Colleges.

Building and maintaining public trust also requires that DND/CAF not only oversee and monitor the implementation of the Board’s recommendations but also to report publicly on progress until such time as the recommendations have been fully addressed.

The Board recognizes that many of its recommendations may profoundly impact the lives and livelihoods of CMC faculty and staff. Implementation must consequently be undertaken in a nuanced, dignified and considerate manner, as human resources are readjusted and financial resources reprioritized.

The Board also recognizes that responsibility for implementing various recommendations will be held by different actors throughout myriad parts of DND/CAF, often outside of the CMCs themselves. Within this context, it would be unfair and impractical to expect the leadership teams at the Military Colleges to run the Colleges while concurrently asking them to navigate the complexities of delivering upon the initiatives that this Report proposes.

As such, the Board recommends that a properly resourced Implementation Team should be established to oversee the development and execution of a sequenced, time-bound and measurable Implementation Plan.

The Team should be co-led by senior representatives of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence, who jointly enjoy sufficient authority, respect and credibility within the institution to effect the requisite changes. The team itself should be made up of both DND and CAF members who hold a mix of skills and expertise relating to civilian human resources, public affairs, CAF recruitment, organizational change management, financial management and infrastructure management, alongside an extensive understanding of the mandates of the Canadian Military Colleges, the Chief of Military Personnel, the Canadian Defence Academy, the Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment), the Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources - Civilian), the Assistant Deputy Minister (Finance) and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

The Implementation Team should include the Commandants and Principals of both Military Colleges as Ex-Officio advisory members, and it should be further supported by external experts with particular expertise related to institutional change management in academic settings.

Recommendation #47

That the Minister of National Defence provide a publicly available written response to the recommendations contained in this Report within 60 days of its receipt.

Recommendation #48

That the Deputy Minister of National Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff establish an Implementation Team to enable the implementation of these recommendations, within the framework of a sequenced, time-bound and measurable Implementation Plan.

Recommendation #49

That the Minister of National Defence provide a publicly available annual report on the progress of implementation until such time as all the recommendations have been addressed.

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