List of Recommendations

Recommendation 1

Maintain the Canadian Military Colleges as undergraduate degree-granting institutions. Continue to train and educate Naval and Officer Cadets at the Canadian Military Colleges through an Integrated Model.

Recommendation 2

Revise governance structures, authorities, activities, programs and training to reflect the fact that the Canadian Military Colleges are first and foremost military institutions responsible for training and educating officers as members of the Profession of Arms.

Recommendation 3

Amend the Ministerial Organizational Orders to change the name of the Royal Military College of Canada to the “Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston” (RMC Kingston) and the name of the Royal Military College Saint-Jean (RMC Saint-Jean) to the “Royal Military College of Canada, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu” (RMC Saint-Jean).

Recommendation 4

Update all branding and marketing materials and all public affairs and communications products to align with the changes proposed under Recommendation 2 and Recommendation 3 and to support a revised recruitment strategy.

Recommendation 5

Remove the Minister of National Defence from the position of Chancellor and President of the two Canadian Military Colleges. Amend the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Military Colleges accordingly.

Recommendation 6

Appoint an eminent Canadian to the ceremonial role of Chancellor of the two Canadian Military Colleges. Amend the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Military Colleges accordingly.

Recommendation 7

Re-designate the Board of Governors at each Military College as an Advisory Committee that advises and makes recommendations to the Commandant. Update the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Military Colleges accordingly.

Recommendation 8

Clarify the parameters of the Senate’s authority and stipulate that the responsibility to allocate resources and set priorities in relation to academic programs at the Military Colleges lies with the Commandant. Update the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Military Colleges accordingly.

Recommendation 9

Designate the Commandants as the “President and Vice-Chancellor" of their respective Military Colleges, vested with appropriate authorities and responsibilities. Amend the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Military Colleges accordingly.

Recommendation 10

Establish the tenure of the Commandant at each Military College for a minimum of four years.

Recommendation 11

“Deep select” the Commandant for each Military College and use a Developmental Period Four Fellowship Program and/or University President Training Program to expose them to university governance and operations.

Recommendation 12

Re-designate the Principal at each Military College as the Provost and Vice-President Academic & Research and appoint them, via a Governor-in-Council process, as the most senior academic officer of their respective Colleges, reporting to the Commandant. Amend the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Military Colleges accordingly.

Recommendation 13

Establish the tenure of the Director of Cadets for a minimum of three years.

Recommendation 14

Streamline the academic offerings at the Canadian Military Colleges to offer four undergraduate degrees within the Regular Officer Training Plan: a Bachelor of Arts (at RMC and RMC Saint-Jean); a Bachelor of Science (at RMC and RMC Saint-Jean); a Bachelor of Military Arts and Science (at RMC and RMC Saint-Jean); and a Bachelor of Engineering (at RMC).

Recommendation 15

Establish a minimum 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio at both Canadian Military Colleges within five years.

Recommendation 16

Increase the number of Naval and Officer Cadets at the Canadian Military Colleges to a minimum of 1,850 within five years.

Recommendation 17

Eliminate the Core Curriculum at the Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 18

Eliminate the Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel program at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean and all associated teaching and administrative positions.

Recommendation 19

Harmonize the academic calendars between the Royal Military College of Canada and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean and align them with the reconfigured Military Skills & Leadership strand proposed in Recommendation 22.

Recommendation 20

Establish and publish the Regular Officer Training Plan - Canadian Military Colleges Program Standard.

Recommendation 21

Design, develop and implement the Integrated Officer Development Program.

Recommendation 22

Design, develop, implement and accredit the Military Skills & Leadership strand.

Recommendation 23

Create new civilian instructor positions at both the Royal Military College of Canada and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean to support the Military Skills & Leadership strand.

Recommendation 24

Reduce military faculty positions at both Military Colleges and their associated Advanced Training List positions and reallocate those positions to support the Military Skills & Leadership strand.

Recommendation 25

Increase the baseline Salary Wage Envelope allocation to the Canadian Military Colleges to create and fund permanent administrative support staff positions to support the Squadron leadership teams. Allocate one administrative support staff position per Squadron.

Recommendation 26

Design, develop, implement and accredit a revised Second Language Training strand.

Recommendation 27

Offer optional, ongoing second language training to Naval and Officer Cadets who have attained the BBB commissioning requirement.

Recommendation 28

Design, develop, implement and accredit a revised Fitness, Health & Wellbeing strand.

Recommendation 29

Eliminate the Physical Performance Test as a mandatory activity at the Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 30

Establish the Fitness for Operational Requirements of Canadian Armed Forces Employment (FORCE) Test as the physical fitness standard for the Regular Officer Training Plan - Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 31

Reduce the Cadet Chain of Responsibility at both Canadian Military Colleges to three types of positions: Cadet Squadron Leaders, Cadet Flight Leaders and Cadet Section Leaders.

Recommendation 32

Establish as a commissioning requirement that all Third Year Naval and Officer Cadets complete a session as a Cadet Section Leader.

Recommendation 33

Establish and incentivize optional leadership opportunities for Fourth Year Naval and Officer Cadets to fill Cadet Flight Leader and Cadet Squadron Leader positions.

Recommendation 34

Eliminate the Cadet Wing HQ and Division positions at the Royal Military College of Canada. Retain positions such as administrative roles and team captains but remove them from the Cadet Chain of Responsibility and eliminate their use as a graduation requirement.

Recommendation 35

Design, develop and implement the Advanced Leader Development Program to better prepare the Training Wing staff to support the Cadet Chain of Responsibility and to incentivize postings to the Canadian Military Colleges for Captains and Warrant Officers.

Recommendation 36

Reduce Military Faculty positions and their associated Advanced Training List positions and reallocate those positions to the Advanced Leadership Development Program to support the leadership development of the Naval and Officer Cadets and provide greater mentorship to the Cadet Chain of Responsibility.

Recommendation 37

Ensure that the Military Skills & Leadership strand equips Naval and Officer Cadets to be successful as Cadet Section Leaders.

Recommendation 38

Remove from the Cadet Chain of Responsibility all authority – and all appearance of authority – to impose corrective measures or loss of privileges, in order to ensure that no Naval and Officer Cadet has disciplinary authority, real or perceived, over another Naval and Officer Cadet.

Recommendation 39

Amend the policy framework at the Canadian Military Colleges to address gaps identified by the Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services) in its Advisory on Sexual Violence Prevention at Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 40

Mandate experts in the field of sexual misconduct prevention and response to assess the effectiveness and impact of the policies and procedures of the Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 41

Assign release authority for Naval and Officer Cadets at the Canadian Military Colleges to the Commander of the Canadian Defence Academy for the following release items:

  • 5d - Not advantageously employable – conduct deficiency
  • 5f - Unsuitable for further service – conduct deficiency

Recommendation 42

Establish a Health, Safety and Wellbeing Resource Centre at each Military College, staffed by professionals with a wide range of relevant expertise and sufficiently resourced to deliver on its mandate to provide prevention and response support to the Canadian Military Colleges seven days a week.

Recommendation 43

Increase the percentage of female Naval and Officer Cadets at the CMCs to 33% by 2035.

Recommendation 44

Establish a dedicated funding framework for major capital projects, minor construction, and maintenance and repair to support training and education establishments in the Canadian Armed Forces, including the Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 45

Increase baseline funding for major capital projects, minor construction, and maintenance and repair at the Canadian Military Colleges.

Recommendation 46

Establish a dedicated facilities management contract at the Royal Military College of Canada, similar to that which exists at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.

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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2025-07-17