According to reports from Postmedia, the Canadian Armed Forces are moving away from ambitious targets for the recruitment of minorities — women, visible minorities and aboriginals — into the military. Since 2010, the military had launched dozens of initiatives to achieve a force structure that was one-quarter women, 11.8% visible minorities and 3.4% aboriginal.
Unfortunately for those who drew up these extremely precise targets, the Armed Forces continue to attract the overwhelming majority of its new personnel — 4,000 a year are needed to maintain our current Regular Forces strength of 68,000 — from the same demographic pool it always has: white men.
The military is making steady progress on reaching its targets for aboriginal recruitment (though this may be threatened by the closure of rural recruitment centres, shuttered as part of National Defence’s cost-cutting efforts). And while the number of women and minorities has climbed in recent years, the military is still well short of its targets. In response, while it is considering new ways to reach out to these groups, it is also reportedly pushing for more realistic goals.
The entire exercise is driven by federal government rules requiring every branch of its operations strive to achieve “equal opportunity.” But that’s absurd in the case of the Armed Forces. The military is not the civil service. Those who volunteer to serve must be willing to die, and kill, for their country. No gender or ethnic group has a monopoly on patriotism. But it’s not surprising that that kind of work would appeal most to young men with strong roots in Canada, and in many cases, a family history of military service.
Many Canadians enlist for the professional and educational opportunities that a military career can provide, especially if jobs are scarce in their communities. So long as any Canadian fit to serve in the military is judged according to their merit, not their gender or background, the goal of equality will have been achieved. Because whatever their reasons for joining up, Canadians are owed equal opportunity in the military, not a military that adheres to a bureaucrat’s vision of social progress.
National Post
• Email: mgurney@nationalpost.com | Twitter: mattgurney
