As per data, Canada is likely to welcome more than a million new permanent residents between 2022 and 2024, which drastically widens the pool of candidates the military can choose from
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) announced that permanent residents, which includes a large chunk of Indians, were eligible to join the military. The announcement came close to Remembrance Day, amidst reports that the Canadian military is struggling to recruit new members to fill thousands of vacant positions, reported IANS.
As of 2021, there were more than eight million immigrants with permanent residence living in Canada – roughly 21.5 per cent of the total Canadian population. In the same year, nearly 100,000 Indians became permanent residents of Canada as the country admitted a record 405,000 new immigrants in its history. As per data, Canada is likely to welcome more than a million new permanent residents between 2022 and 2024, which drastically widens the pool of candidates the military can choose from.
-
The CAF recently sounded the alarm over a severe shortage of recruits to fill thousands of vacant positions
-
According to media reports, Canada is about 12,000 regular force troops short of it’s “full strength” of 100,000 regular force members
-
Women make up 16.3 per cent of the Canadian military demographic
-
Indigenous peoples come in at 2.7 per cent
-
Visible minorities make up less than 12 per cent of the Canadian military
-
Three-quarters of its ranks are white men
Permanent residents were previously only eligible under the Skilled Military Foreign Applicant (SMFA) entry programme, which was “open for individuals… that would reduce training costs or fill a special need… such as a trained pilot or a doctor”, according to the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia, a non-profit body.
The Department of National Defence (DND) is expected to make a formal announcement in the coming days regarding the change to the policy, the CIC News reported. In March, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said that the CAF needs to grow amid the changing global geopolitical landscape triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In September, the CAF sounded the alarm over a severe shortage of recruits to fill thousands of vacant positions. The Toronto Star reported that Canada is about 12,000 regular force troops short of it’s “full strength” of 100,000 regular force members. Women make up 16.3 per cent of the Canadian military demographic; Indigenous peoples come in at 2.7 per cent; and visible minorities make up less than 12 per cent of the Canadian military. Three-quarters of its ranks are white men.
Recently, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced that they’re changing their “outdated recruitment process” to allow permanent residents, who have lived in Canada for 10 years, to apply.
*********************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com
