Backgrounder: A New Vision for the Reserve Force

The Reserve Force is an integral component of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and Reservists are vital links to hundreds of communities across Canada. They come from all walks of life, including civil servants, labourers, business people, academics, and former Regular Force members.

Their varied skills and backgrounds enrich and strengthen the CAF.

The Reserve Force works seamlessly alongside the Regular Force to achieve mission success at home and abroad. Reservists’ high standard of training and development is key to their ability to augment, sustain, and support the Regular Force on deployed operations. Predominantly part-time, Reservists demonstrate leadership and professionalism in their military duties, at their full-time place of employment, educational institutions, and within the communities in which they live.

In addition to developing valuable military skill sets, the Reserves also provide a flexible means for Canadians to supplement their incomes.

Under Strong, Secure, Engaged, Reservists will be well integrated into the total force, with sufficient numbers trained, prepared, and equipped to be ready to contribute to operations at home and abroad.

Recruitment procedures will be dramatically improved and remuneration and benefits will be better aligned with those of the Regular Force, where the demands and service are similar.

We will:

• Increase the size of the Reserve Force to 30,000 (an increase of 1,500) and reduce the initial recruitment process from a number of months to a matter of weeks;
• Assign Reserve Force units and formations additional roles that provide full-time capability to the CAF through part-time service, including:
• Light Urban Search and Rescue;
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defence;
• Combat capabilities such as direct fire, mortar, and pioneer platoons;
• Cyber operators and intelligence operators;
• Naval Security Teams; and
• Linguistics.
• Enhance existing roles assigned to Reserve Force and formations including:
• Information Operations including Influence Activities;
• Combat Support and Combat Service Support; and
• Air Operations Support Technicians.
• Employ the Reserve Force to deliver select deployed missions in a primary role such as CAF capacity building;
• Create an agile service model that supports the transition between full and part-time service and provides the flexibility to cater to different Reserve Force career paths;
• Align Primary Reserve Force remuneration and benefits with those of the Regular Force where the demands of service are similar;
• Revise annuitant employment regulations to attract and retain more former Regular Force personnel to the Reserves. This will help encourage people who are departing the Regular Force to join the Reserves rather than leave the Forces altogether;
• Offer full-time summer employment to Reservists in their first four years with the Reserves commencing in 2018; and
• Work with partners in the Federal Government to align Federal Acts governing job protection legislation. Subsequently, we will work with provinces and territories to harmonize job protection for Reserves at that level.