Military failing to make progress in treating part-time soldiers, ombudsman says

Canadian Armed Forces ombudsman Gregory Lick is criticizing the military's treatment of ill and injured reservists and Canadian Rangers.

Canadian Armed Forces ombudsman Gregory Lick is criticizing the military’s treatment of ill and injured reservists and Canadian Rangers, saying the organization is failing to address long-standing gaps for Canada’s part-time soldiers.

The gaps were first identified by the ombudsman’s office during four separate investigations between 2015 and 2017, at which time the military promised to take action by implementing nine watchdog recommendations.

But in a new report released late Monday, the ombudsman’s office found that none of the nine recommendations have been fully implemented over the past five-plus years.

“Certainly, I’m disappointed that they haven’t been able to action or make progress on all the recommendations,” Lick said in an interview.

“There are nine recommendations out of the four reports, and none have been fully implemented.”

The report comes as the military is struggling with a personnel crisis, with about 10,000 vacancies across the Armed Forces _ which represents about one position in 10. The shortage is particularly acute in the middle ranks.

The situation has become so dire that the chief of the defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, issued a sweeping reconstitution order earlier this month making the recruitment and retention of personnel the military’s top priority.

Addressing the problems identified by his office would assist with those efforts, Lick said, particularly in the retention of experienced reservists and rangers who may otherwise hang up their uniforms because of untreated illnesses and injuries.