Permanent Indian residents can now be part of Canadian military
Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Nov, 2022 12:06 PM
Toronto, Nov 14 (IANS) The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has announced that permanent residents, which includes a large chunk of Indians, are now 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.
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.
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Recently, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced that they're changing their "outdated recruitment process" to allow permanent residents, who have lived in Canada for 10 years, to apply.
Immigration targets have shot up in Canada with nearly a quarter of the population aging out of the workforce by 2030.
The shortage is made more acute by the gradual rise in the number of deaths and the relatively low fertility levels in Canada.
In such a scenario, immigrants become prime candidates for the military as they typically arrive in Canada during their younger working-age years where they are likely to be more physically active, according to immigration experts.
Via release, the Mounties say the elderly female pedestrian stepped off to cross the street was struck by a vehicle heading west bound on 76 Avenue. She was transported to hospital and remains in hospital in serious condition with life-threatening injuries.
Genevieve Ring says Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu should be recalled because she is part of the NDP government that has failed residents of British Columbia on the critical issues of COVID-19 and health care. Ring says she is not prepared to wait for the next election scheduled for the fall of 2024 to make changes to improve health care.
As of now only 3 flights are operational between YVR and DEL during the week but flights will be offered every single day at the end of the month. There is increased demand for people to travel after a 2 year pandemic hiatus.
A statement from Vancouver police says 48-year-old Ibrahim Bakhit faces three separate charges, including counts of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Court documents show Bakhit remains in custody and is due to return to court on Aug. 22.
The committee met virtually on Monday and voted unanimously to move forward with a study into the delays. The committee will invite Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to testify and will hold its first hearing by the end of next week.
The Liberals promised the NDP a new dental-care program for low- and middle-income families in March as part of a supply and confidence agreement to prevent an election before 2025. The government has until the end of the year to provide some kind of coverage for children under the age of 12 with an annual household income of less than $90,000.
