Ottawa Spent $9.5M on Military Diversity Programs Since 2015: Document

Ottawa Spent $9.5M on Military Diversity Programs Since 2015: Document
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces march in a parade in Calgary, Alta., in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh
Chris Tomlinson
Updated:
0:00

Since November 2015, the Department of National Defence (DND) has spent over $9.5 million on consultants and contractors for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), according to documents.

The figures were published in a reply to an Inquiry of Ministry filed by Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant who asked what the total value of federal contracts was relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the CAF since the Liberal Party took power in 2015, as first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Large portions of the money spent appears to have been directed at recruitment, which the CAF has been struggling with for some years.

The largest single contract during the period was awarded to tech giant IBM, which was given $7.23 million in 2023 for professional support aid in recruitment modernization that focused on “technology, efficiency, diversity, and candidate experience.”

Other major contracts included $71,000 to Altis Recruitment in 2023 for “Design and beta testing of the Gender-based Analysis Plus and Positive Space mid-level management and Senior Officer modular curriculum,” and $189,400 that same year to Calian Ltd. for “building the institutional gender-based analysis.”

Thousands of dollars were spent on various firms for translation services for projects “related to equity, diversity and inclusion,” while polling firms Earnscliffe and Ipsos Reid were paid over $283,000 to conduct research for CAF recruitment and to see how younger Canadians view the CAF.

Other lesser expenses included $166 for transgender Pride flags, $600 to Dr. Tricia Logan of the University of British Columbia for a lecture at the Royal Military College on the history of residential schools and $1,266 to Professor Rebecca Tiessen of the University of Ottawa for a workshop on  the “gendered nature of security.”

Recruitment Issues

In March, Defence Minister Bill Blair spoke out about the recruitment problem plaguing the armed forces, saying that over the last three years, more people have left the CAF than entered the armed forces.

“That is frankly ... it’s a death spiral for the Canadian Armed Forces, we cannot afford to continue on that pace,” Minister Blair said.

“We’re taking meaningful steps to build a more diverse and inclusive and supportive institution that can attract and retain the talent from all segments of Canadian society,” he added.

Last month, another report stated that the CAF is 26 percent below readiness and is able to recruit just 7,600 new members per year.
In a bid to increase recruitment, the government opened applications to permanent residents in 2022. Although over 21,000 people applied to join the CAF through the program over a one-year period, just 77 applicants were successfully enlisted over the same timeframe.