I'll dispose of Lumber's first argument (posts and milpoints): That is irrelevant - a cook with 100,000 posts and a million milpoints all related to recipes would still not be qualified to comment on operational structure of the Air Force. So my question remain: what qualifies an Army communication specialist to comment on the proper number of Flag Officers in the Navy - unless his comment was meant tongue-in-cheek as a general comment on Flag/General officers in the CF, which would be something I can live with.
On the most recent post of Lumber, which I endorse, I'll add the following:
First, the reference to determine the number of Flag Officers required is not the number of major surface combatants, but what their actual responsibilities are. For instance The Admiral on the East Coast has eight major surface warships under his command, but also one submarine, six MCDV, the Fleet Diving Unit and its tender, the CFAV's that support the fleet, the responsibility for the largest base in Canada and responsibility for, by far, the largest industrial undertaking in the CAF (the dockyard and all the related fleet engineering resources. And that is a temporary thing, as the fleet is short of its usual extra destroyer and AOR as a result of unplanned early retirement. He also exercises operational command over the Maritime Air Group.
The West Coast has responsibility for 5 major surface combatant, but also three submarines, six MCDV, eight PCT, the fleet auxiliaries, running the Torpedo range vessels and range itself, running the fleet schools and training for the whole Navy, running the naval officer training, another one of the largest bases in Canada and the second largest industrial undertaking in the CAF. He also has operational command over his own Maritime Air Group. Finally, he is also currently short two destroyers and an AOR due to unplanned early retirements.
Commander RCN then has to oversee all those, plus all of the 24 Naval Reserve Divisions across Canada.
Finally, it is important to discount a certain number of these Flag Officer as they are not really RCN, but purple trades wearing the Naval DEU (padre, logistics, administration, TDO, JAG, etc.).
I think that once you shed the purple officers, you will find that of the three major command (Army, Navy, Air Force), the RCN is probably the chintziest where the number of Flag Officers is concerned.