What Exactly can your MP do to speed up your recruiting process?

[slyco]

I am regretful that I did not express myself correctly.  What I meant is that people such as family members, as suggested earlier (ie brother in the military), could not have access to your information under the Privacy Act.  However, your MP or Minister could.  Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[kitrad1]

The entire issue regarding pre-security assessments and residency requirements is not a recruiting issue. These are requirements under the Government of Canada Security Policy. Bottom line is that the recruiting centre has nothing to do or say about it. In short, as Kincanucks has mentioned, (as well as a number of others), going to your MP will not achieve anything. You also intimated about going to the media...I'm not sure what that would achieve, since they did a story on it several months back.

While there are some cases that take an inordinate amount of time, from what I've seen, the process is pretty fast...especially when you consider that people are being processed for about 100 occupations.

I recall that some stats were put out last year that gave a breakdown on the average time for processing. If I find it, I'll put it up.

 

[patros]

I tend to disagree that the inefficiency of pre-screening assessments is not at least partly a recruiting issue. I agree that the screening is necessary for people under many circumstances (mine included). And I also understand that the screening is not handled directly by DND, so they can't be blamed for how long it takes. However, in my case they waited a full 8 months before even initiating the pre-screening. They also gave me conflicting information about how long it would take. Originally they had said it would take about 6 months. They later said it would take up to 18 months since I had recently spent a year living abroad (even though they had known this all along). Anecdotal, I know, but I have the feeling that it's not just me.

I think they need to streamline their process. In the case of DEO and NCM applicants who need the highest level pre-screening they should begin the security pre-screening as soon as they have the application. Process the CFAT/PT/Interview in the meantime and if the person fails the testing or interview, their security clearance can be removed from the waiting list. This would speed up the security pre-screening (by removing people who fail the PT/CFAT before their pre-screenings are actually processed), as well as speeding the recruitment process for these people in general. Getting the government to pump more funding into the agency that performs the security checks would also help.

In my case I applied in October 2004, and I may have to wait until early 2007 before I can even do an interview or physical. And at that point I may discover I am ineligible or unfit for service. It seems an awfully long time to keep someone waiting to find out that they may not even be right for the job. I am very interested in joining the forces, so don't give me any baloney about "if you really wanted in, you would wait however long it took". I just can't shake the impression that the recruiters I've been dealing with are not very professional and that the forces don't really want me (despite the $40,000 hiring bonus on my occupation choices). At this point I've started applying in the private sector, and if I got a really good job offer I think I'd be stupid to turn it down.

 

[Ex Ranger Instructor]

The recruiting system has been acknowledged as being inadequate in its current form.  Maybe change is on its way.  Maybe complaining to MP's will speed the process up.  That said, the thing for potential recruits to take into consideration here is that they are entering an institution in which complaining can be one of the worst things they can do, particularly if the complaint is made improperly.  If, as a serving member, one were to skip links on the chain of command in order to piss and moan, then undesireable consequences would almost certainly follow.

Here are a few points for perspective recruits to consider on the topic of complaining within the military:

-Most often, as a new member, you are going to have unrealistic expectations.  When those expectations fail to reconcile with reality, you're going to feel hurt, upset, offended, and hard done by.  In some rare cases, the juniormost of personnel come up with a legitimate beef.  Much more frequently, complaints from the newest personnel result from the fact that those personnel have a poor or incomplete understanding of the system in place, and as a result they end up feeling slighted even though that feeling is not justifiable.  This is one of the things that new recruits just have to get over, and all prospective recruits should be cautioned that they're going to have to get good at sucking up BS in order to succeed in the military.

-The military has a number of official channels intended to deal with complaints.  The avenues of approach for submitting complaints properly include the redress of grievance process, the office of the ombudsman, and to a lesser extent, the office of the padre.  If you're going to complain about something after you've sworn into the military, you'd better make sure that you follow the process to the letter of the law, and that you have all your ducks in a row.  If not, you will be subject to administrative and disciplinary action.

I can't see anything legally wrong with complaining to an MP of problems with the recruiting process, but mention of the word complaint by a prospective new member of the CF raises a red flag with me.  Once you're in the military, civvie rules no longer apply, and if you're of the complaining mindset to begin with, then you may find your stay in the CF to be both unpleasant and short.