Military now accepting recruits with asthma, ADHD and other conditions amid staffing shortage

As the Canadian Armed Forces continue to try and dig out of a deep recruitment hole, they’re starting to give new recruits with medical conditions a shot at joining the military rather than automatically turning them away.

Maj.-Gen. Scott Malcolm, the military’s surgeon general, says the forces will now consider applicants with “any and all conditions” for enrolment, including ADHD, anxiety and asthma.

“With all medical conditions there’s a spectrum,” said Malcolm. “So those that are on the lower end to medium spectrum are unlikely to have any challenges getting in.”

Canada’s military is short more than 13,600 members in its regular and reserve forces combined. Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said this week the focus is on restoring the regular force to 71,500 members, and reserve force to 30,000 members.

To try and hit that target by 2029, the Canadian Armed Forces is making a series of changes, including modernizing its medical enrolment standard that’s long faced criticism for being outdated and too strict. 

For example, recruits in the past with ADHD were automatically disqualified because they needed to take daily medication, Malcolm said. Meanwhile, military members who were diagnosed with ADHD while serving were still able to continue working, he said.

CBC News spoke to a 19-year-old who applied last year to join one of the trades where the military says it needs more people. The teen said he gave the military a note disclosing he had a genetic marker that was detected when he was a baby, but that it had never caused any health issues during his lifetime.

But in a letter, the military rejected his application saying he did not meet the forces’ medical requirements. 

“It’s never been a problem ever,” the applicant said about the genetic marker. “That was the disappointing thing — them saying we can’t let you in because of this, even though I had never had any issues with it.”

CBC News agreed not to disclose the 19-year-old’s identity because he felt it could hurt his chances if he reapplies to the forces. He shared documentation with CBC News to corroborate his account.

The military said last year it was going to launch a pilot project to ease up on the medical requirements because those with low-risk employment limitations were being screened out. But that trial was delayed and instead the military launched this new screening process more broadly on Jan. 15 for all applicants.

Malcolm said in the past the military had two groups of applicants: “fit” or “unfit.” Now a third category has been created called “fit to the task” where the military will decide if recruits with medical conditions could try out.

Those selected will be able to take a nine-week introductory course to the military known as basic training. If they make it through that course, they can go on to more specialized training in the trade they’ve chosen, but still have to meet the medical requirements of that specific trade.

Defence and security expert Andrew Latham says the former medical screening process was “overly stringent” and “unrealistic” because it turned away people who were perfectly capable of many jobs. 

Military recruitment processes ‘can be improved,’ defence minister says

Defence Minister Bill Blair says dropping an aptitude test is a good first step to improving military recruitment, but he noted there’s more to do to improve the process and attract people to military service.

He said under the old approach, health conditions that would disqualify people from becoming front-line fighters or fighter pilots were also applied to roles like a clerk working in the backroom of a warehouse. 

“It was utterly irrational — kind of a bureaucratic approach gone slightly mad,” said Latham, who is a senior fellow at think tank the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy. “But now under pressure and to their great credit, the Department of National Defence has figured out that we can be a little bit more nuanced with this.”

Latham said he’s waiting to see if the change boosts recruitment numbers, but says so far he can’t see a downside. 

“I think this is going to open a number of doors and windows to people who would really like to be members of the military but for irrelevant medical reasons are being excluded,” he said.

It’s not the only recruiting challenge the military faces, but it’s a big one, he said.

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