Support our Reservists

This is an idea that is long overdue. Reservists who volunteer for active duty should have legislated protection to ensure their job is waiting for them when they return.

Through the excellent work of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council , a rate of approximately 90% is claimed when dealing with businesses reluctant to give a Reservist their job back.

As far as I'm concerned, 90% is simply not good enough.

Canadian reservists' job protection a moral obligation (.pdf file)

But, it's time for the government to do something concrete now for reservists risking their lives daily in combat in Afghanistan and on duty elsewhere in the world. The government should introduce job protection legislation that will guarantee that reservists get their former jobs back when they return from places like Afghanistan, Haiti, Croatia and Bosnia where there are not enough regular forces to do the job.

This is an issue that has been bandied about for far too long and which has been punctuated with halfhearted measures by previous governments that paid lip service to the well-established need.

Corporal Anthony Boneca - the latest Canadian fatality in Afghanistan and the third reservist to come home in a coffin - was typical of about half of Canada's 24,000 primary army, navy, air force, communications, health services and other reservists who are students.

Primary reservists are civilians who voluntarily take paid part-time military training around 30 to 45 days a year usually one night a week and on weekends, depending on their courses. There are about 300 reservists among the 2,300 Canadian troops currently taking part in Operation Archer, Canada's contribution to the war against terror in Afghanistan. Reservists like Cpl. Boneca are either finished school or are able to take time off from their studies for extended periods of military duty overseas and this was Boneca's second tour in Afghanistan.

Unlike Boneca, the rest of the reservists hold full-time or part-time jobs. The issue for them is getting time off for work-up training with the regular forces and then a six-month deployment and still having a job when they return.

Cross posted from Blue Blogging Soapbox