Does ‘Canada First’ apply to feeding our cadets?

OTTAWA—Prior to enlisting in the Regular Force in 1961, I attended Army cadet summer training camps in Farnham, Que., for four consecutive summers. Ever since, I have maintained an appreciation and interest in the different aspects of the cadet program. This explains why, in 2013, I was disappointed to learn the results contained in a report by the Department of National Defence’s Chief Review Services, which revealed a significant level of mismanagement of the more than $300-million allotted annually to the cadet program. In 2018, I became aware of the purchase of foreign rations to feed our young pre-teen and teen cadets and Junior Rangers. Last fall, I wrote to the authorities about this matter, but I have yet to receive a simple acknowledgment from either of these two departments. Now that COVID-19 has brought into sharp focus the need for Canada to become more self-sufficient in matters of critical supplies and food security, as well as to promote domestic production of such key items, I hold the sincere belief that the time has come to review the procurement of foreign rations for our cadets. Given my continued interest in cadet matters, a couple years back I wanted to learn more about the granting of this ongoing procurement contract for the supply, warehouse, and delivery of 500,000 Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) rations. These MREs are self-contained, individual shelf-stable meals contained in pouches made of polyethylene pouches and lightweight packaging. Records obtained in response to my several access to information (ATIA) requests to the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) have revealed, inter alia, that these MREs were first designed for use by the U.S. military in field conditions, but are also sold to the public in Canada and the U.S. MREs are presently prepared and packaged by U.S. military contractors. In 2018, PSPC authorized the purchase these MREs for consumption by our own 52,000 cadets and 3,700 Junior Rangers dispersed in 133 remote and isolated communities, as well as by 7,000 Reserve Force officers serving in the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (COATS). The procurement contract was valued at $12.7-million. As an aside, this is a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money used to feed the youth who are neither members of the Canadian Armed Forces nor exposed to field conditions. As a former Army logistics officer, I am simply not convinced of the utility or necessity of relying on MREs to feed our cadets and Junior Rangers. Perhaps a separate evaluation of this recurring expenditure of public funds should therefore be conducted. Master Corporal Adam Hunter, an Infantry Soldier with 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, prepares a Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) for lunch in the Hohenfels Training Area, Germany during Operation Reassurance on March 20, 2017. DND photograph by MCpl Jennifer Kusche Be that as it may, throughout military history, nutrition has always been a matter of concern to commanding generals who plan for the daily feeding of their soldiers. Yet, perusal of the disclosed records indicates that the nutritional value of these MREs is uncertain. Also, the records do not reveal the presence of any analysis of the nutritional content of food samples performed by a laboratory independent from the bidder(s). This is significant, since the very purpose of this foodstuffs contract is to meet the dietary requirements of cadets, who are generally aged 12 to 19, so as to provide them with the required “extra nutrients to support bone growth, hormonal change, and organ tissue development, including the brain,” and caloric values to sustain them during their training. Oddly, despite possessing unequalled specialized expertise and experience in the provision of food services to CAF personnel, the director of food services at DND headquarters appeared to have played no role in the award of this multi-million-dollar food contract. Because of my prior service in the military, I am very well aware of their certain expertise and long experience in managing the National Combat Ration Program, and in their providing efficient and effective food services that support military activities and that meet client expectations of quality, choice, value, and nutrition. However, their intervention in the procurement contract for meal packs was limited to the early drafting stages of the request for proposal. As a matter of pride and national policy, as well as a requirement to ensure food safety and an uninterruptible food supply chain, historically each national military normally feeds itself. This policy is based on the need to have a guaranteed and secure source of supply, but also to respond to national tastes and preferences. While previous foods contracts for cadets have included a standard clause for Canadian content (minimum 80 per cent of Canadian origin), the current procurement contract does not follow suit. As a result, the current supplier of MREs sources 100 per cent of its food products from outside Canada. In times of crisis, it becomes crystal clear why countries should encourage and prefer local manufacturers for certain critical items; let’s recall the distress felt by Canadian citizens when the major American mask manufacturer, 3M, said the U.S. government had asked it to stop exporting U.S.-made N95 respirator masks to Canada and Latin America in order to keep all U.S.-made resources for its exclusive use during the COVID-19 pandemic. In today’s world, a mask is as much of a necessity as food and water. Simply put, Canada should not rely on foreign manufacturers of MREs to meet the basic needs of cadets and Junior Rangers, or other members of the Armed Forces. As a matter a policy, the production of such ready-to-eat meal kits for consumption by our cadets and Junior Rangers should be sourced from our home-based food industry. Michel Drapeau is a former Army cadet who subsequently served in the Armed Forces as a combat logistician for 34 years. The Hill Times