Military reviewing 'outdated' medical standards

GTA applicant frustrated after being disqualified by the Forces due to being on antidepressants

- ALEX BALLINGALL

Cadets gather at a convocation ceremony at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., last week. The review of medical standards comes as the Canadian Forces strive to make up a personnel shortfall that exceeded 16,000 as recently as this spring.

There's a man in the GTA who wants so badly to join the military. He knows the institution needs help, with its sexual misconduct scandals, headlines about old equipment, and a chronic lack of personnel.

In his mind, he's a perfect fit. He's a feminist, an environmentalist, a thoughtful progressive person; somebody who is against bullying, and physically fit. When he is old and looks back on his life, he wants to reflect with pride on how he, in his own tiny way, did something to make the world safer.

Unfortunately for him, he's on antidepressants.

That's why he has been rejected twice as a recruit to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) since 2017, most recently this spring. Documents the man shared with the Star cite his diagnosed depression and anxiety disorder - which requires drugs and counselling-in deciding that he does not meet the military's medical standards and requirements for "universality of service," a long-standing principle that all armed forces personnel, no matter their job, must be deemed ready for action. The rejection letter from this spring also points to his suspected "shellfish allergy."

The Star agreed not to disclose the man's identity to maintain his medical privacy, and because of his concern that speaking out might jeopardize his chances if he applies again.

"It's frustrating," the man said. "This is, frankly, an impossible standard for the 21st century."