Mr. Neil Richardson:

It is worth mentioning that, in the past, there were a lot of supports provided for reservists to attend military activities. As mentioned by many here, there were a lot more RDF training locations around the country for local service opportunities. Military transport might have been provided to offset the personal costs of getting there and there were a lot more Permanent Defence Forces support staff assigned to the Reserve. Now, all of that is gone and there are additional requirements placed on reservists.

The recruitment process is far more rigorous than it was in the past. There are various medical or fitness testing stages that have to be gone through. Without getting too much into the weeds, that places a burden on the applicant to maintain and develop his or her fitness. That could come with a gym cost. The medical that has to be undergone can come with a personal expense. All of these ancillary costs exist all of a sudden now, so that at the end of a week, metaphorically speaking, a reservist is looking at his or her bank balance and finding there has actually been a net decrease due to having to attend all of these mandatory Reserve activities. That puts pressure on family life and on personal lives for reservists and the most dedicated reservist in the world will find it difficult to justify being involved in activity that is coming in at a net loss to him or her.