OTTAWA, ON: MARCH 6, 2014: Rear-Admiral Jennifer Bennett, Chief Reserves and Cadets speaks at the 2014 Department of National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) International Women's Day event at Cartier Square Drill Hall in Ottawa ( Chris Mikula / Ottawa Citizen) For CITY story Assignment # 116338

Twenty-five years after a landmark decision allowing women to serve on the front lines, the Canadian Forces are trying to slash the targets they are supposed to meet for the number of women, visible minorities and aboriginals in uniform.

The move comes after complaints from the military that current goals are unrealistic – and amid fears that the Canadian Human Rights Commission will swoop in and force the military to be more aggressive in recruiting if it can’t show progress after years of failing to meet expectations.

Some wonder whether senior military leaders, who have long complained that the current targets are unrealistic and unattainable, are simply trying to take the easy way out rather than genuinely addressing recruitment problems.

At the heart of the issue is a legal requirement in the Employment Equity Act that the Canadian Forces, like all federal government departments and agencies, must work to increase the diversity of its workforce.

Currently, the military is expected to aim for these targets: females should make up 25.1 per cent of full-time military personnel and reservists; 11.7 per cent should be visible minorities; and 3.3 per cent should be aboriginals.

Those target numbers are lower than for other federal departments, in recognition of the unique nature of military service.

The Canadian Forces place well compared to many of Canada’s allies, particularly on the percentage of women in uniform. The military has also seen recent progress in the number of visible minorities and aboriginals joining up.

Yet it has never actually met its targets. Women currently account for 15 per cent of personnel in uniform, a number that hasn’t changed in several years, while visible minorities represent 4.2 per cent, and aboriginals 1.9 per cent.

Chief of military personnel Maj.-Gen. David Millar wrote to senior commanders in July 2013 encouraging them to take urgent steps to bolster diversity in the Canadian Forces, including more support for recruitment and retention from the three designated groups.

“If reasonable progress towards these goals is not deemed to have been made,” he warned, “the (Canadian Human Rights Commission) auditors can potentially impose conditions upon the (Canadian Forces) to comply with recruitment of (women, visible minorities and aboriginals) over a timeline and in a manner which would unduly stress our organization.”

In 2008, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, responsible for monitoring progress toward the goals, told the Canadian Forces they would have to demonstrate why the goals are unrealistic before any targets could be changed.

That set off five years of internal studies that culminated with Defence Department scientists coming up with a new calculation, which has produced proposed targets DND thinks would significantly narrow the gap.

The proposed targets, contained in a briefing note to Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Marquis Hainse from February, are 17.6 per cent for women, 8.2 per cent for visible minorities, and 2.6 per cent for Aboriginal Peoples.

National Defence has asked Employment and Social Development Canada, which provides information about the country’s labour market, as well as the Canadian Human Rights Commission, to review the proposed targets.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson’s office declined to comment on the proposed new targets, which are expected to be finalized early next year. “There have been no decisions taken regarding new recruiting targets and any suggestion of new levels is speculative,” spokeswoman Johanna Quinney said in an email.