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OTTAWA — Canada’s air force has been bending on minimum medical standards such as vision and hearing requirements as it contends with a critical shortage of experienced pilots.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has long struggled to retain enough trained military pilots to fly its fighter jets, search-and-rescue aircraft and helicopters, but a growing “experience gap” is making the situation worse than ever.

RCAF spokesman Maj. James Simiana said the gap’s origins can be traced back to the 1990s, when the Chretien government slashed about one-third of the military’s ranks and put a freeze on new hiring.

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The problem has been exacerbated in recent years by heavy recruitment of military fliers by civilian airlines, and a mass exodus of baby boomers due to retirement.

“The RCAF has sufficient pilot recruits and pilots undergoing flying training, but not enough experienced pilots that are required to train new pilots, to mentor less experienced RCAF pilots,” Simiana said in an email.