It could take up to seven years for the Canadian military’s recruitment efforts to recover from the fallout of both the sexual misconduct crisis and the pandemic, says the country’s acting chief of the defence staff.

Speaking Monday at the Kingston Conference on International Security, Gen. Wayne Eyre said he’s increasingly worried about the decline in the size of both the regular and reserve forces. He said he’s particularly alarmed at the number of experienced leaders — officers and noncommissioned officers — who are putting in their release notices and quitting the service.

The matter was discussed as late as last week at a command-level gathering. Eyre said he’s encouraging his senior leaders