FEWO Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion New Democratic Party of Canada

On behalf of the New Democratic Party we would first like to thank the women and witnesses who appeared before the committee. Since the launch of this study people from across Canada have reached out through letters, emails, and phone calls. The issues discussed in this report are large and complex and action is needed now. We also would like to thank the Library of Parliament analysts for putting together an excellent report and the clerk and interpreters for their work.

Women in the armed forces should expect their accusations of harassment to be taken seriously however the more we learn, the more we realize that allegations of sexual misconduct towards the most senior members of the Canadian Forces were not taken seriously and outright ignored. All women, including women who serve, deserve much better than that from their government. We need to ensure women who serve can do so equally.

Over the last few months, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women heard powerful testimony from many survivors on their experiences within the Canadian Armed Forces. Sadly, we also heard from those in positions of power that the systems that have let so many women down, are in place and working. Earlier this year after hearing brave service women share their stories in public, New Democrats felt compelled to bring forward the motion that started the study of Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. We wanted to ensure that while the Defence committee heard the specifics of what happened regarding the Minister of Defence’s refusal to act on the allegations against General Vance and what went wrong with the process, that we at Standing Committee on the Status of Women would focus on the women; we would hear their voices and work to put together a report they needed.

Through this study we have heard some heartbreaking evidence. We have learned some gut-wrenching details. We have had witnesses openly contradict each other. We have seen people in leadership deny there is a problem and also heard from some actually willing to work for change.

The issue of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces is fundamentally about equality.  As long as the sexualized culture which tolerates sexual misconduct remains in place, no one can serve equally. Trust in the leadership of the Canadian Forces and this government is broken and without restoring that trust, women in the Forces cannot have confidence that true change will occur.  Political leaders must show that they understand sexual misconduct and will take action against it.

The government failed to implement the key recommendations of Justice Deschamps’ 2015 report. They failed to listen to the report from the Auditor General in 2018 and they did nothing with the report on this same issue from the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in 2019.

So, the question is now – will this government listen to and implement the recommendations from a second review of sexual misconduct?

This government has brought forward task force after working group, after committee and now a review. This Liberal government has never seen a problem they can’t fix with a report. They believe one more study and the problem is solved. Only action will solve the problem.

Including the recommendations presented in this report, New Democrats are calling on the Government of Canada to implement the following:

Recommendation 1 – That the Government of Canada create a special program within the Canadian Armed Forces aimed at the recruitment of women and under-represented groups as recommended by the Auditor General in 2016.

Recommendation 2 – That the Government of Canada strengthen the federal Employment Equity Act to attach employment equity measures to all Canadian Armed Forces recruitment and retention programs.

Recommendation 3 – That the Government of Canada create an independent centre for accountability for sexual assault and harassment entirely outside of the CAF with the responsibility for receiving reports of inappropriate sexual conduct, as well as prevention, coordination and monitoring of training, victim support, monitoring of accountability, and research, and to act as a central authority for the collection of data.

Recommendation 4 – That the Government of Canada ensure that parents who are members of the Canadian Armed Forces have access to affordable childcare services that meet their needs, including the needs of single parents and parents working outside regular work hours or who do shift work.

Recommendation 5 – That the Government of Canada create, with the goal of fostering an inclusive, safe and respectful workplace for all members of the Canadian Armed Forces, provide mandatory comprehensive, trauma-informed, survivor-centred sexual misconduct training for members at all levels, including senior leadership, delivered by expert regularly and applied with a GBA+ lens.

Recommendation 6 – That the Government of Canada reverse the privatization of our military services, as they have negative impacts on all members, but also on those who are women, racialized, Indigenous, live with a disability or are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit communities or who identify with other gender identities and sexual orientations.