Members of the Canadian Armed Forces suspended their non-operational activities on Monday at around 1 p.m. in order to turn their gaze to their computer or mobile phone screens to see the Minister of National Defense, Anita Anand. , Chief of the Defense Staff Wayne Eyre and Deputy Minister of National Defense Jody Thomas take turns apologizing to those “affected. [e] s by sexual misconduct and discrimination based on sex, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation ”which plagued the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Minister Anita Anand, General Wayne Eyre and Deputy Minister Jody Thomas apologized to current and former members on behalf of the Government of Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defense, respectively, almost seven years after the publication of the Deschamps report on the “underlying culture of sexualization” within the Canadian Armed Forces: a culture “hostile to women and LGTBQ and conducive to serious incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault ”.
“A cultural change is therefore necessary. It is not enough to review policies or repeat the mantra of “zero tolerance”. Leaders must recognize that sexual misconduct is a serious and very real problem for the Canadian Armed Forces and that they must see it personally, directly and on a sustained basis, ”argued the former Supreme Court of Canada judge. Marie Deschamps in March 2015 in the wake of her “External Review on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Ms. Anand, Mr. Eyre and Ms. Thomas had recognized, on November 29, the “damage” caused by their “collective failure to build an inclusive culture free from these unacceptable behaviors in the workplace.”
There is “still a lot of work to be done to create a positive and lasting culture change” within the Defense Team so that all of its members can “be treated fairly in a work environment they feel comfortable in.” safe and free from all forms of harassment and discrimination, ”they say.
Further details will follow …