The Canadian government, military and Department of National Defense will issue a formal apology to all members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who have been harassed or sexually assaulted during their period of service.
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The apologies will be made by the new Minister of Defense, Anita Anand, and the new Chief of Staff, Wayne Erye. The latter was officially appointed to his post last week after a nine-month interim in a ceremony on December 13 at 1 p.m.
The scandal of sexual assault in the military, which is twice as frequent as in the general population, according to a Statistics Canada study dating back to 2019, has plagued the CAF for years. It also negatively tinted the mandates of the previous Minister of Defense, Harjit Sajjan.
In fact, some 18,800 complaints have been registered by victims of sexual misconduct within the CAF as part of a $ 900 million class action lawsuit against Ottawa, we learned last week.
“We know that our collective failure to build an inclusive culture free from these unacceptable behaviors in the workplace has harmed our staff,” acknowledged Anita Anand and Wayne Erye in a joint statement.
“As part of our efforts to restore relationships with those who have suffered harm, we will issue a public apology to all current and former members of the Defense team who have been affected by acts of sexual assault or sexual misconduct, including harassment and discrimination, ”they added.
Ms. Anand will apologize on behalf of the Government of Canada, while General Erye will apologize on behalf of the CAF. Deputy Minister Jody Thomas will represent National Defense.
The ceremony will be presented on the Canadian Armed Forces social networks.