Important Read: The Ministerial Advisory Panel report as part of the effort to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination in the Defence Team

April 26, 2022 -  Defence Stories

The Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand, has released the Ministerial Advisory Panel Final Report as part of the effort to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination in the Defence Team and discussed next steps in a live virtual event.

For those who weren’t able to view the live stream, a recording of the event has been made available on the CAF Facebook page.

The Minister’s Advisory Panel was created in December 2020 with a clear mandate to seek out the policies, processes and practices that enable systemic racism and discrimination in the Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and provide advice on how to eliminate them from our institution. Their work has focused on Anti-Indigenous and Anti-Black Racism, LGBTQ2+ Prejudice, Gender Bias, White Supremacy, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination against people with disabilities.

The report provides recommendations for change in thirteen areas that cross the organization—from improving education and awareness of reconciliation, to promoting the history of Black service personnel, to improving recruitment efforts in multicultural communities, and using data to measure progress.

The Panel urges Defence Team leaders to consider these recommendations with resolve and urgency, and to use it as a guide for current and future work to eliminate racism and discrimination in all forms.

As part of this effort, the Defence Team will be establishing a cross-sectional working group that will include branches from across the organization and the Defence Advisory Groups (DAGs) and networks to address the report's recommendations, including developing an implementation Framework and Action Plan. This work will be synchronize with the broader Culture Change Strategy currently in development by the Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture. Officials from the DND and CAF will update on their progress during their regular updates to Canadians on the steps the Defence Team is taking on culture change.

Related links:

• Minister of National Defence Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination – Final Report – January 2022
• Backgrounder – Minister’s Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination Final Report
• News Release – Ministerial Advisory Panel report released as part of effort to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination on the Defence Team
• Minister’s Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism, Discrimination with a focus on anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, LGBTQ2 Prejudice, Gender Bias and White Supremacy