Update on Culture Change Reforms in response to Madame Louise Arbour’s Independent External Comprehensive Review Final Report
Backgrounder
December 13, 2023 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
Independent External Comprehensive Review Key Dates
The Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR), led by former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour, was launched in April 2021 to shed light on the causes of harassment and sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND) by reviewing policies, procedures, programs, practices, and culture within the Defence Team.
- Madame Arbour’s final IECR report was made public on May 30, 2022.
- Per recommendation 48 of the IECR, the former Minister of National Defence Anita Anand appointed Madame Jocelyne Therrien as External Monitor on October 24, 2022, to oversee DND/CAF efforts to implement the IECR recommendations.
- Exactly one year ago, on December 13, 2022, former Minister of National Defence presented a Report to Parliament on Culture Change Reforms in response to former Supreme Court Justice Arbour's recommendations.
- On May 17, 2023, DND/CAF published the External Monitor’s first status report, which provides an overview of initiatives related to three themes: prevention; support to affected persons; and input and oversight.
- On November 20, 2023. DND/CAF published the External Monitor’s second status report, which provides her independent and external observations regarding the implementation status of all 48 of Madame Arbour’s recommendations.
Progress to date
Implementation of all IECR recommendations is underway. DND/CAF continues to work on meaningful reform and culture change in response to the IECR recommendations.
As noted in the second status report of the External Monitor (November 2023), “Some of the IECR recommendations have been completed. Others are in progress and at various stages of implementation. And still others constitute continuous improvement.”
According to internal assessments, DND/CAF expects to have implemented the following 19 IECR recommendations by the end of December 2023:
- Recommendations 1 and 2 – The IECR concluded that the use of the term “sexual misconduct” did not sufficiently distinguish between what is a crime, a form of harassment, and other prohibited activities. It was proposed that the CAF abolish the definition of sexual misconduct. Following internal consultations, a revised Defence Administrative Order and Directive (DAOD) 9005-1 was consulted with internal and external stakeholders, including the Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC), people with lived experience, survivors, experts working in non-governmental organizations, and scholars (consultation summary report is available). The definition of sexual misconduct has been amended and work has begun on abolishing it from our policies to reference sexual assault as a standalone item, linking it to the Criminal Code. The updated DAOD 9005-1 will be published shortly.
- Recommendation 7 – The CAF allows complaints for sexual harassment and discrimination based on sex to go directly to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), regardless of whether the complainant has exhausted internal complaint mechanisms. This recommendation also indicated that the Minister should seek the assistance of colleagues to ensure that the Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal have the necessary resources to support the timely administration of complaints. This matter has been discussed at the Deputy Minister level of DND and the Department of Justice, as the Department of Justice has the responsibility to Parliament for the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).
- Recommendation 8 – The recommendation that the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) should be revised for the awarding of legal costs and the amount in damages that can be awarded to successful complainants increased has been brought forward at the Deputy Minister level of DND and the Department of Justice, as the Department of Justice has the responsibility to Parliament for the CHRA.
- Recommendation 9 - Complainants now have the right to submit complaints related to sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex directly to the CHRC.
- Recommendation 12 - The Sexual Misconduct Response Centre’s name has been changed to the Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC) to emphasize the SMSRC’s primary role as a resource and support centre for victims.
- Recommendation 13 – The SMSRC’s primary role as a resource and support centre for victims has been reinforced.
- Recommendation 15 – Prevention and training have been transferred from SMSRC to the Chief Professional Conduct and Culture (CPCC) organization.
- Recommendation 16 – Monitoring of CAF Response to Sexual Misconduct removed from SMSRC Mandate.
- Recommendation 17 – SMSRC remains under the Deputy Minister.
- Recommendation 27 – Training recommendations have been implemented as described in the 2015 External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces by Former Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps.
- Recommendation 32 – External assistance is now available to the Minister of National Defence for approval of General Officer and Flag Officer promotions through a Conflict of Interest and Culture Advisor.
- Recommendation 41 – DND/CAF will brief Minister of National Defence on culture investigations.
- Recommendation 42 – Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services) is reporting annually to the Minister on statistics and activities relating to investigations under DAOD 7026-1, in line with what is required under the Public Sector Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA). The inaugural annual report on administrative investigations was submitted to the Minister in August 2023 and covered the fiscal year 2022-23. ADM(RS) also provides the DM and CDS with a quarterly dashboard of the same information and is prepared to brief the Minister immediately on any administrative investigations should the decision be made to do so.
- Recommendation 43 – SMSRC enabled to request ADM(RS) to investigate matters related to SMSRC Mandate
- Recommendation 44 – DND/CAF has removed legal impediments to Privy Council Office review of personnel files for Governor in Council appointees and candidates are required to proactively disclose any administrative or disciplinary action or any convictions for civil offences.
- Recommendation 45 – DND/CAF launched an online Conduct and Culture Research and Policy Database.
- Recommendation 47 – In December 2022, the former Minister of National Defence presented a Report to Parliament, outlining the steps that the Government of Canada would take to respond to all 48 IECR recommendations.
- Recommendation 48 – On October 24, 2022, the former Minister of National Defence appointed Madame Jocelyne Therrien as External Monitor to oversee DND/CAF efforts to implement the IECR recommendations.
Ongoing Progress
- Significant work is underway to address the removal of military jurisdiction from the CAF over Criminal Code sexual offences - Recommendation 5 - and implementation plans are advancing as quickly as possible. We have engaged collaboratively with the provinces and territories, and in the coming months, we will take measures to address this recommendation. We have finalized our plans to introduce legislation in early 2024.
- With respect to Recommendation 11 – DND/CAF have initiated a process to repeal the regulations on Duty to Report and are strengthening and updating policies, orders, and directives to ensure appropriate reporting.
- Defence Minister Bill Blair initiates repeal of Duty to Report regulations - Canada.ca
- In moving towards implementation of Recommendation 14 – The SMSRC has taken steps to facilitate access to paid legal assistance.
- In response to Recommendation 28 and a portion of Recommendation 29, a Military Colleges Review Board has been established to look at the benefits, advantages and disadvantages, both to the CAF and Canada, of continuing to educate Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP) naval/officer cadets at Canada’s two military colleges – Royal Military College (RMC) Kingston and RMC Saint-Jean.