Ombudsman positive on progress made on recommendations for Cadets, bereaved military families, and DND civilian employees

Message from the Ombudsman | 24 November 2022

Today I am providing you with this year’s second set of progress reports.

From 2016 to 2018, my office published three important systemic investigations entitled Cadets: An Investigation of the Support Provided to Cadets who Suffer an Illness or Injury as a Result of a Cadet Activity, Support to Bereaved Military Families, and Positions Over People: An Investigation into Delays in the Administration of Civilian Classification at the Department of National Defence. Between these three investigations, my office made 20 recommendations to the Minister of National Defence, all of which were accepted.

I am pleased that the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have made important updates related to our recommendations. The full implementation of these recommendations will ensure long-lasting improvements for Cadets, bereaved military families, and DND civilian employees.

In the Cadet investigation, we found that Canadian cadets (Navy, Air, and Army) were treated fairly following minor incidents. However, when it came to compensation for serious, life-changing injuries and illnesses, they did not receive similar treatment as CAF members or civilians involved in cadet activities. I am pleased that three of our recommendations have now been implemented, and one has been partially implemented. 

While investigating the support provided by the DND and the CAF to bereaved military families, we found that engagement of families varied greatly from case to case. This often resulted in heartache and confusion for those trying to understand the next steps and if they had a role to play. This is why we made three recommendations to better meet the information needs of families, all of which have been partially implemented.

In the Positions Over People investigation, my office became concerned about delays in the administration of position classification that was negatively affecting certain civilian employees. This is why we made 13 recommendations on the classification program to bring positive change to this system for DND civilian employees. I am pleased that progress has been made on all these recommendations, with nine being fully implemented.

As part of our mandate, we work to ensure the DND and the CAF treat our constituents fairly. Therefore, we will continue to monitor the progress the DND and the CAF make to ensure all recommendations in these three reports are fully implemented.

I will communicate the progress updates of other published reports as they are finalized in the months ahead.

Gregory A. Lick
Ombudsman