Letter to MND: The implementation of recommendation 103 of the Report of the Third Independent Review Authority to the Minister of National Defence

6 December 2024

 

The Honourable Bill Blair, PC, COM, MP
Minister of National Defence
Department of National Defence and The Canadian Armed Forces
National Defence Headquarters
101 Colonel By Drive
13th Floor, North Tower
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K2

 

Dear Minister Blair:

I am writing to you concerning the implementation of recommendation103 of the Report of the Third Independent Review Authority to the Minister of National Defence (Fish Report), which calls for an independent review of the DND/CAF Ombudsman.

The decision of how recommendation 103 is implemented falls within your authority to make. While our organization has previously held that another review of the Ombudsman’s independence is unnecessary, we are prepared to participate in this process, subject to the requirements of our mandate.

On 28 November 2024, I met with the Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services) who informed me that her team had been tasked with preparing the statement of work and administering the contract for this review. This is not consistent with previous communication indicating that they would only be serving as a departmental liaison. 

Recommendation 103 calls for an independent review of the Ombudsman’s operations and independence. These issues have been a recurring source of disagreement and conflict between our organization and the DND, as well as the topic of several Ombudsman publications. Accordingly, we have concerns about any review of these issues where the DND is involved as the contracting authority.

We have previously expressed concerns about the DND’s involvement in mutual reviews of our office as these undermine the credibility of both organizations and can impact how the Ombudsman’s independence is perceived by our constituents and the general public. Given this inherent institutional conflict, it would be particularly problematic for the DND to be involved in any way in a review of our operations, independence and/or mandate.

With these issues in mind, I believe it is possible to structure this process differently, in a manner that addresses our outstanding concerns and respects the spirit of Justice Fish’s recommendation.

Past independent reviews of issues relating to the Defence Portfolio have been carried out by third-party contractors appointed by and reporting directly to the Minister of National Defence. Some of these reviews also had terms of reference requiring that they be conducted and managed in full independence from the DND and CAF. This structure has proven effective for past independent reviews, reducing perceptions of institutional bias, bolstering credibility, and fostering necessary buy-in from those impacted.

The Ombudsman’s mandate restricts the type of operational information that we can provide to a DND-administered review, likely limiting the review’s effectiveness and value. We would not face the same obstacles in providing information to a review authority reporting directly to the Minister of National Defence.

For these reasons, I am recommending that a similar structure be adopted for any review of the Ombudsman undertaken in response to recommendation 103.

Sincerely,

 

Robyn Hynes

Interim Ombud

 

CC:

Deputy Minister, Stefanie Beck, Department of National Defence