Culture Change

The Canadian Army culture comprises a shared set of values, attitudes, beliefs, and ethics that Army soldiers aspire to in the garrison and on operations. While striving to be inclusive, respectful, and supportive, the Canadian Army remains vigilant against the toxic culture that strips away human dignity, compassion, and cohesion. The Canadian Army stands guard against intimidation, judgement, and isolation, the hallmarks of a toxic culture. The Canadian Army is dedicated to evolving its culture to ensure that a respectful, physically and psychologically safe workplace is the norm where all One Army team members are valued for their authentic selves, competencies and contributions. The Canadian Army will promote diversity, inclusion, and equity in all that it does. Every member of the One Army team will act with integrity, be competent in their work, and care for each other’s physical and mental wellbeing. Respect fosters trust, which is the foundation of a healthy, competent and operationally effective team.

The Canadian Army will ensure that the principles codified in the Canadian Armed Forces Ethos – Trusted to Serve are communicated and exemplified at all levels to create a healthy work environment in garrison and on operations. The military values in Trusted to Serve: Loyalty, Integrity, Courage, Excellence, Inclusion and Accountability will need to be embraced by all Canadian Army members. The Professional Expectations in Trusted to Serve: Duty, Accepting Unlimited Liability, Fighting Spirit, Leadership, Discipline, Teamwork, Readiness, and Stewardship are expectations all One Army Team members should have of themselves and each other. Finally, it is everyone’s duty to ensure they understand and follow the ethical principles, as described in Trusted to Serve: Respect the Dignity of All Persons, Serve Canada Before Self, Obey and Support Lawful Authority.

The Canadian Army will support culture change by:

• Integrating listening activities into all core business;
• Integrating cultural training into all existing courses;
• Mandatory training in recognizing, responding to, and preventing harassment;
• Mandatory Indigenous cultural awareness training;
• The Commander of the Canadian Army is the Defence Team Champion for Indigenous Peoples and Co-chair of the Defence Team Indigenous Advisory Committee, which is focused on promoting Indigenous culture and supporting the change agenda;
• The Canadian Army will continue to leverage the cultural understanding, perspectives, and experiences of our Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group members, drawing on their relationships and links with local communities across the country. This advisory group will support the Commander as the Defence Team Champion for Indigenous Peoples and commanders at all levels.
• The Canadian Army will develop a Cultural Evolution framework based on work from CPCC but will include core Army characteristics such as ensuring readiness and the preparedness of our soldiers.
• The Canadian Army is developing a strategy to build strong, cohesive, physically and psychologically safe teams that are diverse, equitable, inclusive, respectful, and competent, where each One Army Team member’s contributions are valued. This will harness the full potential of One Army Team and increase the Army’s readiness and operational effectiveness to eliminate toxic culture.