Recognizing and Thanking our Defence Advisory Groups

December 16, 2022 - Defence Stories

Team,

The two of us recently finished a series of biannual meetings with the National Co-Chairs for our Defence Advisory Groups (DAGs). We thought it was a good time to recognize the contributions that our national and local DAGs make to this Defence Team every day and to encourage Defence Team members to get involved.

We have five DAGs, including the:

• Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group (DAAG)
• Defence Advisory Group for Persons with Disabilities (DAGPWD)
• Defence Women’s Advisory Organization (DWAO)
• Defence Visible Minority Advisory Group (DVMAG)
• Defence Team Pride Advisory Organization (DTPAO)

It is important to highlight that each DAG is composed of dedicated volunteers, all of whom have busy day jobs within National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. They provide valuable advice to all levels of leadership and policy makers, both on systemic issues and different forms of discrimination faced by their membership and how to improve the implementation of employment equity across the organization. We also want to note that while the DAGs have very important work and consistently go above and beyond to help those who come to them, their mandate is not peer support and advocacy.

You can read more about our DAGs on the consolidated webpage.

We are grateful for the frank, unflinching assessment of the challenges facing many of our public service employees and military members, and their advice on how we can better support all members of this Defence Team to have more accessible, safer, and more respectful workplaces. Thank you to all the DAG members and allies across the Defence Team. They are doing invaluable work and it is appreciated.

Did you know that recent driving changes to support a more diverse and inclusive environment have either been proposed directly through ideas the DAGs have raised or recommended? These include, but are not limited to:

• Recent change to the Canadian Forces Dress Instructions for greater inclusivity.
• The use of (and reimbursement for) maternity and nursing t-shirts while in uniform.
• The CAF’s first Nursing and Pumping Policy.
• Gender inclusivity in ranks and titles.
• Ceremonies and awareness around honouring Residential School Survivors and observing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
• Ceremonial raising of Pride Flags on bases, wings and in the National Capital Region (NCR).
• Participation in working groups including implementation of the Accessible Canada Act.
• Participation in the development and review of the Government of Canada Inclusive Writing Guide and Resources.
• An active role in support of the Government of Canada apology to the descendants of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

There are a few DAG members who we’d like to personally thank and highlight for their work toward building a more inclusive Defence Team:

• Captain Stephanie Clubine for initiating the Briefing Note and securing authorization for wear and reimbursement of nursing shirts for nursing parents;
• CPO2 Felix Akol, Maj Ryan Carter, and Cdr Têtê Délali Éloi Gunn for their critical work on assisting racialized Defence Team members to discuss race-related matters, and to find common ground in an open and welcoming environment;
• Captain Michelle (Arne) Backhouse for being a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ2S community and a champion for diversity and inclusion in the Canadian Armed Forces;
• Lisa deWitt for steadfast advocacy, providing voice, counsel and support to leadership, and helping foster deeper relationships between the Indigenous community and DND/CAF. She has been and continues to be a MudÏh (Leader in Witsuit’en).
• Ashley Sullivan for outstanding initiative and support by representing the PWD community, contributing as a guest speaker to the yearly National event for International Day for Persons with Disabilities, and volunteering to produce monthly newsletters to the PWD and broader Defence Team community.

In addition to working at the national level, regionally focused DAGs are located on bases and wings across the country, in the National Capital Region, and OUTCAN. Again, composed of dedicated volunteers, these DAGs provide valuable support, insight, and advice to local commanders and should be empowered by local command teams, leadership, and management. This includes ensuring DAG members have the flexibility to attend meetings and consultations when necessary. If Base or Wing Commanders have not yet met with their local DAGs, please reach out to them, establish regular touch points, and lean on them for advice and perspective as you develop and implement policies at the local level.

If you want to be part of cultural growth within organization, please reach out and volunteer your skills and ideas. Defence Team members don’t have to identify with a particular employment equity designated group to be an active member of a DAG. Equally, you can be an ally and support their work towards achieving greater inclusion and respect across our institution. There are also grassroots Defence Team Employee Networks, such as the Defence Team Black Employee Network, as well as wider Public Service Employee groups like the Jewish Public Servants’ Network, and the Muslim Federal Employees Network. All could benefit from your participation. Your assistance to these groups would be greatly appreciated and can help advance our cultural growth even further.

A respectful, inclusive, and accessible work environment benefits all of us. It helps ensure we draw on multiple different experiences and skillsets—all of which are crucial as we work in today’s increasingly dangerous threat environment, as well as recruiting and hiring the next generation in this competitive employment market. It also means that we can attract, and keep, the military members and public service employees who have joined us, because we can all belong and meaningfully contribute the security of Canada and Canadians.

Again, we thank the DAGs for everything they do day in and day out to provide valuable insight on the challenges faced by their membership, inform policies and programs through meaningful consultations, and help bridge the organization’s evolution to a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive team.

Bill Matthews
Deputy Minister 

General Wayne Eyre
Chief of the Defence Staff