Statement from Minister Blair on the Third Biannual Report of External Monitor Jocelyne Therrien

May 16, 2024 – Ottawa, ON – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

The Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Bill Blair, issued the following statement today regarding the External Monitor’s third status report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR):

“Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are always there to keep Canada safe – and it is also our obligation to keep them safe from harassment and misconduct. The 48 recommendations provided by former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour gave us a clear path forward on culture change in our institution - and the External Monitor, Madame Jocelyne Therrien, is keeping us accountable to that path. I welcome this third report and thank Madame Therrien for her work.

“We are making considerable progress to respond to these recommendations. To date, approximately 20 recommendations have been implemented, and we expect to have addressed all 48 recommendations by the end of next year.

“As Madame Therrien notes, in March I introduced legislation to amend the National Defence Act in response to Madame Arbour’s Recommendation 5. Bill C-66 would definitively remove the CAF’s jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada, giving exclusive jurisdiction to civilian authorities to investigate and prosecute such offences committed in Canada. It would also implement key recommendations from former Supreme Court Justice Morris Fish in his review of the military justice system.

“We are also making progress on other key recommendations. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces can now take their complaints for sexual harassment, or for discrimination on the basis of sex, directly to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, in line with Recommendations 7 and 9.

“Furthermore, as Madame Arbour recommended, we are transforming the complaints system by making it easier for members to submit grievances, ensuring the system is more responsive, and moves faster. The digital grievance submission form, launched in February, is an important step to this end. Additionally, we recently implemented a process to clear the backlog of files in the grievance system, which has positioned us to finalize nearly 70% of these files in the coming months. In response to Recommendation 10, work also is underway to prioritize and fast-track grievances related to sexual misconduct, and we expect to implement new processes and service standards by the end of this year. Additionally, we are repealing the Duty to Report regulations, in accordance with Madame Arbour’s Recommendation 11. I agree with Madame Therrien that the interim period of implementation needs to give way to permanent implementation – and to that end, the full repeal of these regulations is expected to come into effect this summer.

“We are also implementing Recommendation 20, and in that regard, I agree fully with Madame Therrien’s statement that “there is a clear benefit to creating a probationary period.” As we announced in Our North, Strong and Free, we will establish a probationary period to enable the faster enrolment of applicants, and timely removal of those who do not adhere to our requirements of conduct. We will also streamline the security clearance process to reduce the time it takes new recruits to move into their positions. Further, we are reviewing medical standards – and National Defence has also signed an Information Sharing Agreement with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to enable better access to information relating to Permanent Resident applicants.

“In response to Recommendation 29, I have appointed the Canadian Military College Review Board. The board is focused on reviewing the current quality of education, socialization, and military training at the colleges – as I have been clear that their culture needs to change significantly. Last October, we also launched an online database to make our conduct and culture research and policies more open and accessible, in line with Recommendation 45. We will also be making more survey data public, so that Canadians can have access to more information about conduct and culture in the military.

“We have made significant progress – but there is much work ahead. Madame Therrien notes the implementation of Recommendation 6 has not yet occurred – and I agree that we need to move faster to complete the review that Madame Arbour recommended. We are looking at ways to accelerate this process.

“While Madame Therrien notes that the “recommendations stemming from the IECR regarding the Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre have all been actioned,” she also notes the need for a more sufficient level of core funding for the SMSRC. I believe that the SMSRC’s work is crucial – and going forward, we will increase its core budget to provide stability for 2025-2026.

“Ultimately, we are making a great deal of progress. However, I agree with Madame Therrien that we need to reduce the bureaucratic burden and move faster on implementation. I look forward to shortly releasing our Comprehensive Implementation Plan which outlines our expected implementation timelines for each recommendation, and confirms our projection that all will be addressed by the end of next year.”

“I once again thank Madame Therrien for her honest assessment of our progress and remaining work. Together, we are working to build a more respectful and inclusive institution.”

Quick Facts

• Madame Jocelyne Therrien was appointed as External Monitor in October 2022 for an initial term of one year, fulfilling recommendation 48 of the IECR report. The External Monitor’s term was renewed on October 19, 2023 for an additional year.
• Per the External Monitor Terms of Reference, Mme Therrien’s role is to provide advice to the Minister on the oversight and implementation of the recommendations in Madame Arbour’s IECR report, while considering those of other external reviews.
• The report released today builds on the first and second status reports of the External Monitor, released May 17, 2023 and November 21, 2023 respectively.
• The IECR (led by former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour) was launched in April 2021 to shed the light on the causes of harassment and sexual misconduct in the CAF, by reviewing policies, procedures, programs, practices and culture within the CAF and DND. Madame Arbour’s final IECR report was made public on May 30, 2022.
• In December 2022, Minster 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. DND/CAF continues to work on meaningful reform and culture change in response to the recommendations.
• On March 21, 2024, Defence Minister Bill Blair introduced Bill C-66, or the Military Justice System Modernization Act. The proposed legislation addresses key recommendations from former Supreme Court Justices Louise Arbour and Morris J. Fish.
• To address the recommendation 5 from the Honourable Louise Arbour’s Independent External Comprehensive Review, the proposed legislation would definitively remove the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada. The proposed legislation would provide exclusive jurisdiction to civilian authorities to investigate and prosecute such offences committed in Canada.
• Since Madame Arbour’s interim recommendation to transfer the prosecution and investigation of Criminal Code sexual offences from the military justice system to the civilian justice system was accepted, 100% of Criminal Code sexual offence charges are now being laid in the civilian justice system. No new sexual Criminal Code offence charges are being adjudicated in the military justice system. Military Police, under the direction of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, also continue to refer applicable cases to civilian policing partners for investigation.
• As noted by the External Monitor, we have actioned all recommendations related to the Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC) including the reimbursement of eligible legal costs incurred by those who have been affected by sexual misconduct, retroactive to 2019. We expanded support programs to provide more offerings, such as formal group peer support sessions, and increase the reach of services both geographically and by expanding to include others within the wider Defence community.
• In Our North, Strong and Free, the Government outlined several measures to improve the recruitment and enrollment of new CAF members – including the creation of a probationary period, an examination of medical requirements, and improvements to security screening. We are also trialing the bypassing of the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test (CFAT) for certain occupations for applicants with university degrees or college diplomas and for those that already meet occupational educational requirements. As of April 18, 2024, more than 1,800 individuals are being processed this way. For them, the CFAT is applied later during basic training. We are also updating the test itself to ensure it remains predictive of suitability of the occupation the candidate is choosing.
• The CAF continues to apply the adopted character-based leadership model, which better informs our evaluation and promotion processes.

Associated Links

• Third biannual Status Report of the External Monitor, Jocelyne Therrien
• Second biannual Status Report of the External Monitor, Jocelyne Therrien
• First biannual Status Report of the External Monitor, Jocelyne Therrien
• Minister Blair introduces legislation to modernize the military justice system and advance culture change in the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces
• Minister Anita Anand appoints External Monitor to oversee National Defence efforts to address sexual misconduct and harassment
• Report of the Independent External Comprehensive Review led by the Honourable Louise Arbour
• Minister of National Defence’s December 2022 Report to Parliament on Culture Change Reforms in response to former Supreme Court Justice Arbour’s recommendations