Thank you for your question. It's an excellent one.
It comes back to our education or training process, if you will, when a new member is appointed to the board.
Generally speaking, files are assigned to a single member. But, when a member is new to the panel, whether that person has military experience or not, the chairperson usually puts two members on the case, to help the new member learn and fully understand the process. There is a training period.
The other thing to bear in mind is that, although a member sits on the panel alone, they are supported by a team, a bit like a judge has clerks. Every case has a legal advisor. We also have a team leader and a grievance officer. These are people with years of experience working for the board. We have former members of the military, civilians, sociologists and lawyers who do not work as such.
We surround members with a good team to ensure the board's approach is a consistent one. Although every member makes decisions independently, there is still a collective effort. On top of that, members are always available to help another member who may have questions. We have procedures in place.
To my mind, it's an asset, not necessarily a prerequisite. I am for diversity, but not a quota. I believe in appointing the right person, at the right time, to the board, in order to achieve the best review, the best recommendation to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the best possible resolution for soldiers whose grievances the board is reviewing.
I don't want a board made up solely of civilians or former members of the military. I want to see the right person appointed. I am against quotas.