National Defence Committee on Feb. 21st, 2019

[The Chair, Liberal, Stephen Fuhr]

I'd like to welcome everyone to the defence committee to continue our discussion about diversity within the Canadian Armed Forces.

I'd like to welcome Lieutenant-General Lamarre, Lieutenant-General Lanthier, Rear-Admiral Cassivi and Commodore Patterson. Thank you, all, for coming.

Before we get started, I think you probably all know that we just returned from Mali. It was an unbelievable experience. The troops are setting the bar pretty high for the task they've been asked to do within Op Presence in support of MINUSMA. I wanted to let you know personally that we were very, very impressed. Please pass that down the chain. It was really an unbelievable experience.

I'm going to turn the floor over to you, Lieutenant-General Lamarre, for your opening remarks, sir.

[Lieutenant-General Charles Lamarre, Defence Champion, Visible Minorities, Department of National Defence]

Thank you very much, sir.

Thank you for inviting us here today to discuss a subject that is a priority for the Canadian Armed Forces. As indicated, I am Lieutenant-General Chuck Lamarre. I'm chief of military personnel, and I am champion for visible minorities in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Diversity is of primary importance because the Canadian Armed Forces must reflect the society they serve. In turn, we benefit from a variety of perspectives at home and on operations. At the core, actively seeking diversity in the forces brings us the talent critical in maintaining the defence of Canada and Canadians.

We're undertaking to achieve this diversity through the combination of sound policy, focused attraction, recruiting and retention as well as culture change.

First, I'd like to introduce those who are here with me today. They too will provide short opening statements, share their perspectives on diversity and answer your questions.

To my right is Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier, commander of the Canadian Army and champion for indigenous peoples. Rear-Admiral Luc Cassivi is to his right, commander of the Canadian Defence Academy responsible for professional military education in the Canadian Armed Forces, and co-champion for gender and diversity in operations. To his right is Commodore Rebecca Patterson, director general of the combined sexual response team and champion for women.

To begin, I will provide an update on the Canadian Armed Forces diversity strategy and action plan. In early 2017, the chief of the defence staff signed the Canadian Armed Forces diversity strategy. As a result of the release of “Strong, Secure, Engaged” later that same year, the diversity strategy is now undergoing a comprehensive review with extensive stakeholder engagement. A revised diversity strategy will be issued in 2019 as a long-term plan for the future to diversify our forces in line with our defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”.

As the champion for visible minorities, my responsibilities include engaging in and supporting the programs and initiatives that encourage the presence and contributions of visible minorities within the Canadian Armed Forces. In collaboration with our defence advisory groups, which act as intermediaries between the members of visible minority groups and organizational leadership, we've implemented a number of positive changes to be inclusive of a diverse workforce.

For example, the dress manual policy now includes clauses related to religious accommodations for members' hair. Muslim women may wear the hijab in a modified uniform. Jewish members may wear the yarmulke with numerous orders of dress. During some of our events, aboriginal and Métis members proudly wear the aboriginal veterans medallion or the Métis sash. Sikh members may observe the five symbolic aspects of the religion and wear a turban, subject, of course, to safety and operational considerations.

In addition, the policy has been amended to allow members to observe prayer and fasting requirements that align with religious practices. We also offer access to a variety of meals at home and during operations, including kosher and halal preparations for our field rations.

To ensure that we are truly welcoming towards all applicants, the forces continue to modernize, streamline and standardize recruiting. I would invite all of you to visit our new recruiting website at forces.ca, which was, of course, partially in response to the Auditor General's reports that talked about modernizing the recruiting system.

We have recruiters who are multilingual and from a wide range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. Combined with programs such as the aboriginal awareness and cross-cultural training, designed to sensitize all recruiters to cultural norms that may differ from their own background and beliefs, we have enabled easier communication with potential recruits and alleviated many of the misconceptions that minorities sometimes have regarding the military.

The Canadian Armed Forces' values contribute to positive change. One of those is within our chaplain service, as an example. A tolerance and respect for all faiths is a non-negotiable prerequisite to serve as a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces, and we employ chaplains, both men and women, who are drawn from all major religions.

We continue to pursue diversity through other means, such as citizenship ceremonies, where our senior officers and senior non-commissioned members address new members of the Canadian family and encourage them to consider us as potential employers.

I believe our efforts have borne fruit already.

The Canadian Armed Forces' goal for the representation of visible minorities is set at 11.8% and we are currently at 8.7%. 1 believe we may be higher but cannot truly know beyond doubt because we rely on self-identification. I know of many members who do not self-identify as belonging to any group within visible minorities.

These individuals don’t want to be known for being a minority. They want to be known for being part of the Canadian Armed Forces. As a senior leader within this institution, I'm proud of this sentiment.

As chief of military personnel, one of my primary responsibilities is to ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces are able to generate an effective and responsive fighting force ready to deliver on the direction given to us by the government. This force must represent the Canadians it serves and must avail itself of the great talent in every part of our population.

Our approach of sound policy development, focused attraction, recruiting and retention, as well as cultural change, will enable us to do this.

Thank you.

I will now turn to Lieutenant-General Lanthier for his opening statement.

[Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier, Defence Champion, Indigenous Peoples, Department of National Defence]

Mr. Chair, and committee members, good afternoon.

lt is my pleasure to be here today in my capacity as the defence team champion for indigenous peoples. My role is to encourage the promotion of the history, heritage and contributions of our first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as part of our activities at home and abroad and to cultivate a shared understanding between indigenous and non-indigenous members of the defence team.

There are approximately 2,800 indigenous members serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, in both the regular force and the reserves, amounting to a representation of 2.8%. We aim to reach a goal of 3.5% by 2026. I would note that those numbers do not include the Canadian Rangers. There are 5,200 Canadian Rangers, and about 26% of them self-identify as indigenous.

Recognizing the challenges faced by indigenous people wanting to join the forces, many educational and training opportunities have been developed to inform and stimulate interest in the service. These include the aboriginal leadership opportunity year, whereby young indigenous members attend the Royal Military College for a year; the Canadian Forces aboriginal entry program, a three-week course for indigenous people considering a military career; and our summer primary reserve training programs known as Bold Eagle, Black Bear, Carcajou, Grey Wolf and raven.

These activities offer a window into what it is to be a part of the Canadian Armed Forces team and enable indigenous men and women to become leaders in every field of the Canadian Armed Forces. Conversely, they allow the Canadian Armed Forces to learn from the indigenous communities.

ln 2017, the government released a set of 10 guiding principles, called the “Principles respecting the Government of Canada's relationship with lndigenous peoples”. As part of the defence team's commitment to support the Government of Canada's reconciliation efforts with indigenous peoples, we have established a working group to look at our policies and practices to inform how we engage and partner with indigenous peoples in accordance with these guiding principles. We must endeavour to continue to gain a better understanding of indigenous culture, acknowledge historical wrongs and build trust.

The Canadian Armed Forces acknowledge that the practice of Indigenous spirituality, traditions and customs is extremely important for its Indigenous members. Policies have been revised to provide opportunities for such practice. In 2017, the first Indigenous advisor to the chaplain general was appointed. He provides training and advice, and has undertaken the writing of a policy for chaplains that reflects the needs of Indigenous personnel.

Multiple activities and commemorations are conducted throughout the year to celebrate the contributions of Indigenous peoples to military service. The flagship activity is the Indigenous awareness week. It was introduced in 1992 and is held every May.

Such initiatives and efforts are informed by the defence aboriginal advisory group. This group helps ensure that the unique voices of our Indigenous members are heard on a multitude of platforms. It advises commanders on issues such as recruitment and retention, and other issues affecting the lives of Indigenous members. It also provides a forum for Indigenous peoples.

Finally, the defence team's relationship with Canada's Indigenous communities must offer benefits to both parties. We're focused on ensuring that our efforts serve to strengthen these uniquely important communities, not only to support the broader purpose of reconciliation, but equally with a view to fostering a work culture that attracts future soldiers, sailors and aviators of all backgrounds. This will make the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces a true employer of choice for future generations, reflective of the diversity and values of the Canadian population.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I look forward to answering your questions.

I’ll now leave the floor to Rear-Admiral Luc Cassivi.

[Rear-Admiral Luc Cassivi, Defence Champion, Gender and Diversity for Operations, Department of National Defence]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.

My name is Rear-Admiral Luc Cassivi, and I'm the commander of the Canadian Defence Academy. However, I'm here today in my capacity as the defence team champion for gender and diversity for operations.

It's my pleasure to appear before this committee today to provide you with some background on the work being done within the defence team on diversity and inclusion.

As you all know, in June 20I7, the government released a new defence policy entitled “Strong, Secure, Engaged,” which set out a clear commitment, on the part of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, to reflect the Canadian ideals of diversity, respect and inclusion.

This is not a new concept for National Defence, but we are bringing new energy to our efforts to build a workforce that values the depth and richness of the experiences, perspectives and human capabilities which exist through diversity. The strength of diversity in Canadian society is a strategic asset that makes us unique. We believe that a defence team composed of members of diverse backgrounds, languages, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and so on is an operational and institutional advantage. It provides the defence team with more depth to plan and conduct operations around the globe and to develop more comprehensive policies and provide better institutional leadership.

“Strong, Secure, Engaged” contains five diversity- and inclusiveness-related initiatives, of which the appointment of a champion for diversity is one. Last summer, the deputy minister and the chief of the defence staff appointed a team of six dedicated executives to fill this commitment. Three of us form an executive team as co-champions for gender diversity for operations, including me as the lead champion, Chief Warrant Officer Colleen Halpin, who represents the non-commissioned members, and Ms. Isabelle Daoust, who represents our defence team civilians. Additionally, we have two champions for gender-based analysis, Commodore Josée Kurtz and Ms. Lisa Vandehei, as well as one champion, Brigadier-General Lise Bourgon, focused on women, peace and security issues.

The mission we have set for ourselves is to support a culture of inclusion within the defence team. That means encouraging an environment where defence team members see our differences as strengths, recognizing that individuals of different backgrounds, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and culture will all contribute in different yet equally valuable ways, because those differences make us stronger and more effective both in the boardroom and on the battlefield.

This will require a sustained commitment to cultural change so that we can move beyond needing directives and training that tell us to accept diversity and instead help us to arrive at a point where diversity is understood and embraced as a core institutional value. As a starting point, we need to refocus on our core values and ethics, especially our commitment to respect the dignity of all persons.

My work as champion is focused on how we can achieve or advance these efforts. In my position as commander of the Canadian Defence Academy, I am able to have a direct impact on the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces through our education system. As such, we are conducting a review of “Duty with Honour”, our foundational leadership manual that outlines our values, ethics and military ethos. I am also focused on how I can reinforce and complement the roles played by the defence team employment equity champions through engaged leadership, coaching, mentoring, accountability and strategic engagement with both internal and external audiences.

As you'll hear from my colleagues, there's much more work being done to champion the contributions of our women, Indigenous Canadians and members of visible minority groups to the defence team, while also giving voice to their concerns and challenges so we can adapt and improve our policies and processes where needed.

I'm proud to support these efforts to help improve our understanding of how we can address systemic challenges and barriers across all groups, while also providing a voice for those communities that aren't currently represented.

Lastly, I want to thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you today, and I look forward to answering your questions.

Mr. Chair, with your permission, I'll give the floor to my colleague, Commodore Patterson.

[Commodore Rebecca Patterson, Defence Champion, Women, Department of National Defence]

Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you very much for inviting me to participate in your study on diversity in the Canadian Armed Forces.

As the defence champion for women, I'm responsible for working with defence advisory committees and ensuring that the cause of women's equality in National Defence remains a well-supported priority. I also help commemorate and celebrate the achievements of women in defence while increasing awareness of the challenges still facing many women within this organization.

Women have played a significant role in the defence of our country for more than 100 years. For almost 20 years, women have been fully integrated in all occupations and roles within the Canadian Armed Forces. Today, women can enrol in any occupation and can serve with distinction in any environment.

Men and women are considered equals in our organization. In all trades, CAF men and women are selected for training, promotions, postings, and any career opportunity in exactly the same way: based on rank, qualifications and merit.

As of January 2019, there were 15,116 women in the Canadian Armed Forces, which represents 15.7% of our total force. Of these women, 13 are general officers and flag officers, and 57 are chief warrant officers or chief petty officers, first class, in other words, the senior leadership cadre within the Canadian Armed Forces.

Fundamentally, we recognize the importance of building a defence team that reflects the society we serve, but we have also learned through experience that gender diversity is essential for achieving operational effectiveness and tackling complex operational challenges.

This is why Canada's defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, puts diversity and gender equality among its top priorities for the Canadian Armed Forces. This is also why we're taking steps to increase the percentage of women in the military from 15% to 25% by 2026.

To succeed at attracting and retaining women, the CAF has undertaken a number of initiatives. For example, we have established a “tiger team” composed of representatives from across the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal government and the private sector to examine recruiting strategies for women joining the military. In 2017 we launched a pilot program, women in force, to give women looking to join the military an opportunity to learn about the different facets of military life prior to enrolling. We've also introduced policies and practices that promote a healthy family and work-life balance.

We acknowledge that we need to do more to create a safer and more welcoming environment for women.

The Defence Women's Advisory Organization provides a forum for members of the defence team to be heard, and it assists us in identifying and resolving any systemic issues that may be adversely affecting the full contribution of women within defence.

Career management and progression, in particular, has been identified as a key issue for women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We are working to address this, in part by facilitating more mentorship and coaching from women leaders.

Sexual misconduct also continues to be a problem in the Canadian Armed Forces. Women are disproportionately affected, and this can be a barrier to retention.

In my substantive role, I'm the Director General of the Canadian Armed Forces strategic response team for sexual misconduct. In the past three years, the Canadian Armed Forces has taken definitive action to address all forms of sexual misconduct, through operation honour, but there's still much work to do. We're fully committed to continuing our efforts to better support victims, while working to reshape our culture to ensure respect and dignity for all.

Thank you. I welcome your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Stephen Fuhr]

Thank you, Commodore.

I will ask the members to check—I know you have two or three devices—that their ringers are off. I would appreciate that.

To our guests, I know that many of you have appeared before, but if you see this, perhaps you could wind down slowly with 30 seconds to go. Also, you could glance at me once in a while, because sometimes I'm trying to get your attention. It's the same for my colleagues, but I'll cut them off. I don't want to cut you off.

I'm going to give the first seven-minute period to MP Robillard.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for joining us and for their excellent presentations.

I have a first general question for all of you. In recent weeks, committee witnesses have spoken about the potential benefits of a mentoring program on diversity in the armed forces. The implementation of this type of program is part of the Canadian Armed Forces' diversity strategy. Can you inform us of the latest progress of this initiative?

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

I'll answer first.

The mentoring program isn't yet formally in place. It will be implemented as part of the ongoing review of the Canadian Armed Forces' diversity strategy. However, I can assure you that relationships with mentors have already been established, including on a formal basis.

In the chain of command, all senior officers are responsible for promoting the development of members under their command. This is done in a very formal way through interviews, but also in a more informal way through everyday conversations.

Many people are also accustomed to meeting with their superiors or with individuals who have more experience in their field of expertise, such as artillery, to seek advice and guidance for the purpose of advancing their careers.

We also know that a great deal of formal and informal mentoring is done on the women's side. This has been going on for a number of years. The mentoring has been paying off, as Commodore Patterson explained in her presentation. An increasing number of high-ranking women are moving into key command or leadership positions.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Can you also tell us how this initiative is viewed within the armed forces?

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

In terms of how the initiative is viewed, I can share only my opinion and tell you that the mentoring program seems appreciated and well received. In addition, according to the internal surveys conducted by my research team, people trust that their chain of command will take care of them, ensure their development and solve their issues, and that the annual evaluation process is very fair.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

One objective of the diversity strategy is to implement a framework for measuring the performance and evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy. Can you tell the committee about the status of the performance measurement framework and the indicators that have been developed to evaluate the implementation of the strategy?

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

As I said earlier, we're closely monitoring the number of women, Indigenous people and members of visible minority groups in the Canadian Armed Forces. Regarding the last two categories, of course we must hope that they've identified themselves as such to the Canadian Forces.

If I take the example of the number of new recruits, 562 women enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in the 2015-16 fiscal year, 575 in the following fiscal year and 860 in the 2017-18 fiscal year. These figures prove that we're monitoring the situation properly and that we're achieving success.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

When it comes to women, members of the LGBTQ2+ community or visible minorities, retention is a fundamental issue for diversity in our armed forces.

The “Strong, Secure, Engaged” defence policy states that a comprehensive Canadian Armed Forces retention strategy would be implemented. Can you describe how the diversity strategy and retention strategy are complementary?

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

I'll answer your question in English for terminology reasons.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Okay, Mr. Lamarre.

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

The whole idea of making sure we're achieving diversity in the Canadian Armed Forces is based on a number of things.

First is to set the conditions for what we're trying to do, not only the recruiting that's taking place right now, but the conditions backed by research, by the director general, military personnel research and analysis, an organization that works for me. Dr. Kelly Farley heads that piece. He has about 76 Ph.D. scientists who work for him to do research into the human condition, into the human personnel issues. Based on the research these folks conduct, which ranges from everything about retention for women in the regular and the reserve force to anything related to racial diversity or discrimination and the like; these are research projects that they have under way or completed.

We then looked at the next part of the information that we use to put in place what we're calling Operation Generation, a formal look at how we do recruiting on an annual basis in the Canadian Armed Forces. It was signed off by the CDS and the deputy minister. As a result of that, we now have a formalized system that uses a targeted approach to get the people we want to get in the Canadian Armed Forces, whether it be women, visible minorities or indigenous people.

We have to back that up, however, with policies that support that aspect. I mentioned some in my opening comments, the whole idea of making it so people who are from, as an example, visible minorities can see themselves in the Canadian Armed Forces and feel comfortable that their religious affiliation or even just their dress is respected, and we very much do that. It's a proud moment when you're on a graduating parade at RMC and you see proud, young Sikh men wearing the full beard and turban and they're wearing the scarlets.

We go from there to changing our environmental culture and get into the practical things, everything related to how the clothing is designed to fit men and women, but things like education as well, to demystify how it is to be in the armed forces, to avoid having people self-select out, which can be a problem for us. We want to make sure they can see that they can join and have success.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Stephen Fuhr]

Thank you.

MP Martel.

[Richard Martel, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC]

Good afternoon.

I'm pleased to see you today.

I'm looking at your titles here. There's the champion for gender and diversity and the champion for Indigenous peoples, but is there a champion for official languages?

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

Yes. It's me.

[Richard Martel]

I didn't see it here. Do you think that there are still untapped resources in terms of linguistic diversity?

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

In fact, I think that linguistic diversity is thriving in the Canadian Forces. Right now, of course, we're spending money to train our world. We've also established certain levels of bilingualism required to reach the next rank. This is done very formally. We provide second-language training, but we also assess, in our annual reports and selection boards, the people who want to take language training for promotion purposes.

You have before you a bilingual senior officer. We've adopted a bilingualism policy that applies to senior officers and senior non-commissioned officers in the Canadian Forces. Most officers in key or senior positions are fully bilingual.

We're reviewing the policy to seek, at the beginning of their careers, the people who will be given the opportunity to work in a meritocracy with regard to learning a second language, so that they can progress and reach higher ranks.

[Richard Martel]

We have a base in our area, in Bagotville. If military members come to Bagotville, they can certainly become bilingual much more easily. I may have an incomplete picture of the situation. However, among the military members who haven't been to the Bagotville base, I haven't seen many who are proficient in French.

[LGen Charles Lamarre]

That's surprising.

I'll provide an example. When my spouse entered the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, she spoke only English. She came out of the school fully bilingual three years later. We're trying to ensure as much as possible that people can learn a language through contact.

I pointed out that we'll be changing the policy on language training. Currently, 70% of the people who enter the recruit school in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu are anglophone and 30% are francophone. In terms of the instructors, the opposite is true, meaning 70% are francophone and 30% are anglophone. They want to stay in their area. With our new policy, we'll force people to work more often in a second-language environment, which will help them become bilingual.

Of course, the family issue comes up. We've previously given English courses to a young francophone family that arrived in Edmonton to help them progress in their new environment.

[Richard Martel]

Thank you.

Do you have anything to add, Mr. Lanthier?