Madam Chair, committee members, thank you for the opportunity to appear alongside Ms. Jacqueline O'Neill, Canadian ambassador for women, peace and security. Thank you for your interest in UNSCR 1325 and the WPS agenda.
Over 33 years have passed since I began my career as an officer cadet at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. Since then, as an officer and as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, I have witnessed many changes that have facilitated the integration of women into the Canadian Armed Forces. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the women, peace and security agenda have been key drivers of progress for the Government of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces.
In my current role as defence champion for WPS, my interest is focused first and foremost on making the Canadian Armed Forces stronger and more effective in military operations. My role as champion is wide: to provide leadership and advice, to support the Canadian Armed Forces' efforts in institutionalizing diversity as an operational capability and to promote diversity and inclusion as core institutional values.
From a CAF and DND perspective, the WPS agenda is all-encompassing, complex and interrelated in everything we do. It includes diversity and inclusion, recruitment and retention, training and professional military education, the integration of a gender perspective in domestic and expeditionary operations, research and co-operation among various departments and organizations, allies, civil society and NGOs.
As mandated by the government, the foundation of our institutional and operational progress is through the use of a gender-based analysis-plus, or GBA+, in everything the CAF does, such as policies, procurement and operations.
We have made significant progress, but there is still some way to go, particularly with respect to the recruitment and retention of women in the Canadian Forces.
With 16.1% of women in the CAF today, it will be a challenge to reach our employment equity goal of 25.1% by 2026, especially as we continue to compete against traditional cultural identity and gender roles in Canadian society.
To this effect, our chief of the defence staff, General Jonathan Vance, launched Operation Generation last year in an effort to recruit women and minority groups to the Canadian Armed Forces. This effort has already had noticeable impacts on the number of women and minority groups recruited.
At the same time, Military Personnel Command is working on many retention initiatives, from pay and benefits to terms of service to geographical stability and support to our families, to name only a few.
As a reflection of Canadian society and values, we understand the strength and benefits that diversity and inclusion bring, both being essential to mission success, institutionally and on operations.
In closing, thank you again for the invitation to be here today. I look forward to this afternoon's discussion and will be happy to answer any questions regarding the importance of the women, peace and security agenda as it relates to the Canadian Armed Forces operations.
Merci.