Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I'd just like to say that it's really becoming evident to me how these recommendations and how much we've done in this study, how much we've actually done in this committee in these 29 hours that we've had.... It's becoming more and more evident that we really probably don't need to hear from more witnesses, because, as we're going through this, it's really very comprehensive.
I'd like to talk about 10 themes that I think are coming through the recommendations we have as the most important things.
First of all, we've heard a lot from witnesses about culture change. This is going beyond gender integration to gender inclusion, including the pre- and post-Canadian Armed Forces experience in service, acknowledging differences between the sexes as strengths versus weaknesses and working toward respectful, diverse, inclusive work environments for all, with enabled teams. Again, this is about that really core piece, which is the culture change that, as we know, has been the focus and will continue to be.
The other big theme is being survivor-centric and informed. The wants and needs of the survivors should always be paramount. We've heard from witnesses who have really expressed around these themes. “Nothing about us without us” should be the guiding principle for research, policy, programs and services. These consultations need to be respectful, meaningful and representative of the diversity of needs of military sexual trauma survivors. We heard from witnesses that it must include recent victims with experiences in the reporting process for a wide range of sexual misconduct experiences, including sexual assaults from various ranks, gender and language.
I would add here, Madam Chair, that we did hear.... It was more in the FEWO committee, but we did hear in the testimony that sometimes language can be a barrier as well, that francophone women.... By the way, I'd like to acknowledge that many of these strong, brave women who have come forward are francophone women. The services are not always there for francophones, and this is something that I really believe we need to take incredibly seriously, so I think language is another key one.
The other thing we heard from witnesses in the testimony was a theme around independent external oversight mechanisms—this is something that came up over and over, in fact, in the testimony—with responsibilities of quality assurance and accountability to complete both formal and informal complaints in an evidence-based, survivor-centric and trauma-informed way.
We also heard a lot about data from various witnesses. We need to pull data, disaggregated data by gender and rank, from Statistics Canada surveys. We need to make sure that it's intersectional—also the junior and senior ranks—and that feedback mechanisms be in place to analyze the training provided, inclusive of completing a review of the SMRC and its mandate. Further on data, because I do think this was something that we did hear witnesses talk about, is data coordination inclusive of the provision of definitions for military sexual trauma during and after service. It needs to be officially recognized as a full operational stress injury. MST needs to be consistently researched, resourced and funded to other service-related injuries.
Then, the really key thing—and by the way, this, if anything, is probably the most immediate need that we heard from the witnesses in the testimony—is a national bilingual peer support network. Those who testified, particularly the survivors, asked for this. MST survivors of all genders, during and after service, and their support persons must have access across Canada and on deployment, in person and online, to a national military sexual trauma peer support network available in both French and English. The network must be staffed with trauma-informed trained personnel knowledgeable in the unique needs of the CAF members and veterans dealing with MST and able to speak to the needs of MST survivors and their families independently. This support should also provide information about transition, care options and internal and external opportunities for CAF and veterans and their families dealing with MST.
I note that we didn't hear much about veterans, but I know that other committees might be taking that up. Certainly, we've heard for CAF members how important this is.
One thing has come up in FEWO and only really peripherally in this committee, but I'd like to draw from that testimony. Child care access doesn't sound like it's directly related to military sexual trauma, but in fact child care access is one of the key reasons women leave the Canadian Armed Forces.
A safe and bilingual child care option is an equalizer. It needs to be available to all military women and men and their spouses 24-7, including for prolonged periods of time and sudden and inconsistent schedules.
In addition, one of the things we heard in the themes is that there be a single access point for sexual misconduct information and reporting. This is something we have put out now: a single, public-facing web portal for information on all support, care, recourses, processes for sexual misconduct for CAF members, civilians and veterans impacted by sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.
The final theme we have pulled out of the testimony is to provide CAF the tools for military women's integration, so ensuring an even playing field for women in non-traditional roles from recruitment onward: equitable access to accommodation, equipment, policy, research, health care, health promotion, diagnosis, care and treatment, including for sexual and reproductive health.
Madam Chair, I know we've heard a tremendous amount of testimony and I think they are among the recommendations we urgently need to get the analysts working on so we can then get this tabled in the House, get these recommendations to government, because what people are looking for right now, Madam Chair, is action.
Thank you.