Evidence of meeting #92 for National Defence in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was commissioner.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:30 p.m.
MGen Erick Simoneau
I've seen it happen quite a few times.
12:30 p.m.
NDP
12:30 p.m.
MGen Erick Simoneau
That's part of the system we're in right now. You may have noticed that last week we put online a digitalized form, which is step one of digitalizing the whole system.
We're having a hard time understanding how many grievances there are in the system at any given time, simply because they were paper-based. They were done at every level, and they're very difficult to track. Having a digitalized system will allow us to achieve what you're saying right now.
It's very difficult at this time unless it's flagged to us, but it's changing, and it's changing in the right direction.
12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence
Mr. Chair, if I could, maybe I'll direct my colleague. I didn't give Madam Normandin a great answer to her question on the prioritization of complaints related to sexual harassment.
Do you want to add anything, Mr. Simoneau?
12:35 p.m.
MGen Erick Simoneau
On sexual misconduct-related grievances, we have prioritized them a hundred per cent, per Madam Arbour's report, and we've dealt with them. There are 21 in the system, of which three have been adjudicated, and 18 are awaiting more information but are at the top of the pile for sure.
Not necessarily for grievances, but affected people—victims—can always opt now to go directly to the CHRC as well, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, without exhausting all the internal processes within the department, which is another positive step, in my opinion.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Chair, on a point of order, that response was given to Ms. Normandin's question and not mine. I had more, so will you at least give me more time at the end?
12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence
I apologize, Mr. Chair. I shouldn't have done it.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
I thought it was germane to both your questions. I thought that's what the point of his—
12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence
I thought so as well, Mr. Chair, but I believe the member may not agree with me, and I apologize.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Okay. We'll give Ms. Mathyssen another minute when she gets her next round.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Yes, democracy.
I always get so much help chairing this committee from so many sources.
12:35 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
If we run a tight ship, we'll run about five minutes or maybe 10 minutes over. I'm sure Mr. Kelly will hit the five-minute button right on the head.
You have five minutes, Mr. Kelly.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Thank you.
Mr. Matthews, I'm going to take you back to the chart contained in the department's report to Parliament on access to information. In response to, I think, Mrs. Gallant's question, you said that you omitted the 2019-20 year because of COVID and you gave us the stats.
You're shaking your head. Why did you omit that year then?
12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence
I gave you the stats for that year. The report covers, I believe, a three-year period, so that year dropped off. That is my recollection, but I can check. If we've omitted something that should be there, we will—
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Well, there's a blank. There's nothing in between. It gives 2018-19, and then it goes to 2021-22 and 2022-23, so it's—
12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence
We'll check and see if we need an update there.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
It doesn't look very open and transparent if you just skip a year. We shouldn't have to ask the question at a parliamentary committee to get the numbers.
Perhaps it was, for some reason, a choice to skip that year in the chart, but the year that you skipped was the one year that you got significantly behind. You said there was a gap of hundreds of ATIPs that were not responded to. Is that correct?
12:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence
For the year in question, there were more requests that came in than files closed, so the simple math is that the backlog grew; it didn't shrink.
