Thank you, Madam Chair.
We're all very concerned about the issue of sexual misconduct. It should be noted that sexual misconduct is unacceptable behaviour in the military and throughout society.
I want to go back a bit. A while ago, journalist Noémi Mercier wrote an article on the topic. An investigation revealed the following:
The culture is hostile to women and LGTBQ [members] and conducive to serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault. Cultural change is therefore key. It is not enough to simply revise policies or to repeat the mantra of “zero tolerance”. Leaders must acknowledge that sexual misconduct is a real and serious problem for the [Canadian Armed Forces] ...
This came out in former Justice Deschamps' report in 2015.
This prompted the Standing Committee on the Status of Women to address the issue in 2019.
Minister Sajjan, when you took office, weren't there any indications that you needed to pay attention to this toxic culture in the military?