If I were still serving, I think my focus would be on maintaining the momentum that has been created in the last couple of months to ensure that we do hold accountable those individuals who have broken the law or conducted themselves in a way that is contrary to what is expected of a Canadian Armed Forces member.
I am not completely unconvinced that won't happen. I feel for Major Brennan. I feel for her. I feel for the situations that she and many of her colleagues have been through. I do not believe that the majority of Canadian Armed Forces women—or men, for that matter—are participating in this insidious behaviour or are victims of this type of behaviour. I shouldn't use the word “majority”, but I would say certainly not all are. I would say that we need to maintain the momentum that has been created in the last couple of months. I think this is a watershed moment.
I mentioned this in the past. This is something that you cannot let go, and we must not only maintain the foundational work that is required but also hold people accountable, of all ranks, and that includes for microaggressions. When people say things that they think are funny, we need to tell them that those things are not funny and that in fact they are crossing the line. I think we need to be far more vocal about these little things so that they don't start to grow.
As Madam Deschamps said, you create a sexualized culture that allows small things and then that morphs into very large behaviours that are completely contrary, and I think we need to address them right at the beginning.
Sorry for the long answer.