This office was created in 1998 coming out of Somalia, and if anyone knows the history about Somalia and the issues that arose there, we can say that sexual assault and harassment and conduct unbecoming were some of the catalysts that caused this office to be created.
I wasn't around when they created the office, so I'm not quite sure what authorities were given or were not given to the ombudsman at that point in time, but we have handled and continue to handle sexual assault and sexual harassment complaints at our office. It's a service that we've offered and that I will continue to offer until I have a level of assurance that the system in place is indeed independent and is fully inclusive.
My office deals with not only the uniformed members of the Canadian Armed Forces but also with the employees. This sexual response team does not deal with civilians. We know, those of us who've been around a while, especially in the regions, that military members command civilians and civilians command military members. We've left 28,000 to 30,000 people outside. I don't think that's fair and I live in fairness. That's my role, so as I've said and as I'll continue to say, my office offers the service and will continue to do so until I feel we have a program in place that is fully inclusive and is fair to everybody.
The sexual response team...they call it independent, but it reports to the deputy minister.