Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank the committee for inviting me to contribute to the important work that you are doing in this study on the experiences of women veterans in the RCMP and CAF.
On June 6, 1977, I joined the RCMP at the age of 24 with a bachelor's degree from the University of Victoria. I joined 31 other women, the majority of whom also came with post-secondary degrees.
This was not the case with most of the male recruits at that time. I think that the bar was set higher for us, but our expectations were also higher. For me, the history and reputation of the RCMP promised adventure, the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of interesting work, a way to make a difference, as well as opportunities to advance in the organization and have, ultimately, a rewarding long-term career.
My goal was to become a foreign liaison officer or to join the then security service. I served in Quebec following training in Regina, and then transferred to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where I was living when I resigned in December, 1984.
During my time in the RCMP, I had a variety of assignments ranging from the enforcement of federal statutes to rural provincial policing duties. I think I was a good cop, and I do not regret my time in the force. It was certainly a learning experience.
I decided to leave when it became apparent that those in staffing at the headquarters in Halifax were making decisions affecting my career with which I disagreed. I later discovered that those decisions were likely related to their suspicion that I was gay.
After I had put in my papers, one of my colleagues—also a constable and a friend of mine—came to see me at home to ask if I really wanted to leave the force, and indicated that there were rumours circulating that I was gay. Perhaps if I had known about this before I put in my resignation, I might have stayed and pushed the issue. I don't know; probably not.
At that point, I was ready for something new, as I think I had already accepted that my career would never be the career I had hoped for. In any case, at the time, given the evident homophobia existing throughout the force—and indeed in society itself—I would not even admit it or come out to someone I considered a friend. Again, it reinforced for me that I had made the right decision to leave.
I do not recall being angry or frustrated at the time, just disappointed. I had believed that I had something of value to offer the RCMP and that I would go a lot farther, even to the officer level. I had to give up on that dream and move on.
In any case, there was no exit interview for me. My sergeant at the time just asked me if there was anything he had done that had caused me to resign. My answer was simply, “No.” I didn't really have much to add to that, at least nothing that I thought he would have understood. As the only female member in most of the postings I had, I found my male counterparts for the most part to be hard-working, collegial, helpful and supportive.
I eventually returned to B.C. to attend law school at UBC. I was called to the bar in 1991 and I practised until I retired at the end of August in 2022.
I was unaware that after leaving the force with less than 10 years of service, I became a veteran. When I was asked by Jane Hall, who spoke with you on Tuesday, to volunteer with the new council that was being formed within the RCMP Veterans' Association in 2013, I had to clarify with her that I was in fact a veteran in order to be able to serve on the council.
My dad was a veteran, having served in the navy in the Second World War. To me, that was a veteran.
My main focus with the the RCMP Veteran Women's Council has been on how often questionable legal interpretations have adversely affected women veterans, particularly those involved in the Merlo Davidson class action. I have not personally had an occasion to contact VAC or use its services. My current understanding of VAC and its dealings with RCMP female veterans therefore comes from the work our council has done over the last 10 years or so.
It is apparent from our council investigations that neither the legislation nor the VAC decision-making processes are clear enough so that our veterans can navigate the system on their own without assistance or running into procedural roadblocks and hostile gatekeepers. Anecdotally, our evidence shows that female veterans continue to mistrust and fear VAC and the power it wields, apparently arbitrarily, over their basic interests.
The minister's written responses to questions posed on the clawback issue, which were supplied on March 20, 2023, are for the most part unsatisfactory. At the March 20 meeting of this committee, the minister's representative stated that communications would be going out to the individuals to ensure that the practice is stopped. Whether this response was in reference to level one and two claimants only or to claimants of all levels is not particularly clear, which again highlights the transparency and communication issues at VAC.
Without transparency, there can be no accountability; without accountability, there will be no trust.
We are looking to this committee to recommend immediate amendments to the Pension Act to exclude settlement damages from the clawback provisions for the types of claims raised in the class action.
This committee should also do whatever it can to ensure that VAC streamlines and simplifies its processes and improves its transparency, communications and training for frontline staff so that they better understand women veterans' experiences and respond within the spirit and intent of the legislation, rather than as Canada's meanest insurance company.
I also have a number of recommendations that are set out in the written brief that I provided to the clerk earlier today.
I welcome any questions that you may have.
Thank you.
