Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to open third reading debate on Bill C‑11, the military justice system modernization act.
As Canada's new government makes a generational investment in the Canadian Armed Forces, we know that any work to support our forces starts with our people. This legislation is about the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces, and it is about ensuring their safety here in Canada and around the world.
The people of the Canadian Armed Forces are at the heart of everything we do, whether they are defending our sovereignty at home, supporting our allies abroad or serving at bases and wings across Canada.
As a military parent and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, I have had the immense privilege of meeting many members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families across the country and abroad. I have an incredible amount of respect for military members and their families as they serve Canada, and I am deeply grateful for their steadfast dedication to Canadians.
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces keep us safe every day. In turn, it is our responsibility to ensure that they have a work environment where they feel protected, respected and empowered to serve. Our forces deserve a workplace free from all behaviours that harm our people, threaten morale and undermine team cohesion, including the reprehensible act of sexual misconduct.
We know that a strong, diverse, united and capable armed forces is what we need to defend Canada. It is essential that we eradicate any behaviours that run counter to a healthy workplace. Our operational effectiveness, recruitment and retention depend on our ability to create an environment where our forces can grow their careers for decades to come. Bill C-11 proposes a range of important changes to the National Defence Act designed to support this essential work of keeping our forces safe and helping them thrive in a healthy workplace.
Canada's military justice system must not only reflect the values of fairness, accountability and respect, but also uphold the trust that Canadians place in the institutions that serve them. Through Bill C-11, we would fulfill the recommendations of former Supreme Court justices Arbour and Fish, and we are taking decisive steps to rebuild and reinforce trust within the Canadian Armed Forces.
First, this bill would remove CAF jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada. With this bill, civilian authorities would have the exclusive responsibility to investigate and prosecute these offences.
Second, Bill C‑11 would act on eight key recommendations outlined by former Supreme Court justice Fish in his third independent review. This includes establishing stronger, more transparent appointment processes for senior CAF members who play crucial roles in the military justice system.
We are also modifying the appointment process for the director of military prosecutions and the director of defence counsel services by making them Governor in Council appointees, and we are changing the term of those positions to a fixed non-renewable term of up to seven years. We are also modifying the process and authority for the appointment of the Canadian Forces provost marshal, appointed by the Governor in Council, and, finally, changing the title from Canadian Forces provost marshal to provost marshal general to align with the title of other senior designations in the CAF, such as the surgeon general, the chaplain general and the judge advocate general.
Third, Bill C‑11 builds on supports provided under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights by expanding access to victim liaison officers for individuals acting on behalf of a victim.
Fourth, the bill aligns the military justice system's provisions regarding sex offender information and publication bans with the amendments already made to the Criminal Code in 2023.
These comprehensive recommendations aimed at reforming our military justice system are just one part of a broader transformation of the Canadian Armed Forces. We would make important changes to how we screen new recruits, how we manage Canada's two military colleges, in Kingston and in Saint-Jean, and how we collect, store and use data on workplace harassment, among other things.
These are real, tangible and meaningful changes that would help to get more people in the door more effectively. For example, we would also be instituting a new probationary period for new recruits. This would allow applicants to enrol and to begin their training while the administrative work related to their application file is completed. This is something that multiple external examiners suggested the Canadian Armed Forces implement.
There would be added benefits to the implementation of this recommendation too. For example, during the probationary period, applicants would have to pass the required security clearance check, meet medical standards and show that they live by the Canadian Armed Forces' ethos and values. We need to ensure that our military better reflects the country it serves by drawing from the very best people Canada has to offer, but let me be clear: We will not tolerate bad behaviour.
We are already starting to see positive impacts of the implementation of these recommendations. In fact, our recruitment efforts are already paying off. Last fiscal year, we surpassed our recruitment goals, bringing in over 6,700 new regular force members. That is a 55% increase from the year before. This year, we had the highest enrolment for the Canadian Armed Forces in the past 30 years. Applications more than doubled, to over 45,000. The Canadian Armed Forces enrolled 7,310 regular force members, and 70 of the 97 critical roles are now filled.
This is good news for Canada, for Canadians and for the Canadian Armed Forces, but we still have work to do to foster a culture within the Canadian Armed Forces that is rooted in dignity, inclusion and respect for everyone who serves. We know we need to keep our foot on the gas to create a modern 21st-century workplace that can foster the next generation of the Canadian Armed Forces. As I have mentioned in previous debate on this legislation, Bill C-11 would fulfill several recommendations put forward in the reviews conducted by former Supreme Court Justices Arbour and Fish.
In addition, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs submitted its 15th report, entitled “Invisible No More. The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans”, in June 2024. This study was the largest study that the committee had ever undertaken. Almost 100 individuals appeared over the course of 23 meetings, and in that report, passed in the House, the committee's recommendation 40 reads:
That the Department of National Defence, in accordance with the many recommendations made in the wake of the Deschamps, Fish and Arbour reports, establish a reporting mechanism outside of the military chain of command, provide victims of military sexual trauma with safe and confidential legal resources, and transfer the jurisdiction to investigate sexual misconduct and prosecute its perpetrators to civilian authorities.
I would like to note that we are also making important progress on many of the other recommendations as part of our broader cultural evolution efforts. For example, in the independent external comprehensive review, Justice Arbour detailed 48 recommendations on everything from recruitment to training and oversight. I am very proud to share that, to date, we have implemented 47 of those 48 recommendations.
We made progress on Madam Arbour's first and second recommendations, strengthening our approach to addressing sexual misconduct by clarifying the full spectrum of terms and definitions into three categories: conduct deficiencies of a sexual nature, sexual harassment and sexual assault. This would ensure that we are better able to address each form of inappropriate conduct through the proper legal, administrative and disciplinary means.
The Canadian Armed Forces has also adopted the Canada Labour Code definitions of harassment and violence. This change now allows the defence team to take a unified approach to addressing cases of workplace harassment and violence, applicable to both public servants and members of the armed forces. All incidents of harassment and violence within the defence team will be managed through the workplace harassment and violence prevention program. This measure came in response to Ms. Arbour's third recommendation.
We also acted on recommendations seven and nine of Justice Arbour's report by allowing Canadian Armed Forces members who experience sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, sexual crimes or any other form of discrimination based on sex or gender in the course of their duties to contact the Canadian Human Rights Commission directly.
As many members know, the former external monitor, Madam Jocelyne Therrien, provided regular public evaluations of our progress in implementing these recommendations, including releasing six biannual status reports over the course of her term. Madam Therrien's thorough and objective assessment of our progress has been critical in informing how we are implementing these recommendations, and we thank her for her commitment, guidance and dedication.
In April 2021, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces launched a comprehensive initiative aimed at aligning the culture of the Department of National Defence and the professional conduct of its personnel with the fundamental values and ethical principles we aspire to uphold as a national institution. Since then, we have taken significant steps to evolve our culture and implement concrete changes, including taking measures to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination.
This work encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, such as developing policies and programs that address systemic misconduct, improving mechanisms for monitoring and reporting misconduct, and overseeing the development of a framework for professional conduct and organizational culture that combats discrimination, harmful behaviour, bias and systemic barriers.
To support these efforts, and as we reaffirmed in budget 2024, we are investing nearly $1 billion over 20 years to facilitate these changes within the Canadian Armed Forces, and we are proposing amendments to the National Defence Act to implement key recommendations aimed at transforming the organizational culture.
We have also launched a comprehensive plan designed to guide our efforts to implement the various recommendations. We recognize that cultural change is a gradual process that unfolds step by step and takes time. It requires sustained and ongoing effort. It is essential to the well-being and operational readiness of the Canadian Armed Forces.
I would also like to emphasize that changing the culture and improving the Canadian Armed Forces should be a goal that unites us as parliamentarians, not one that divides us. Improving and strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces is not, and should never be, a partisan issue.
We continue to listen and learn from members of the defence team, external stakeholders, communities and partners as we work to create a safer and more inclusive work environment. We are making real, tangible progress, but we recognize that there is still much more work to be done. This is why we also need to ensure that victims and survivors of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces get the support, the care and the resources they need.
In line with Justice Arbour's recommendation 14 of the independent external comprehensive review, we have worked hard to provide a suite of supports for victims and survivors. Much of that support comes from the sexual misconduct support and resource centre. This centre, which operates independently of the chain of command, provides specialized advice, guidance and recommendations to personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces and National Defence on all matters related to sexual misconduct. It includes a 24‑7 hotline that offers personnel confidential support, information on available options, advice on how to help others and referrals to care and services.
I would also like to point out that the independent legal assistance program is another valuable mechanism for supporting victims. It offers free and confidential legal assistance, including legal information and advice regarding incidents of sexual misconduct that occurred in a context related to DND and the CAF. It also offers legal representation in certain proceedings related to sexual criminal offences or military offences, the victim's safety or their participation in the judicial process. By offering timely, independent and trauma-informed support, the program plays a critical role in expanding access to justice and choice for affected persons.
It is important to note that there have been important progress and tangible changes since 2021. This is precisely because of the interim directive that put Justice Arbour's recommendation number five into place in a temporary manner, until such time as legislation could be passed through Parliament. As Justice Arbour herself acknowledged in her report, removing concurrent jurisdiction by amending the National Defence Act will “take several years to implement.”
Since 2021, work on cultural evolution inside the Canadian Armed Forces has continued, and we have now implemented 47 of Justice Arbour's 48 recommendations. To block Arbour's recommendation number five would be to undo the progress of the past five years.
I want to conclude by reminding members that delivering a culture change is not only the right thing to do, but it is critical for our operational needs. This is not a partisan issue. Our national security is only as strong as our people. Our forces deserve to work in a modern, transparent and trustworthy 21st-century workplace where they can thrive.
That is precisely why we introduced Bill C‑11: to codify in law key recommendations from justices Arbour and Fish. Justice Arbour's fifth recommendation calls for the removal of CAF jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Criminal Code sexual offences. This is also in line with recommendation 40 of the ACVA committee. After hearing from almost 100 witnesses, parliamentarians on that committee agreed that this is the right thing to do.
In 2021, upon receipt of Justice Arbour's report, we promised Canadians and members of the Canadian Armed Forces that we would implement this critical recommendation. With Bill C-11, a promise made is a promise kept.