National Defence committee  Madam Chair, thank you for this opportunity to testify. I'm Bernie Boland, a retired lieutenant-colonel who served honourably in the Canadian Armed Forces for over 30 years. For the past 12 years, I was an engineer in the public service. I retired on December 30, 2020. I'm testi

National Defence committee  Madam Chair, yes they were all civilian at the time. A number were retired military personnel.

National Defence committee  It's been since late 2016. The various conflicts were brewing in our organization from early 2016 onward.

National Defence committee  I brought it there because I was going to be diligent and make sure my issues came forward. I wasn't going to be satisfied to be silenced. I literally walked into the office, presented him with documentation, and had him sign for the documentation that I was providing. I sent him

National Defence committee  I explicitly asked him to do that, and I staffed complaints directly to the minister, using his name. I sent correspondence by email to the minister's parl.gc.ca email address.

National Defence committee  Yes, I complained that I was being made a scapegoat and explicitly being blamed for the alleged human rights abuses that were reported. As I said in my opening testimony, I had no opportunity to defend myself against the allegations made against me. It was done secretly. The onl

National Defence committee  I think she was outraged, but not surprised.

National Defence committee  Absolutely. In my complaint about this up the chain, I made that explicitly clear. I'm sure the expectation of any outside agency such as the Canadian Human Rights Commission is that a large organization like DND will provide vetted, verified, legitimate and validated data.

National Defence committee  Yes, I had several letters that came back and spoke about due process. There are many different documents. The deputy minister, for the most part, didn't respond to things I sent her.

National Defence committee  Her responses got to me, and she responded to my MP Pierre Poilievre on my behalf in [Technical difficulty—Editor].

National Defence committee  I've had absolutely no internal support from DND or anybody. As soon as I brought this up, I was ostracized. My employment was threatened initially. Disciplinary measures were recommended. I received a letter of expectation. I've moved on from that employment site, fortunately. I

Status of Women committee  Madam Chair, thank you. I'm Bernie Boland, retired lieutenant-colonel, who served honourably in the Canadian Armed Forces for over 30 years. For the past 12 years, I was an engineer in the public service. I retired in December 2020. At the March 23, 2021, committee hearing, Min

Status of Women committee  At its essence, yes, that's correct.

Status of Women committee  Again, at its essence, that's absolutely correct.

Status of Women committee  Yes, I provided that submission to the members. Hopefully they have a chance to look at it.