ACVA wants to hear from you

By Military Woman

Question: What can you do, right now, in support of military and RCMP Veteran women?

Answer: Share any, and all, of your recommendations with Parliament.

NDP Veterans Affairs Critic, Ms. Rachel Blaney, a long-time member of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA), was instrumental in getting approval for a 20+ session study on “The Experience of Women Veterans”.  This important study started March 30, 2023, with the Veterans Ombud, Colonel (Retired) Nishika Jardine,  as the first witness.

Let’s back up here for a moment and make sure everything is clear.

What is “ACVA”? In quick review of a previous Esprit de Corps “ACVA 101” column (Vol 27, Issue 3), all of our elected representatives to Parliament can sit on one, or more, of the twenty-four House of Commons standing committees. Veterans Affairs, or ACVA, being one such parliamentary committee. 

What exactly is this study about? To quote the ACVA -  “The committee will undertake a comprehensive study on women Veterans. The topics covered will address all possible aspects of life in the Canadian Armed Forces that may have consequences for life after military service, as well as all issues related to the particularities of the lives of women Veterans, including:

·      Physical and mental health and the treatment of injuries and illnesses that are most likely to affect women differently during their military service; 

·      The particularities of transitioning after service for women: 

o   The physical aspects of women Veterans' health; 

o   The psychosocial and mental aspects of women Veterans' health;  

o   The professional and economic aspects of women Veterans' lives.

·      Retirement and long-term care;

·      Initiatives developed in allied countries.”

What will result from this study? The ACVA committee will write a report with its recommendations to government on how best to support women Veterans.

Why would I get involved? If you have things to say on women Veteran related issues – this is your chance to be heard.

Now is the time to ask government to make women Veteran issues visible. To ask for things like more funding for women Veteran specific research. To identify and rectify the lack of scientific knowledge and knowledge translation about what, if anything, the occupational and environmental health risks are from

·      desert CADPAT insecticide (permethrin) exposure and ovarian wellbeing.

·      repeated lifting of sandbags and/or prolonged military rucksack use and urinary stress incontinence and/or uterus prolapse. 

·      lack of woman-only inpatient trauma and addiction care programs.

·      chronic stress or PTSD and adverse pregnancy events and outcomes.

·      military specific flying, sea and field exposures and reproductive hazards.

·      being single or without strong social supports especially when 65+.

·      labelling post-traumatic reactions as “personality disorders”.

·      burn pit exposure and breast cancer.

·      lack of health care provider training in military/Veteran women’s health.

·      women’s prosthetics requirements.

·      and many other issues… 

How can I get involved? You can offer your opinions, observations, and/or recommendations as testimony (in person or virtually, publicly or in camera ) and/or submit a written brief (publicly or anonymously) via

1)    the ACVA clerk,  ACVA@parl.gc.ca or

2)    your own member of Parliament (MP) or

3)    any member of the ACVA committee (in alphabetical order)

Rachel.Blaney@parl.gc.ca, North Island-Powell River, BC - NDP

Sean.Casey@parl.gc.ca, Charlottetown, PEI – Liberal

Luc.Desilets@parl.gc.ca, Riviere-des-Mille-Iles, PQ – Bloc Québécois

Terry.Dowdall@parl.gc.ca, Simcoe-Grey, ON – Conservative

Emmanuel.Dubourg@parl.gc.ca, Bourassa, Quebec - Liberal

Wilson.Miao@parl.gc.ca, Richmond Centre, BC - Liberal

Blake.Richards@parl.gc.ca, Banff-Airdrie, AB - Conservative

Churence.Rogers@parl.gc.ca, Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, NL -  Liberal

Darrell.Samson@parl.gc.ca, Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook, NS - Liberal

Fraser.Tolmie@parl.gc.ca, Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan, SK - Conservative

Rechie.Valdez@parl.gc.ca, Mississauga-Streetsville, ON - Liberal

Cathay.Wagantall@parl.gc.ca, Yorkton-Melville, SK - Conservative .

If you are still in the military, you can also submit recommendations through your own chain of command, the Defence Women’s Advisory Organization (DWAO) or the Defence Champion of Women, Major-General Lise Bourgon.

In summary, no matter where and when you served consider adding your voice and lived experiences to this important conversation. Together we can make a difference and improve the quality of life for all Veterans, including women.

Nothing about us, without us !

Womens’ Health Initiative

Christina Hutchins

By Military Woman

Q. What’s new in Canadian military/Veteran women’s health initiatives?

A. There definitely has been an uptick in recent political interest and funding for “women’s health.” In December 2021, the Prime Minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of National Defence prioritised “investments to understand and address the clinical, occupational and deployment health needs of CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) women.” In April 2022, the federal budget  targeted $144 million over five years for military health investments.  In fall 2022, the Treasury Board approved the “Women and Diversity Healthcare” initiative.  This leaves CAF well placed in 2023 to further optimise military women’s operational readiness and, together with Veteran Affairs Canada (VAC), ensure the long-term health and wellbeing of military women. Exciting times!

On February 1, 2023, the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., on behalf of the CAF, hosted the first, and hopefully annual, “Military Women's Health Workshop” (see YouTube for recordings of the presentations). Highlights from the Canadian speakers included a new post-partum musculoskeletal injury prevention program, women’s health questions to be added on the next medical screening questionnaire update and a review of how the Sexual Response Support and Resource Centre came into being.

Highlights from the British speaker included the importance to consider hormone health throughout a military woman’s career. Menstrual health was recommended to be treated as a vital sign on par in importance to screen and document as pulse, temperature and blood pressure.

Highlights from the American speakers included a call to empower military women directly with more access to trusted military appropriate health information.  Examples of possible shared decision-making tools include the downloadable “Decide and Be Ready” phone app and the online “Deployment Readiness Education for Service Women” document. Recommendations were also made for all military bases to offer same-day walk-in contraceptive services and for all tactical combat care training programs to include breasted mannikins.

Now let’s look at what’s been happening at VAC.

VAC held its first annual Women Veterans Forum in 2019. Shortly thereafter Christina Hutchins was named Senior Director, Office of Women and LGBTQ+ Veterans. In 2020 a Women Veterans Forum Update and a separate 2SLGBTQI+ Veteran Roundtable were held virtually. No events were held in 2021 or 2022 due to COVID. In 2023, a Women Veterans and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans joint event was held online February 9th followed by a hybrid event February 16th. Links to the reports and recordings of all forums will be available via the Office of Women and LGBTQ+ Veterans website. Although the 2023 events were informative, it is hoped by many that 2024 returns to the original 2019 model that allowed for meaningful in-person discussions and exchanges between Veterans and VAC staff.

So here is where it gets real.

Despite a clear increased interest in both military and Veteran women’s health there concurrently remains a lot of confusion and mixed messages around the topic area. There is no common understanding of what problem(s) we are trying to solve. There is also no set of agreed to definitions for the majority of the commonplace terminology used including woman/female, gender/sex, health/wellness and operational stress injury/military sexual trauma to start. This lack of clearly stated objectives, terms and accountability measures makes the environment permissive to external agendas and influences, including political, to come into play. As a result, there are new women’s health related research projects, policies, benefits, activities and Veteran community programs which sound good on the surface, but don’t survive first contact with the women they are supposed to be serving.

The historic status quo for defence project and research management may not be the best way ahead for successful military/Veteran women’s health initiatives. Transformational culture change may be required to ensure the voices of those most impacted are both heard and included at all stages of project/research development.  Best practices for military women health initiatives must be lifespan focused and not stop the day of CAF retirement/release. Best practices for military women health will likely need more collaborative international research with other military women and less comparisons to military men .

“Nothing about us, without us”.

Lobbying in Defence

By Military Woman

Question – Any thoughts about defence related lobbying?

Answer – Lots of thoughts!

Most people are aware that federal officials are allowed to be lobbied in hopes of influencing government’s decisions on major military equipment procurements, such as the buying of new fighter jets, tanks, and ships. Fewer people may be aware of the role of lobbying in other areas, such as defence-related research and supports for military members and Veterans.

Before we go further – let’s review what federal lobbying is.

Lobbying is when an individual (a consultant lobbyist paid by a client) or an employee (an in-house lobbyist working for a corporation or organization) articulates their specific interests to public office holders on a regulated matter, including developing or amending public policy; securing grants or other financial benefits; or setting up meetings between public office holders and clients.

Paid includes being offered money or anything else of perceived value including future contracts, promises or agreements in kind.

Organization includes any professional or voluntary association, not-for-profit, charity, coalition, special interest, or stakeholder group.

Public office holder includes any member of the CAF, RCMP, public service, House of Commons, or Senate, including their staff. Extra scrutiny is required when dealing with designated public officer holders, which for the CAF includes the CDS, VCDS, Judge Advocate General, and Commanders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Military Personnel.

To state it plainly – if you are someone outside of federal government who is communicating for payment (anything of value) in order to try and change the present state of play within government – you may want to check and see if you fall under federal lobbyist legislation.

Federal legislation first came into force with the Lobbyists Registration Act (1989). Ethical conduct standards were then set by the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct (1996). The Registration Act was then amended and renamed the Lobbying Act in 2006.

The new Act addressed the call for more accountability around federal lobbying by creating an Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. The present Commissioner, Ms. Nancy Belanger, has the mandate and powers to ensure federal lobbyist compliance with the latest versions of the Act (2012) and Code (2015).

On February 3, 2023, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) met to discuss Ms. Belanger’s 2022 report titled Renewing the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct – Updated standards for ethical and transparent lobbying . This (and all other) parliamentary committee meetings are available to watch, or read the transcripts of, via the OurCommons.ca website.

The proposed Code updates will help minimize public officer holders being placed in real or perceived conflicts of interests due to any “sense of obligation” to their lobbyist. Unfortunately, the unique ways “senses of obligation” could arise between serving military members (public office holders) and retired military members (potential lobbyists) has not yet been fully captured within the proposed updates.

This gap in defence-specific ethical guidance is further compounded by a general lack of awareness about lobbying within the multi-million, if not billion, dollar ecosystem now involved with military and Veteran health and wellbeing. The influence of lobbying remains largely unacknowledged even as increasing amounts of federal money flow into health care professional contracted services, vocational rehabilitation services, mental health supports including in-patient trauma and addiction care programs, and research into post-traumatic stress, military sexual trauma, cannabis and psychedelics.

Some final thoughts about defence-related lobbying:

·      If you have not already done so, check out LobbyCanada.gc.ca – the website of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada to learn more about these topics.

·      If you are a defence public office holder or involved in defence advocacy related work, consider asking the Commissioner for targeted education specific to your situation.

·      Although the latest recommended Code revisions are a step forward, they do not provide full guidance for the defence community, and they do not diminish a need for an update review of the Lobbying Act itself.

We can still do better. 

Afghanistan and Ukraine – women at risk

Question: What countries’ women are at increased risk right now?

Answer:  Unfortunately, 2023 has started off with no shortage of nations whose people, especially women, are struggling. Without implying a hierarchy for which women’s pain and suffering is more important or having a greater impact in the world today, let us briefly look more deeply at two countries - Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Since the last Military Woman column on Afghanistan (Vol 29, Issue 6), the Taliban have imposed even more draconian limitations on women’s basic human rights including their access to education and work.

On December 20, 2022, the Taliban banned all women from attending university, whether as students or professors. Some Taliban leaders have been reported to have used this opportunity to completely block women and girls in their regions from all forms of education, including primary school.

As if this alone was not enough, the Taliban then went on to ban Afghan women from assisting humanitarian aid groups. Given that most of these groups relied heavily on the help and support of local women, many of their programs have been forced to stop temporarily, if not permanently.

With over 95% of the Afghan population already living in poverty and over 20 million people thought to be in acute hunger distress, the international community, including the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, has called on the Taliban to reverse these new decisions.

Some women, like former Afghan Member of Parliament for Kabul Province, Mursal Nabizada, have been showing great courage domestically through continued acts of defiance against the Taliban. The act of a peaceful street protest is largely expected to be met with water weapons, beatings, or detentions. The Taliban have now escalated from this, reinstating both public floggings and executions - something the old regime was notorious for worldwide.

A growing number of men are also joining in acts of defiance against the Taliban. This growing domestic movement against the Taliban is worthy not just of international admiration, but of tangible international support.

Given these escalations, international human rights groups are calling for more generous efforts to take in Afghan refugees. It remains very disappointing that the government of Canada, a self-proclaimed feminist government with a significant past military involvement in Afghanistan, has seen less than 28,000 of the promised 40,000 at-risk Afghans arrive here since August 2021. Yet over 140,000 Ukrainians have arrived since January 2022.

The war in Ukraine has unfortunately continued on since our previous Military Woman Column on that topic (Vol 29, Issue 3). The line between civilian and military spheres continues to be blurred. A recent survey of women in Ukraine found approximately 60% prepared to “personally participate in the armed resistance” when required, with 30% willing to volunteer for front-line activities. Ukrainian women having proven themselves in combat for several years now, especially in the roles of artillery officers, snipers, and medics. 

One, now famous, front line combat medic, Inna Derusova, received the “Defender of the Motherland Medal” for her impressive war-time efforts. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter she had the dubious honour of becoming the first woman to receive the title of “Hero of Ukraine” - posthumously. 

Meanwhile, reports continue to pile up of Ukrainian women (and men), civilian and military, young and old, suffering sexual violence at the hands of Russian forces. This is rightly being treated as a war crime. 

Afghanistan and Ukraine are but two nations whose women have stood up to fight for human rights and to help secure stability and peace in their respective nations.

Canadians can show their solidarity with these women (and men) in many ways, including:

1)     staying informed about these various at-risk situations;

2)     donating money to verified international charities;

3)     lobbying the Canadian government to keep its promises;

4)     volunteering time, furniture, or a room in your own home for a private refugee sponsorship and/or a refugee resettlement program; and

5)     supporting Women, Peace and Security related programs.

Together – we can make a difference.

Addendum:

Previous Member of Parliament for Kabul,  Mursal Nabizada, age 32, was shot dead in her home on January 15, 2023.

Heading for a Titanic collapse

By Military Woman

Question: What issue could the Veteran community come together to support in 2023?

Answer: One issue that all Veterans could potentially stand behind, is the need for a formal renewal of Canada’s social covenant, or commitment, around the care and support owed to injured and ill Veterans and their families.

2022, by anyone’s account, has been a tumultuous one for Veterans. First, is the ongoing inability of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) to fix their backlog of disability benefit applications. The ongoing backlog leaving many Veterans, especially francophones and women, without timely access to required treatment benefits for their service-related injuries and illnesses. Second, the number of Veterans dealing with social isolation, financial stress,  housing insecurity and mental health distresses/suicidality continues to mount.  Combine that reality with an ever-growing number of Veterans confirmed to have sought help with their living circumstances from VAC, only to be offered unsolicited discussions on medical assistance in dying (MAID).

Meanwhile, calls are also mounting for VAC transparency around how an over half-a-billion-dollar rehabilitation services contract occurred without meaningful consultation with those most impacted, Veterans and their VAC case managers. Corporal (Retired) Bruce Moncur, Co-Chair to VAC’s Service Excellence and Transition Advisory Group, told a parliamentary committee that his group was not consulted with on this important change in the service delivery to Veterans. As a result, Moncur – who is also involved with the Equitas Society, Afghanistan Veterans Association of Canada, and Valour in the Presence of the Enemy - has called for the resignation of the Minister of Veterans Affairs. Several courageous VAC case managers and consultants also testified at committee that they too, were not meaningfully consulted about this important service delivery change to Veterans. The Veterans’ Affairs Employees Union have also taken up this issue and become frustrated with VAC to the point that they also have publicly called for the minister’s resignation.  

Now - let’s situate Veterans into the larger context of the defence community as a whole.  A recent Globe and Mail headline stated that “The Canadian Armed Forces are heading for a Titanic collapse”.  Formal military reconstitution plans have been stood up to address the record low recruitment and retention rates.  Here is where a call for common sense versus political rhetoric is made.  Surely, we all understand that the best military recruiter possible – is a happy, well taken care of Veteran?  As such – shouldn’t ensuring Veteran health and wellbeing be an intrinsic part of any and all defence reconstitution plans?

For all these and other reasons, the present status quo for Veterans does not feel like it is working.  The social covenant between Canadians and the post-Korean war Veteran feels uncertain, if not outright broken. Without a renewed, refreshed social  commitment from Canadians, asking Canada’s daughters and sons to voluntarily sign up for unlimited liability, including the potential of being ordered into harm’s way, seems unlikely to result in the voluntary recruitment levels sufficient for full military reconstitution.

 Today, Veterans and their families are faced with the co-existence of three benefit frameworks  - the Pension Act, New Veterans Charter/ Veterans Well-being Act, and Pension for Life - leaving Veterans with a complex maze of programs, benefits, and eligibility criteria. As a result, Veterans with similar injuries are compensated differently based on when and where they served. This is not fair. The last time an independent full review of the Veteran support required from VAC was undertaken was in 1965 with the Woods Committee Report. 

It is past time to reflect, refresh and more clearly define the desired health and wellness outcomes due to Veterans under one common legislative program for all who have been injured or made ill as a result of their service to Canada.

The timing is right for Veterans, and Canadians alike, to unite in 2023 behind a call for a Royal Commission (also now called a Commission of Inquiry).  We need a Royal Commission to ensure, once and for all, that all Veterans and their families receive the care and support they need, when and where they need it. Anything less than a Royal Commission will be tantamount to ‘moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic’.   

The CAF/DND Sexual Misconduct Apology – One Year Later

CREDIT: Master Sailor Dan Bard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces photo

By Military Woman

Question: A year has passed since the Minister of National Defence’s apology to those impacted by military sexual misconduct. What has happened since then? 

Answer: 13 December 2021 was a meaningful day for many defence team members, past and present, impacted by sexual misconduct. That was the day that the Minister of National Defence Anita Anand, the Chief of Defence Staff Wayne Eyre, and then-Deputy Minister Jody Thomas jointly apologized for failing to ensure workplaces free of sexual violence.

Some impacted members were moved by the symbolism of the event. Others were touched by the words from the defence leadership team. Many, however, reserved their opinions until they could see what actions followed the apology.

Without question, many actions have been taken by government over this last year.  Most efforts have centered around the 48 recommendations from Madame Arbour’s Independent External Comprehensive Review, released 30 May 2022. At over 400 pages long, the review was a heavy read for even the most enthusiastic of followers. The review did however offer the military its long requested “roadmap” of proposed actions required to better address sexual misconduct in the workplace.

Unfortunately, most of the “Recommendations for Louise Arbour” made in a previous Military Woman column (Vol 28, Issue 5) were not followed. Sexual misconduct was still portrayed throughout the review as being a “women’s issue”, to the direct detriment of the many men impacted by sexual misconduct who still suffer mostly in silence.

The review also ignored the many expert and lived experience inputs that emphasized the requirement of a strong independent oversight mechanism to ensure defence team accountability.

The review’s legal lens, predictably, focused heavily on legal matters such as the justice system. Too often, in sexual misconduct cases especially, a judicial win occurs without any systemic acknowledgement of the true costs paid by the victims – who often lose relationships, identity, trust, health and military careers.

Monitoring and evaluation of any new program are key components of the Government of Canada’s mandated Gender Based Analysis Plus. It is not clear from reading the review, how lived experience is going to be captured as these recommendations become implemented. Without clear monitoring programs that include the impacted-person’s experiences and outcomes, how will we be able to evaluate if the Arbour recommendations helped or harmed?

Moving forward, government has a responsibility to create a transparent, equitable mechanism to allow for the safe inclusion of all sexual misconduct impacted voices, including Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+ and male.

The stand-up of “Togetherall” on 22 June 2022 was another important action item completed. This is the long overdue federal government-funded peer support program for defence team members impacted by workplace sexual misconduct. Although clearly better than nothing, Togetherall is unfortunately not an equivalent service to other government-funded peer support programs such as Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS).

Bottomline? Yes, a lot of actions have taken place in the year following the government’s apology on sexual misconduct. However, concurrently, stresses within the impacted community and change resistance within parts of the defence community have publicly surfaced.

Ottawa Citizen reporter, David Pugliese, wrote on 18 October 2022 about the end (hopefully) of legal actions between several military sexual trauma community members. One can only wonder if this fracturing of the impacted community could have been avoided altogether, if government had provided peer support programs sooner.

Pugliese also reported on 15 November 2022 about the Conference of Defence Associations Institute’s annual Vimy Awards. The audience of over 600 of the defence community’s elite gave a standing ovation to this year’s award winner whose acceptance speech included criticisms for anyone making collective apologies to those “fight[ing] over who gets to wear the coveted victims’ cloak”.

One has to ponder on if someone who feels this way about military “victims” was the most appropriate choice to be awarded the lead role in fundraising for Veterans experiencing chronic pain -  a condition so many military sexual trauma impacted Veterans share in.

The Minister of National Defence, together with other senior leaders, have done a lot of positive actions since the apology however, clearly, more work is still required - including on how to best address the resistance to these changes from within the defence community itself.

Basics of Health Research - Ethics

By Military Woman

Question:  How is health research for military/Veteran women going?

Answer:  To meaningfully answer this important question we will need several columns. Last month’s column (Basics of Health Research Vol 29 Issue 9) defined what health research is and explained why it is so important, especially for military/Veteran women. Let’s continue to review the “basics of health research”, this time focusing on ethics.

The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2018) defines the Canadian standards for ethics in research.

“Tri-Council” refers to the three federal agencies that were created by legislation to promote research within their respective mandates. The three agencies are:

1)     the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)  who funds research that improves health for Canadians, creates more effective health services and products and/or strengthens the Canadian health care system;

2)     the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) who funds social sciences and humanities research; and

3)     the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) who funds natural sciences (not health) and engineering research.

In 1998, these three agencies came together to write the first version of the TCPS. In 2001, the three agencies created the Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) to act as their advisory board and the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (SRCR) to support the PRE. Under the Executive Director leadership of Ms. Susan Zimmerman, the SRCR also provides external advice on how to best interpret or apply the now updated TCPS 2 (2018).

The TCPS 2 is a policy document recommended for everyone with an interest in research, ethics, or participation in research to read. Generally speaking, clinical health and wellbeing related research will be CIHR or SSHRC funded and mandated to follow the TCPS 2.  Military/Veteran specific health research may also access funding outside of CIHR or SSHRC, in which case the TCPS 2 is still followed but on a voluntary, versus mandatory, basis.

To best understand ethics in Canadian research,  you are encouraged to sign up for a free online course entitled TCPS 2: Core-2022.  This course is open to anyone wishing to take it voluntarily, while concurrently being considered mandatory training for researchers. Especially if you participate in military/Veteran specific research projects yourself, please consider taking the course for your own awareness and education. Beyond the knowledge you will gain about your rights as a research participant, in less than four hours you can have a beautiful downloadable certificate to add to your resume!

The TCPS 2 document and course both reinforce that the fundamental value upon which research ethics in Canada is based is “respect for human dignity”.  This value being expressed in the TCPS 2 through three core and complementary principles.

1)     Respect for Persons. Researchers shall provide participants with all information required to understand fully the risks, purpose and potential benefits related to their research project before seeking the participant’s independent, free, and ongoing consent to participate. 

2)     Concern for Welfare. Researchers shall avoid exposing participants to unnecessary risks that could negatively impact the person, or the group to which that person belongs, physically, mentally, spiritually, economically, or socially.

3)     Justice. Researchers shall recognize their dual responsibility, to treat both the individual participant and the group and community they come from, fairly and equitably. Research should always be considered from the perspectives of the participants, not just from the perspectives of the institution or group funding the research.

The TCPS 2 document and course both reinforce that ethical research mandates that participants must have truly “informed” consent to participate. More broadly, the TCPS 2 also requires that all research participants, and the group and community they come from, must be treated with dignity, from the recruitment process to the final sharing and dissemination of research results.

Failure to follow the TCPS 2 can result in a wide range of institutional and agency recourses as outlined in the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021).  

For a quick summary about ethics in Canadian research: When in doubt – follow the TCPS 2 !

Basics of Health Research

By Military Woman

Question: How is health research for military/Veteran women going? 

Answer: The reply to this question may vary greatly depending on your perspective. To meaningfully answer this important question will require more than one column.  Let’s start  with a quick review of some research related basics.  

What is health? The federal government generally uses the World Health Organization’s definition of health which is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  

What is research? The federal government defines research as an “undertaking intended to extend knowledge through a disciplined inquiry or systemic investigation.” To qualify as a “disciplined inquiry” the undertaking must be “conducted with the expectation that the method, results, and conclusions will be able to withstand the scrutiny of the relevant research community.” 

Who does health research? Defence related health research is overseen by many different sources including the Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces Health Services), the Department of National Defence (Defence Research and Development Canada and Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security) and the Department of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).  

VAC funds multiple research arms including the VAC Research Directorate, the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans, the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families (previously known as the Centre of Excellence for PTSD and Related Mental Health Conditions) and the Canadian Institute of Military Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR).  

CIMVHR was initially set up by the federal government in 2010 to ensure the Canadian Forces Health Services had, when needed, access to ways to complete operational military medicine research. Honorary Captain (Navy) Alice Aiken PhD, herself also a military Veteran, served as CIMVHR’s first Scientific Director. Today CIMVHR, headquartered at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, partners with over 50 different Canadian and international universities. 

CIMVHR disseminates partner research findings through its website, annual forum, and monthly journal.  

Why is health research important? Research is a required pre-requisite to make evidence-based decisions regarding military/Veteran policies, programs, services, supports and care.  

Is there still a “one size fits all” approach to military/Veteran health research? No, federal government and health care providers both endorse a sex and gender aware approach to health research impacting military/Veteran members versus an “one size fits all” or gender-blind approach.  

Research into the health risks of various workplaces, civilian and military, only started in earnest during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Most of the initial health research on workplace hazards was, quite understandably given the time, focused on ensuring the wellbeing of male workers. To be even more specific, the foundational occupational health and safety related research, often still referred to today, largely assumed a young, healthy, white, cisgender, heterosexual, male worker with a forty-hour work week that exposed them to one, not multiple, workplace hazards.  Workforce diversity at that time was so low, that many decision makers went along with a “one size fits all” approach to health research, allowing male-only research findings and recommendations to be applied directly to all workers.  

Over the last 30 years especially, i.e., from the 1990’s onwards,  all the previously male-only military workplaces have diversified. Workforce diversity goes beyond biological sex to also include variations in age, race, gender identification, sexual orientation, and other health influencing categories. Ideally, as soon as the military workforce started to significantly diversify from the population its occupational health research had originally been done on, a new research action plan should have been stood up.   

Unfortunately, as discussed in a previous column (Do military women need special workplace considerations? Vol 27 Issue 5), military/Veteran women’s research in specific can be challenging to coordinate without direct political support and dedicated financial funding. Today, thanks to the 2022 federal budget, a military women’s health initiative is finally underway. It is hoped that a coordinated, inter-departmental research agenda to efficiently identify and rectify military workplace hazard knowledge gaps for women is underway.  

When we know better, we can do better to ensure that ALL workers are equally protected from workplace injury and illness. Stay tuned for future columns on defence related health research. 

What’s new for Veteran-related resources and groups?

Question: Are there any new Veteran-related resources and groups?

Answer: Yes, there is an ever-growing number of Veteran-related resources and groups. Unfortunately, there is no way (that we are aware of) to keep up to date with them all.

There is also no Canadian oversight mechanism to ensure they are all safe, effective, and inclusive of all Veterans. So, please consider this alphabetized list as a sharing of information rather than an endorsement of the resources listed.  In fact, you are encouraged to do your own due diligence in checking out the links below.

Speaking of links, if you are reading this right now from a hardcopy version of this column you may prefer to go to the hyperlinked digital version which is available to you at http://espritdecorps.ca/military-woman.

Here we go !

Assistance helplines – open 24/7/365

·      Family Information Line – 1-800-866-4546 and hearing impaired 1-800-567-5803

·      Hope for Wellness Help Line – 1-855-242-3310

·      Lifespeak – online app health and support self-education tool from Health Canada

·      Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (SMRC)  – 1-844-750-1648 

·      VAC Assistance Service – 1-800-268-7708 and hearing impaired 1-833-921-0071

Diversity related resources

·      Black Canadian Veterans Stories – A Legacy Voices Canada 150 Project

·      Center for Minority Veterans – research and statistics from US Veterans Affairs

·      LGBT Purge Fund – reconciliation and memorialisation projects for impacted Veterans

·      National Association of Friendship Centres –  Indigenous appropriate services  

·      Rainbow Veterans of Canada – a safe space for people who identify as LGBTQ2+

·      Women and Gender Diverse Veterans – Dr. Maya Eichler’s testimony on January 18, 2022 before the NS Legislature’s  Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs   

Fitness related resources

·      CF Appreciation Recreation – Veteran specific discount list for activities

·      Defence Fitness  – online individualized fitness programs

·      Soldier On – introductory and competitive physical programs for injured Veterans

·      Warrior Games – organized by the US Department of Defense

Health and wellbeing related resources

·      Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families – previously known as the “Centre of Excellence on PTSD and Related Mental Health Conditions”

·      BSO Legion OSI – peer support for OSIs or other mental health affected Veterans

·      Caregiver Zone – free online resources and coaching for caregivers of Veterans

·      Center for Women Veterans – US Veterans Affairs educational materials

·      Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans – a VAC-funded resource for information and access to nation-wide interdisciplinary pain clinics

·      Mental Health First Aid for the Veteran Community – a course offered to Veterans, families, and caregivers, to better understand and support mental health issues

·      Military Exposures and Your Health – US Veterans Affairs educational materials

·      National Center for PTSD – US Veterans Affairs educational materials

·      Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinics – VAC-funded national network of clinics used to diagnose, support, and treat service-related Veteran mental health conditions.

·      OSI Connect – a VAC-funded OSI self-education and symptom management app

·      OSISS Peer Support Network Program – to support those impacted by OSIs

·      Respect in the CAF – an app providing CAF sexual misconduct resources

·      Road to Mental Readiness – a training tool app to support mental health

·      Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (SMRC) – DND-funded supports and information open to all Veterans, serving military members and DND employees to use

·      Togetherall – online peer support program for those impacted by sexual misconduct

·      Tubman-Chaplain Network – matching women chaplains with servicewoman in need

·      US Veterans Affairs app store – free self-help tools and educational apps for Veterans

·      Wounded Warriors PTSD Service Dog Program  –  proposed national standards 

Insecurity related resources 

·       Legion – assistance for Veteran’s finances, housing insecurity and VAC claims

·       Soldiers Helping Soldiers – connecting homeless Veterans to those who will help

·       VAC’s Veterans Emergency Fund – up to $2,500 to cover emergency financial needs

·       VETS Canada – offering on the ground Veteran emergency transition services

Military-to-civilian transition related resources

·      CAF Transition Group Transition Guide – a downloadable guide with many resources

·      The Pepper Pod – Transition Lifeshops ™  for women   

·      Veteran Family Program  – VAC-funded access for medically releasing members to a Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) based coordinator

·      Veterans Transition Network (VTN) – transition courses, programs, and peer support

What did we miss this time around? Please feel free to share with us your own suggested resources in the “Comments” section of the hyperlinked online column.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

By Military Woman

Question:

How can we help improve fairness, inclusivity and resilience in the military related community while remaining financially prudent?   

Answer:

That’s a great question, especially right now when the global pandemic has highlighted the ongoing existence of so many systemic inequities – both at work and at home. As a result, many Canadians are now re-imagining how society could be more equitable and effective moving forward.

Because the pandemic has disrupted many previously unquestioned ways of how we did things, including at defence, we all have an opportunity to help Canada “build back better”. The “lazy hazy crazy days of summer “ (that hopefully everyone can have at least one or two of) can be a great source of creative thinking and  brainstorming on how things could be, versus how they are.  

Some summertime ponderings about how Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) could be re-imagined.

·       Become a Veteran-centric and Veteran-accountable organization

·       Automatically recognize all illnesses and injuries occurring during service as “service related”

·       Base service and program eligibility on Veterans’ needs not complex eligibility formulas 

·       Become a federal crown corporation with long-term budgets and permanent specialized staff

·       Provide research, services, programs, and benefits equitable for all types of Veterans

·       Work closer together with other government departments to best serve the needs of Veterans

·       Tie executive salary performance bonuses to Veterans’ satisfaction levels and health outcomes

·       State publicly why any Veteran Ombuds Office report recommendations are not actioned  

·       Offer a program similar to the US’s “Veterans Experience Office” 

·       Offer a capability similar to the US’s “Office of Health Equity”

·       Offer a service similar to the US’s “Women Veterans Call Center”

·       Communicate effectively about all new Veteran related research, services, programs, and benefits

·       Quality assure VAC funded third-party providers to ensure safe, effective, and inclusive services

·       Provide access to VAC employed life coaches for VAC clients, with Veterans as priority hires

·       Educate, identify and risk mitigate conflicts of interest within the Veteran ecosystem

·       Include the input of primary health care providers on all Veteran health-impacting issues

·       Formalize ways for women, Indigenous, racialized, and sexual minority Veterans to have a voice

·       Facilitate and enable Veteran advocacy groups to work together collaboratively and effectively

Some musings about a re-imagined Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

·       Become unionized

·       Offer quality, affordable 24/7/365 daycare access nationally

·       Provide members the option to have their sperm/eggs stored prior to a deployment

·       Educate all CAF members about operational military women’s health support issues

·       Offer all releasing members barrier-free access to mental health wellbeing supports

·       Maintain responsibility for primary medical care until provincial medical care acquired

·       Barrier free transfer to government employment if wanted upon military retirement

Some suggestions about re-imagined roles of Canadians.

·       Taxpayers holding government accountable for preventable military illness and injuries 

·       Women, as equal citizens, be considered part of any future calls for conscription

·       Citizens, aged 18-25, complete a short but mandatory period of “national service”

·       Citizens learn about what their military is and does in Canada

·       Citizens understand the importance of welcoming Veterans into civilian community life

·       Citizens hold their elected federal politicians accountable for civilian oversight of the military

·       Canadians clearly declare to their elected officials what “military culture” they want CAF to have

·       Media stops mislabelling military sexual misconduct as a “women’s” issue”

·       Media empowers and supports men impacted by military sexual misconduct to be heard

·       Researchers co-create all Veteran related research with Veteran lived-experience members

·       Research ethics boards include Veteran members when reviewing Veteran related research

·       Federal politicians all have first-hand exposure to the military

·       Federal politicians stop referring to Canada as a “peacekeeping” nation and force

·       Federal government self-generates its own health care providers (versus outsourcing)

·       Federal government develops an equivalent to the “US Public Health Services Corps”

·       Government fund defence with more gender-based analysis money and expertise

·       All federal parties agree to make Veteran health and wellbeing topics off limits for politicking

What are your summer daydreaming ideas of how government could best “build back” and achieve a more equitable military-related community for all?

Afghan mission not yet complete

By Military Woman

Question: 

How has this last year been for women and girls in Afghanistan ?

Answer:

No matter what lens you wish to use, the answer to this question has to be something along the lines of  “extraordinarily challenging”. Women and girls in Afghanistan continue to lose their right to work, to access education, to participate in governance, and to engage in public life.

Just one year ago, women’s participation in Afghanistan’s work force was 22% and growing rapidly. Today, the only jobs women are consistently allowed to have are as teachers and health care providers for other women and girls. 

Also, just one year ago, millions of Afghan women and girls had access to formal education.  Today’s numbers are drastically lower, with girls’ education being stopped at grade 6 (age 10).  University classes -  if offered at all – must have sex-segregated settings with female-only staff.

One year ago, women made up 25% of Afghanistan’s parliament.  Today, women have no place in the Taliban’s male-only cabinet. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is now the Ministry of the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue. The new ministry’s declarations include forbidding women from leaving the house, except for essential reasons, and even then only if completely shrouded from head to toe. Once out of the house, women are forbidden to drive and must have a male family member present if travelling more than 70 km from their home.

Adding to this dire situation is a growing economic crisis, with most Afghan households no longer able to meet their basic needs. This means at least 23 million people in Afghanistan are now at risk of starvation, especially women and girls. Women are also facing skyrocketing rates of intimate partner violence as society-wide stress increases.  With few options available for women to turn to, the results are predictable – a drastic rise in women’s death by domestic homicide and suicide.

In 2001, the Canadian government was seen to stand with and amplify the voices of the women and girls of Afghanistan. One would expect that resolve to be even stronger today given Canada’s feminist international assistance policy and commitment to its National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.

And yet, despite Canada’s commitment to resettle 40,000 at-risk Afghans, as of June 15, 2022  just under 16,000 have arrived since August 2021.  By comparison – just over 16,000 Ukrainians arrived in Canada within the first two months of their resettlement program. 

Part of the problem is that the situation in Afghanistan is extremely complex. Moving forward will require multiple lines of action, including collaborative teamwork that can be catalyzed and enhanced through Canada’s strengths as a convenor – something we are apparently known to be “good at”.

Perhaps, then, Canada could be convening more international discussions to address pressing questions around the present situation in Afghanistan.  How can Afghan women’s voices best be included and listened to for all issues impacting them? How can the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan best be avoided? What role should the UN be playing? Should there be a ban on the Taliban’s international travel?

Canadian parliamentarians could also convene domestically to formulate a whole-of-government action plan. Such an action plan would address how to expedite the review of Afghan applications to come to Canada. Prioritization should be be given to at-risk Afghans, including specifically women leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, and persecuted religious and sexual minorities.

Canada could also be working to develop biometric validation processes for all, but especially for the 2,900 at-risk Afghans pre-verified by Department of National Defence as having enduring ties to Canada. Also, as has been testified to in parliament, there are groups willing to facilitate those biometrics—whether that be in Afghanistan, in a third-party country, or in Canada. Political will, therefore appearing to be the only remaining barrier to action.  

Everyone should have the right to live free from tyranny, but this aspiration requires the global community’s support. For the sake of all Afghans, but especially the women and girls, Canada’s original promise of support has not yet been fulfilled. 

What’s New at the OVO?

Question:

What is new at the Office of the Veterans Ombud?

Answer:

In April 2022, Sharon Squire retired as the Deputy Ombud and Executive Director for the Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO). Squire had served as the Ottawa-based eyes and ears for the Charlottetown office since 2015, where her steady hands provided important departmental continuity in the face of frequent Ombud turnovers. Under Squire’s guidance, the OVO has become recognized as a “voice for the voiceless.” This enhanced capacity to speak on behalf of “voiceless” Veterans is due, in considerable part, to OVO having become an early adopter of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and sex disaggregated data collection. These practices having, in turn, led to more informed and fairer reports and recommendations.

For those not familiar with the OVO, its mandate includes ensuring that all Veterans receive fair, accessible and timely access to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) services, benefits and supports. The office was formed in 2007 with Col (Rtd) Pat Stogran named as the first Ombud. Stogran has since been followed by CWO (Rtd) Guy Parent (2010), Col (Rtd) Craig Dalton (2018), and most recently by Col (Rtd) Nishika Jardine (2020).

One of the key advocacy tools available to the OVO, is its authority to investigate VAC on matters related to systemic unfairness. The OVO presents its investigative reports to the VAC Minister for review, acceptance, and (hopefully) implementation of recommendations. The OVO publishes an annual report on the VAC rates of OVO report recommendation implementation. Unfortunately the OVO’s 2021 report card found that almost one-third of the OVO’s recommendations, for the fairer treatment of Veterans, had yet to be actioned.

VAC Wait Times - Improving

Unactioned OVO recommendations include several from the 2018 report, “Meeting Expectations: Timely and Transparent Decisions for Canada’s Ill and Injured Veterans.” This historical report highlighted processing delays for claims, especially those made in French or by women. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) spoke with the Ombud on this and other issues on March 25, 2022, as part of its study on “Fairness in the Services Offered to Veterans.” The Ombud acknowledged the number one complaint to her office was still related to VAC wait times and that francophone women continue to face the longest waits for VAC decisions. The Ombud, however, encouraged a refocusing from claim time waits and numbers to a priority triage for first-time VAC claimants, especially those without a CAF pension and/or public health and dental service plan coverage.

Military Sexual Trauma Peer Support  - Still Needed

In June 2021, the OVO released a report on “Peer Support for Veterans who have Experienced Military Sexual Trauma.” This report identified how government continues to not provide equitable supports to those with occupational health injuries and illness related to military sexual trauma (MST)  when compared to the supports provided for other types of service-related injuries and illness. The MST peer support program, long promised by the federal government, remains a needed and eagerly anticipated support for victims of this longstanding and injurious wrong committed against too many servicemembers. 

Sexual Dysfunction Claims – Bias Found

In April 2022, the OVO released “Adjudication of Sexual Dysfunction Claims Consequential to an Entitled Psychiatric Condition.” In this report, the OVO concluded a sex-based bias was present in how VAC asked for, collected, analysed and evaluated data related to sexual dysfunction claims other than erectile dysfunction. Five recommendations were made to the VAC Minister on how to potentially best fix this bias.

Sharon Squire has now handed over her OVO duties to Duane Schippers, the previous OVO Senior Counsel and Director Strategic Review and Analysis.  We wish her well in her new “post-retirement” role as the incoming Royal Ottawa Hospital board chair, which is also home to a VAC-funded Operational Stress Injury (OSI) clinic and Atlas (formerly known as the Centre of Excellence for PTSD).

Thank you to all the OVO Executive Directors and Deputy Ombuds for all you have done, and will undoubtably continue to do, in the support of Canada and Canadian Veterans.  

Editor’s Note: Sharon Squire will also be recognized at the Esprit de Corps “Top Women in Defence” awards night on May 30th as one of the Top 20 award winners for 2022.

Culture Change – how is it going?

By Military Woman

Question: In April 2021 the Chief Professional Conduct and Culture was established, under the command of Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan, to help unify and integrate military culture change.  How is that going? 

Answer: Without a doubt, a lot of good work by a lot of dedicated people across the defence team has happened over this last year, especially at Chief of Military Personnel, presently under the command of Major-General Lise Bourgon. Already implemented military related culture change initiatives include:

·      dress instructions that allow all serving members to be their authentic selves while in uniform

·      new policies on breastfeeding, pregnancy loss, family support, and religious accommodations

·      a“Total Health and Wellness Strategy” with dedicated Federal Budget 2022 money for performance optimization and injury/illness prevention strategies for women

·      removal of sex designations from DND 404 driver’s licences

·      a training needs assessment to further prevent all forms of harmful workplace behaviours

·      updated leadership qualifications, from basic training to general officer selection processes

·      the option to feminise military ranks in French and

·      enhanced leadership accountability to women, visible minorities, Indigenous, LGBTQ2+ and/or persons with disabilities through their respective Defence Advisory Groups.

Soon to be completed additional initiatives include:

·      a recruiting experience renewal plan

·      a new retention strategy

·      “CAF Ethos: Trusted to Serve” - an updated and renamed “Duty of Honour”   

·      further streamlining of sexual misconduct reporting, enhanced data collection and tracking, and strengthened support and care for impacted members and

·      rapid implementation of Louise Arbour’s recommendations (expected May 2022).

The devil, however, is always in the details. Exactly what is the problem we are trying to solve and how will we know when that problem has been solved?  Improved recruiting and retention? Improved operational effectiveness? Improved health of serving and Veteran members?

If people truly are the military’s #1 asset, then one measure of culture change’s success would be the effectiveness of the above listed initiatives to prevent the abuse of power and/or interpersonal disrespect that causes broken trust.

Broken trust can result from the actions or inactions of peers, chain of command, health care providers, politicians, government agencies, media, Canadian society at large, and/or even from self-distrust.

Frances Frei, an expert in rebuilding trust at individual, organizational and/or community levels, states that broken trust cannot be healed without the presence of three specific attributes - authenticity, logic, and empathy.

·      Authenticity requires there to be no ongoing say-do gap. Stated values and priorities must align with actions, especially regarding what type of behaviours are rewarded.

·      Logic requires all messaging to be backed with appropriate research and statistics and communicated in a clear and transparent, not misleading, way. 

·      Empathy requires others to listen until those whose trust has been broken feel that their point of view has been heard and fully understood by those who harmed them.

If we use Frei’s criteria as required pre-requisites to achieving successful culture change, how promising are the military’s efforts looking so far?

On the plus side, the military appears to be authentic in wanting to close its say-do gap (but only time will tell). The defence team is also using a logical and informed approach by sponsoring new culture change research, research networks and providing formal updates. As for empathy, the military has made the effort to listen to almost 10,000 participants in close to 300 culture change consultations this last year alone.

All militaries can improve on their use of precise and inclusive language; but to be fair, this is something that most of government and society in general are still struggling with too.

Based on Frei’s model, to achieve a trusted military workplace with mutual respect, dignity and inclusion of all, more work will still be required to fully establish empathy. True military culture change will require an “all hands on deck” team effort. Everyone, including the approximately 7/10 military members that are part of the military’s “dominant culture” ie not part of any equity seeking defence advisory groups, must strive to reach more understanding, empathy, of the perspectives of those whose military experiences have been very different from their own.

Ukrainian Women Veterans Movement

By Military Woman

Question - What do we know about Ukrainian military women?

Answer – We know historically Ukraine’s military commenced in its present form December 06, 1991, shortly after the nation declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Very few women volunteered for military service prior to the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war.  In 2014, the military still largely limited women volunteers to non-officer, gendered roles such as cooks and seamstresses. However, given this conflict’s nature, opportunities arose quickly for women to step up and do whatever needed to be done. In short order, women had proven themselves not only capable but well-suited to many roles previously only held by men including combat medic, intelligence and sniper.

By 2016, women made up over 8% of Ukraine’s military forces.  By 2017, over 54,000 Ukrainian women had military time – with over 21,000 having worked in combat related roles and over 10,000 with direct combat experience.  Despite these impressive numbers, restrictions in Ukrainian legislation didn’t allow all women the same honours, benefits, or care after injury that were provided to men.  

A hard-hitting documentary called “The Invisible Battalion”, helped to galvanize the nation to act. In 2018, Ukrainian legislation changes allowed women into over 60 military roles. In 2019, a bill was passed to afford women official veteran status on par with men. Although these were significant advances, many inequalities remained for serving and retired Ukrainian women. This reality led to the formation of the “Ukrainian Women Veterans Movement”.  This organization advocates for many issues including workplace sexual violence prevention, military equipment adaptations for women and improved access to appropriate women’s health care.

At the end of December 2021, Ukraine again updated its military regulations . Women aged 18-60 with certain skill sets were ordered to register with the military for war time call up. Less than two months later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Although millions of elderly, women and children have now fled the country – there can be no doubt that millions of Ukrainian women, including thousands with recent combat experience, have stayed. As of March 2022, women are thought to make up between 15% -  20% of Ukraine’s military forces.

So, that’s a bit of the history. What else do we know about Ukrainian women who have served?

Demographic research showed women Veterans to have comparable military service length to men, while being more likely to be single, multilingual, renting their homes, and with higher levels of education.  

Medical research found that despite women Veterans having similar physical injury rates to men, the women were only half as likely to have requested government disability recognition. 

Military-to-Civilian Transition research indicated women Veterans were more interested than men in support programs. In particular, the women Veterans expressed higher interest in having access to advanced education opportunities, communication skills courses, job interview practice sessions and assistance to explain the advantages of their military skills to prospective civilian employers. Socially, women Veterans were more likely than men to experience civilian society bias, harassment and/or discrimination based on their military service. Women Veterans compared to men also had fewer civilian friends and placed a higher value on regular communications with other Veterans.

So, what is the take-away from all this information about Ukraine’s military women?

Solidarity.

The Canadian and Ukrainian women, serving and retired, have faced many of the same sex and gender related challenges and struggles along our respective career paths. Military gender integration efforts may have started out earlier in Canada but Ukraine has moved to deeply integrate women into its armed forces incredibly quickly and bravely. There is much we can learn from each other.

To all the women fighting now – please know – you are not invisible. We see you.

A few ways Canadians can show their solidarity include:

1)    donating to verified international charities, Canadian-Ukrainian charities or medical charities, or directly to the Women Veteran Movement or Ukraine military;  

2)    advocating for more government supported Canadian-Ukrainian linkages especially through Women, Peace, and Security related initiatives; and/or

3)    volunteer overseas (if with military or medical skills) or in Canada (private sponsorships of refugees and resettlement programs).

Parliament still needs more diversity

Question: How many military Veterans have sat in Parliament as an MP or Senator?

Answer: Statistics are always challenging to confirm, but “Parlinfo” is the Parliament of Canada’s database. By selecting the “military service” filter you will find that 990 of the over 5,000 listed Parliamentarians have “military service” annotations. Add the “female” filter to this same search and the number found plummets to 14. To be clear, a search through the over 155 years of Canadian parliamentary history, finds there to be a grand total of 14 women Parliamentarians who have had “military service”.  

As it turns out, even this surprisingly low number appears to be misleadingly high.

Let’s take a closer look at those 14 names.   

1.     Cora Casselman

Nurse, Army WWI 1914-18, MP for Edmonton, AB, 1941-45, LPC

2.     Joan Neiman

LCdr, WRNS WWII 1942-46, Senator for ON, 1972-95, LPC

3.     Julia LaMarsh

Sgt Int, CWAC WWII 1943-45, MP for Niagara Falls, ON, 1960-68, LPC

4.     Eloise Jones

Capt Medical Officer, CWAC WWII 1943-46, MP for Saskatoon, SK, 1964-65, CPC

5.     Margaret Konantz

President, Central Volunteer Bureau WWII , MP for Winnipeg, MB, 1963-65, LPC

6.     Ursula Appolloni

Cpl (UK), WRAF 1948-50, MP for York South, ON, 1974-84, LPC

7.     Doris Anderson

Div Officer (Reserves), WRCNS 1952-58, Senator for PEI, 1995-97, LPC

8.     Marlene Jennings

(Reserves), Black Watch Reg, CF 1970, MP for Notre-Dame, PQ, 1997-2011, LPC

9.     Karen McCrimmon

MCpl (Reserves), Windsor Reg, CF 1975-80 then LCol Navigator, RCAF, CAF 1980-2006,

MP for Kanata, ON, 2015-21, LPC

10.  Leona Alleslev

Capt Logistics, RCAF, CAF 1987-97, MP for Aurora, ON, 2015-19, LPC/CPC

11.  Djaouida Sellah

Volunteer for Gulf War 1990-91, MP for Saint Bruno, PQ, 2011-15, NDP

12.  Joyce Fairbairn

HCol, 18th Air Defence Reg, CAF, Senator for AB, 1984-2013, LPC

13.  Christine Moore

Cpl Medic (Reserves), 52nd Field Ambulance, 2002-5 then OCdt Armour, 2005, CAF,

      MP for Abitibi, PQ, 2011-19, NDP

14.  Pamela Wallin

HCol, RCAF 2009, Senator for SK, 2009 – present, CPC

On review, the above list is likely to generate some questions amongst savvy military readers.

·      What is Parlinfo’s definition of “military service” especially given the lack of guidance from Termium Plus – the government terminology data bank?

·      Should military service from other countries count (e.g., Appolloni served with the Women’s Royal Air Force in the UK while still a British citizen)? 

·      Should important volunteer work in wars or conflict zones count (e.g., Konantz was with the Women’s Voluntary Services, and Sellah was a volunteer doctor with the Red Crescent Association)?

·      Should RCMP service count (e.g., Senator Busson served with the RCMP 1974-2006)?

·      Should Honorary Colonel (HCol) appointments count (e.g., Fairbairn and Wallin)?

·      Who is responsible to update the Parlinfo data? For example, Loreena McKennitt took over Senator Wallin’s HCol duties in 2014, yet Wallin is still listed here as serving.

Regardless, why should anyone care that you can count on two hands the total number of women Parliamentarians that were also military Veterans?

We know that every sitting of Parliament has serious and diverse defence-related issues to be discussed and decided on. For example, this Parliament needs to discuss everything from the defence budget, to major military equipment procurements, to military sexual misconduct, to Veteran mental health and homelessness issues, to when to use the military in foreign (e.g., Ukraine) and domestic (e.g., Ottawa) settings. These important Parliamentary decisions will be better informed when made with the input from a diversity of voices.

The present 44th Parliament has, for the very first time in Canada’s history, less than 20 Parliamentarians total sitting with “military service”  (18 to be exact and not one being a military woman Veteran). If you agree it’s important for Parliament to benefit from having a diversity of lived experiences represented within it, consider encouraging women Veterans to become a MP or Senator!

It can happen to any one...

By Military Woman

Q: What do we know about male-on-male military sexual assaults?

 A: In short – not enough. However, we do know that over 40% of the 19,000+ CAF-DND sexual misconduct class action claims were submitted by men, despite male sexual assaults being one of the most underreported and understudied of all crimes.

Although Canadian research has started to look at the unique aspects of military sexual assault in men, little information is presently publicly available. Let’s therefore consider the findings of a recent publication that reviewed 171 cases of male military penetrative sexual assault in the US Army (Cunningham, 2021).

Who were the perpetrators? Although female-on-male sexual assault can and does occur, over 95% of perpetrators were male. Male perpetrators were often trusted friends or acquaintances from the same unit, slightly older in age and higher in rank than their victims. The two most common trades in the US Army for sexual assault perpetrators (and victims) were combat arms (41%) and medical (13%).

What motivated the perpetrators? Motivations were diverse. Many heterosexual perpetrators wanted non-sexual dominance and control over their victims. While many non-heterosexual perpetrators were motivated by sexual gratification and/or a desire for intimacy.

Normal behavioural inhibitions against assaulting others (such as concern about punitive or social consequences for actions, and/or personal value sets) were most likely to be overwhelmed when a situational opportunity to assault occurred concurrent to the perpetrator’s use of alcohol, drugs and/or pornography. 

How did they do it? Dominance and control motivated assaults often were related to bullying and hazing activities.  Sexual gratification and desires for intimacy related assaults commonly occurred with the perpetrator inviting the victim to watch movies or play video games alone together while away from normal home settings. Alcohol or other drugs were often provided to the victim with the assault occurring after the victim had fallen asleep or passed out.  

How were victims selected?  Victims were often under 24, new to the military and/or the unit.  The individual (and the unit) had often been “tested” earlier by the perpetrator to ensure the pre-existence of a passive permissive reaction to inappropriate sexual comments and behaviours, often homophobic in nature.

Why did victims not report?  Many military cultural factors serve as barriers to reporting. Reporting was less likely if a unit placed preferential importance on: its performers; unit cohesion and allegiance; individual resilience and self-reliance and/or conflict resolution at the lowest level possible. Also, with over 75% of the victims being alcohol related incapacitated or asleep for some/ most of their assault many lacked confidence in the justice system to take their report seriously. 

Prevention Recommendations ?

1)    More research. More Canadian specific research is required to know how to best support the unique needs of male military sexual assault victims and how to best prevent and rehabilitate male military sexual perpetrators.

2)    More education. Male-on-male military sexual assaults should never be laughed off or treated as a joke. All sexual assaults should be acknowledged and treated as the serious crimes they are.  

Knowing that male military sexual perpetrators preferentially seek out units that reward group cohesion and allegiance, male toughness and normalize violent, dominant and/or hypermasculine behaviours – enhanced vigilance may be required in these types of units. 

All individuals should be aware that assaults are more common when isolated or away from home, alone with one other person especially if using alcohol, drugs and/or pornography.

3)    Culture Change. Perpetrators repeatedly described their sexual assaults as escalations in behaviour that started with workplace tolerance to their sexually inappropriate talk and actions. This knowledge suggests that everyone in the defence community can play an active role in the prevention of future military sexual assaults by helping to model and enforce a non-sexualized respectful workplace for one and all.

If you or anyone you know, serving or veteran, has been impacted by

military sexual misconduct you can receive information and/or support from

the Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (SMRC) 1-844-750-1648

How would you summarize 2021?

By Military Woman

Question:  How would you summarize 2021?

Answer: Shocking? Painful? Eye-opening? Annus horribilis? Let’s look back.

January

14th – Gen Jonathan Vance hands over command of the CAF to Adm Art McDonald

17th – Vance’s end-of-career exit interview with Mercedes Stephenson, Global News, airs

February

2nd – Stephenson publicly reports on two sexual misconduct allegations against Vance

9th – Parliament starts one of two committee studies into the allegations against Vance

24th – McDonald steps aside as CDS after a sexual misconduct allegation is made against him

March

5th – LS (Retd) Marie-Claude “MC” Gagnon, founder of It’s Just 700 (IJ700), steps down after seven years of unsuccessfully advocating government to fund a peer support program for those impacted by military sexual trauma (MST)

11th – Fifth Estate airs allegations that the military chain of command can and does interfere with military sexual misconduct investigations

17th – LCol Eleanor Taylor’s resignation from the military “in disgust” reported publicly

24th – Operation Honour declared “culminated” and to be closed out

29th –VAdm Haydn Edmundson steps aside as Chief of Military Personnel (CMP) after a sexual misconduct allegation is made against him 

April

28th – MGen Peter Dawe reported to have provided a registered sex offender character references

29th – Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour asked to lead a sexual misconduct review

May

16th – Project Trauma Support medical director, and board chair, step down after acknowledging they knowingly selected a male registered sex offender (the same offender for whom Dawe had previously written character references for) to be a peer mentor for a female moral injury cohort

31st - Former Supreme Court Justice Morris Fish tables his military justice system report

June

2nd – Office of the Veterans Ombud reports that all veterans, regardless of the cause of their service-connected mental health conditions, should have equitable peer support program access 

14th – LGen Michael Rouleau resigns after socializing (a golf game) with Vance, who was still under investigation by military police (who report directly to LGen Rouleau)

22nd – IJ700 is replaced in function by a new group – It’s Not Just 700 (INJ700)

July

2nd – US Independent Review Committee on Sexual Assault in the Military report released 

8th – Retired Canadian generals organize to bring Afghan interpreters to Canada quicker

15th – Vance charged with obstruction of justice - his trial is not expected until 2023

August

15th. – Kabul falls and Canada calls a federal election

18th – MGen Dany Fortin charged by Quebec prosecutors with sexual assault

25th – Canada’s last military flight out of Kabul, thousands of Afghans left (still) awaiting word on Canada’s approvals for their resettlement applications

September

11th – Nova Scotia’s Lionel Desmond’s Fatality Inquiry identifies unmet veteran care needs

20th – Federal election results in a repeat minority Liberal government

October

5th – Dawe removed from proposed new sexual misconduct related job after public outcry

13th – LGen Trevor Cadieu steps aside as proposed Canadian Army commander after a sexual misconduct allegation is made against him

15th – LGen Steven Whelan steps aside as CMP after a sexual misconduct allegation is made against him

November

10th – Former WO André Gagnon is sentenced by a civilian court to six months in prison for sexually assaulting MCpl (Retd) Stéphanie Raymond

24th – CAF/DND Sexual Misconduct Class Action officially closes with almost 19,000 claims submitted, over 40% of which are from men

December

7th – Edmundson, the CMP before Whelan, charged with sexual assault and indecent acts

Fortunately, there have also been some upsides to 2021.

In April, Lt (Retd) Christine Wood successfully led IJ700 advocacy efforts to achieve Gagnon’s

longstanding goal – dedicated military sexual trauma peer support program funding.

July onwards, many have organized in support of Afghanis in need. Well-earned shout-outs in particular for Veterans Transition Network, Aman Lara and the Ukrainian special operations folk. Bravo Zulu.  

Although it might seem logical to end this year in review with the federal government’s long awaited sexual misconduct apology on December 13th, we won’t. Instead, our parting thoughts about 2021will be to acknowledge MCpl (Retd) Stéphanie Raymond’s impact past and future.

It is Raymond’s 2011 military sexual assault case that pushed then CDS Gen Tom Lawson to order the Deschamps report, which led to Op Honour. Thanks in large part to her courage and perseverance over this last decade, many of us have cautious but genuine hope that 2022 will be better. Stéphanie, thank you for never giving up on your fight for justice.  Respect.

Thoughts and hopes for the next Parliament

By Military Woman

Q:  Any thoughts to share with the Cabinet Ministers of Canada’s 44th Parliament?

A:  Absolutely!

To Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence:  We are told that your strengths include a deep knowledge of governance, the public service and procurement. Hopefully you will soon be adding two additional strengths to that list – an understanding of military culture(s) and military servicemember unique needs.

Military servicemembers are the one group of federal employees which can be legally ordered, without access to union or administrative recourse, into unsafe work environments. Therefore, the military aspires to always have the right people with the right training and the right equipment to effectively, and as safely as possible, achieve any assigned tasking or mission.

Many assume you will either be able to successfully advocate for the resources needed by the military to do its mission safely, or you may find yourself admiring the view from the proverbial glass cliff – much to the security detriment of both Canada and her military’s servicemembers. Your ability to best support the military’s mission may well end up depending more on your ability to influence those above and beside you during cabinet budget discussions than any influence or changes possible directly within CAF.

To Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence:  We call on you to “lead by example” and to ensure your department’s full implementation of gender-based analysis (GBA+) to allow for sex, gender and intersectional equity considerations in all that you do. 

We also call on you to improve on the transparency and accountability to Veterans for all VAC programs, services and research.  VAC (and DND) should follow the Office of the Auditor General’s 2014 recommendations to focus more on health and well-being performance measures and less on total numbers of people put through various unvalidated programs and services.  VAC (and DND) should also be signatories to upholding the Federal Tri-Council Policy on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2).

Lastly, we remind you of your personal 2019 promise for an annual Women Veterans Forum. An annual forum was to confirm and showcase the department’s women Veteran research strategy. A research plan that was to address known gaps in baseline data and understanding for women Veteran issues such as how to prevent women Veterans housing insecurity/homelessness and other female sex specific medical, mental health, addictions, eating disorders,  moral injury and reproductive wellbeing related issues.  An annual Women Veterans Forum was also to be an important opportunity for the mobilization and transfer of women Veteran specific knowledge to the civilian health care provider community. It’s time to name a date for our next Women Veterans Forum.  

To Filomena Tassi, Minister of Public Service and Procurement:  Despite the previous mandate letters that ordered fighter and Navy fleet updates, the military is still using out-of-date, verging on obsolete, equipment to keep Canada “strong, secure and engaged”. Defence related procurement decisions need to be made. 

To Marci Ien, Minister of Women and Gender Equity:  Moving forward, we hope to see inclusion of diverse military and Veteran voices in all your gender-based violence work and continued support to further the implementation of sex- and gender-based analysis throughout the Canadian Armed Forces. 

To Harjit Sajjan, Minister of International Development:  Your prior experience with Women, Peace and Security issues and GBA+ should serve Canada’s feminist foreign policy development well. One request is to immediately find funding options for charities, like Veterans Transition Network, that o provide lifesaving supports to the Afghanis awaiting Government of Canada final paperwork processing prior to their ability to leave Afghanistan.

To Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions:  Present mental health and addiction prevention and treatment strategies require a radical redesign to become more inter-disciplinary, whole-health, and patient-care centric including for servicemembers and Veterans. Hopes are high that this new portfolio will serve to disrupt the ineffective status quo.

To all: Building Canada “back better” this Parliament, will need everyone working together for the well-being of all Canadians, servicemembers and Veterans included.

Who was Brigadier General Sheila Hellstrom?

By Military Woman

Question: Who was Brigadier General Sheila Hellstrom?

Answer: BGen Sheila Hellstrom was a trailblazer who  “charted a smoother flight path for others to follow.” We dedicate this month’s column to her memory.

Born in 1935 in Lunenburg, NS, BGen Hellstrom’s lifelong commitment to the military was first ignited upon seeing Norwegian WWII sailors who were living nearby at “Camp Norway.” After graduating from high school in 1953, she immediately tried to volunteer for the Korean War—only to learn that the enrollment age for women was higher than for men. Also finding herself unable to join the Royal Military College, she enrolled into the RCAF University Reserve Training Program at Mount Allison University. She was welcomed in 1954 into the Personnel Administration classification – one of the few non-medical trades open to women at that time.

Her first military summer job was at RCAF Station Senneterre, which was part of the Pinetree Line radar defence network. This first DEW Line station had both a ground-control intercept and early warning mission mandate. Future summers were spent at Canadian Joint Air Training Centre at Rivers, Manitoba and at 4 Fighter Wing in Baden-Soellinger, Germany.

In 1956, with a science degree in hand, Hellstrom was promoted to Flying Officer and was finally able to join the Regular Force—three years later than her male peers. She went on to serve for over three decades throughout Canada, including Winnipeg, Gimli, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, North Bay and St. Hubert. Her one beloved overseas posting (1959) was to the RCAF Support Unit in Metz, France. Her duties in Metz included acting as a courier delivering classified material and being the officer in charge of the decontamination centre for service women and dependents in the event of nuclear attack. 

Her often cited career firsts included being the first military woman to attend Canadian Forces Staff College (1973) and to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General (1987). Her passion, however, was to promote the expansion of employment opportunities for women in the military—an aspiration she shared with her colleague and life-long friend, LCol Shirley Robinson.  

Among her many roles promoting the advancement of uniformed women, Hellstrom worked in the Directorate of Women Personnel (1980-1985) in support of the Service Women in Non-Traditional Environments and Roles initiative (aka the SWINTER trials). Hellstrom also chaired the Committee on Women in the NATO Forces (1987-1989) and post retirement she served as Deputy Chair of the Minister of Defence’s Advisory Board on Gender Integration (1990-1995) and was a member of the Ottawa Police Service advisory committees for women, race relations, and employment equity (1990-1995). She also sat on several Defence Minister’s Monitoring Committees (1997-2003). BGen Hellstrom’s lifelong dedication to CAF and the integration of women into the military was recently recognized by an Esprit de Corps Top 20 Women award (2020).

BGen Hellstrom is remembered as someone that did not demand perfection, but supported and inspired those around her to do better and to be better. VCDS LGen Frances Allen’s Beechwood memorial service eulogy, aptly described Sheila’s relationship to the military as being, “Unconditional. Unreserved. Unfailing.” BGen Hellstrom will be remembered as someone “compelled to push the institution and its people to continually grow and evolve.” 

Not blind to the flaws of the military, BGen Hellstrom nonetheless always wore her medals with tremendous pride. Her career was living proof that military women have come a long way, but she would have been the first to say there is more work yet to be done. We hope she can rest easy in knowing that the next generation are working together to pick up the baton she has handed us with the expectation that we will keep moving her beloved institution in the right direction.   

Especially now, women’s history month, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the work and sacrifices of those that have served before us and upon whose shoulders we now stand.

           Per Ardua Ad Astra             Parati Vero Parati                    Vigilamus Pro Te

Advice for the next Canadian Parliament

Question: What advice does Military Women have for the new federal government?

Answer: This column was written before knowing the results of the election, however the health and welfare of military women is expected to be of continued political interest regardless of the winner. So, what general advice could we offer to the new government?

1) Be Bold. There is still much that needs to be fixed in the military. The easy fixes have already all been made.  It will require patience and perseverance to identify and address the root causes of the military’s remaining complex intersectional problems. And, although the political focus has been largely on sexual misconduct, all forms of systemic bias and discrimination in the military must be addressed concurrently. It will take a government with vision and courage to successfully oversee and direct the needed changes in military culture. Uncomfortable conversations must still be had with Canadians, politicians, and military members alike.

2) Talk to Canadians. For a number of diverse reasons, recruitment is likely to be challenging for the foreseeable future. This reality means the military’s sustainability will be predicated on its ability to successfully effect culture change to attract young Canadians and to clearly articulate to them for what and why they are signing up. Peacekeeping? Combat? Cyber? Domestic emergency response? Let’s re-confirm with Canadians what their military’s primary functions should be. Only then can we fully re-imagine and communicate what an “ideal Canadian soldier” needs to be to make our military strong, secure, and inclusive. 

3) Listen to Military Members.  Because military members must be apolitical and non-unionized, their voices are often muted when the political level seeks their input. Politicians would therefore be wise to concurrently seek the voice of the retired/released military members and their loved ones, who are unencumbered by such limitations. Government would do well to remember that the most efficient and effective recruiters in all the world are happy healthy veterans.

4) Do No Harm. When developing any new military program, policy or benefit follow three steps. First, apply a sex and gender-based analysis. For the military to attract and represent the diverse population it serves, inclusion and intersectionality issues must be addressed. Second, the military is, by definition, a trauma-exposed workplace. Therefore, all programs and policies applied to the military should be trauma aware and informed. Third, the military is by definition “not civilian”. Civilian decision makers must seek out and include military culture awareness, including the existence of a plethora of military sub-cultures. Missing any of these three steps makes preventable harm inequitably likely to occur to members of the non-dominant military groups such as women, Indigenous people, LGBTQ2 people and people of colour.

5) Uphold Sexual and Reproductive Human Rights. Many military women want to serve their country and to have a family. Because of the unique work stresses and exposures possible especially in operational military jobs and environments, every military pregnancy ideally is planned. As military member’s medical care is a federal, not provincial, responsibility there is much that the federal government can do to ensure military women’s sexual and reproductive human rights. All policy makers, health care providers, military members and their chain of command should be aware of the basics of how to support women’s health needs particularly on board ship, in the field, and during deployments. All military members should be allowed to store their sperm/eggs prior to deployments as a government provided workplace benefit. All military members should be aware of what their options are after unplanned sex, regardless of where they are in the world. Day-after sex medications (Plan B) should be accessible without barriers to all members, including on ships and during deployment. Medication abortion (Mifegymiso) should be available including by telemedicine support when operationally so required. Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale” cannot be allowed to become a Texas based  documentary instead of what it is – a highly evocative and disturbing sociological commentary and warning.