By Scott Taylor
In naming his new cabinet, Prime Minister Trudeau has finally relieved long serving Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan of his embattled portfolio.
Since February the Canadian Armed Forces senior command have been immersed in a still raging string of military sexual misconduct scandals. Despite the fact that Sajjan had announced yet another external review of the military’s sexualized culture last April, critics felt that his handling of this crisis was weak and ineffective.
Taking the helm from Sajjan will be Anita Anand.
She is new to federal politics as she was first elected to parliament in 2019. However, she is seen as a rising star within the Liberal party and was gained kudos for her handling of the COVID-19 vaccination acquisition as Canada’s procurement minister.
The fact that Anand is a woman, potentially sends out the signal to CAF survivors and victims of sexual misconduct that the government is finally serious about tackling the current crisis.
At her swearing in ceremony, Anand told reporters she plans to bring herself up to speed on her new department as quickly as possible.
Here’s a piece of free advice for the new Minister: What you are inheriting from Sajjan is not a mere dumpster fire, this is a towering inferno of sexual misconduct and it is burning from the top down. There were nine top military commanders involved in some level of a sexual misconduct scandal.
Without stability and continuity among the senior CAF leadership, Anand will have her hands full just trying to build a solid foundation from which to staff any sort of cultural reform within the ranks.
At present, the CAF is facing both a recruitment and a retention problem among their membership due to the almost continuous stream of sexual misconduct revelations that have been brought to the forefront by the media.
Many of the allegations being brought against the senior commanders are of a historic nature, dating back ten, twenty and in a couple of cases, thirty years, when these officers were young men.
In no way does the passage of time diminish or negate these allegations.
However, when one turns back the hands of time and looks at the military culture that existed three decades ago, it is actually encouraging to realize how far the CAF has evolved in just a short period of time.
Up until 1987 women were not allowed to serve in combat units and they were not allowed to sail on warships.
We currently have Lt-Gen Frances Allen serving as Canada’s first female Vice Chief of Defence Staff. There is also Lt-Gen Jennie Carignan serving as Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture.
Carignan not only served as a combat officer, she most recently commanded Canada’s battle group in Iraq.
At the Royal Military College, the new commandant is Commodore Josee Kurtz, the institution’s first ever female to head the college. Her last operational post was as Commodore of the NATO Standing Squadron serving in the Mediterranean.
Up until 1992 when a court challenge overturned the CAF policy, it wa illegal to be gay and serve in uniform.
The military had no choice but to accept the ruling, which overturned their discriminatory practices. However it was not until 2017 that the federal government issued a formal apology to all of those who had been purged from the ranks as a result of their sexual orientation.
Service members are now authorized to wear their uniforms in pride parades.
Anand should be encouraged by the fact the military has belatedly and slowly changed over the decades.
But that it can change should give her hope of possible success.
