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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 338

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 18, 2024 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 338 - Sep/18/24
Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)
  • Sep/18/24 4:38:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my question is going to be somewhat similar to the question from my colleague, the co-chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence. Since 2015, the issue of sexual misconduct has become common knowledge, so much so that Justice Deschamps, who reported on it at the time, served a guide for Justice Arbour, who also had to report on it. She wondered why she was being approached to do something that had already been done. This bill was introduced in March, but we had to wait until September for second reading. It took some time. The bill primarily focuses on sexual misconduct, although we know that military personnel are complaining about many other kinds of grievances too. If we had done the work on sexual misconduct a little sooner, would we have been able to move on to the next step by now and address other kinds of grievances that military personnel are complaining about? These grievances are adding fuel to an already serious fire, which explains why we are having problems with recruitment and retention.
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Context: House Hansard - 338 - Sep/18/24
Hon. Bill Blair
  • Sep/18/24 4:44:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her concern. I believe that for every member of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence, having trust in their workplace, that their rights will be protected and that they will be respected is absolutely essential. It is why, in this bill, we are trying to make very clear that all members of the military justice system will be independent in their actions so that they will not be taking direction from the chain of command. They need to know that they are going to be treated with fairness, respect and compassion. They also need to know that they are going to have access to services. Our responsibility, all of us, is to show respect and that we have heard their concerns. We have a responsibility to every man and woman who serves in the Canadian Armed Forces to make sure that they have a respectful, supportive work environment and to treat them with the dignity and respect that each one of them deserves. This bill is going to help us with that, but we have a job to do to make sure that we explain exactly what our rationale is. There has been a great deal of consultation, but there is more work to do.
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