Toronto (July 23, 2021) – On June 29, 2021, Madame Arbour invited any person who wished to share information in respect of her Independent External Comprehensive Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces to contact her. The response to her invitation has been very positive, and Madame Arbour and her Review Team are grateful for the participation.
The deadline to contact the Review Team to arrange for a meeting with a member of the Review team is August 13, 2021. Written submissions are also welcome, and must be submitted by August 31, 2021.
The Review Team may be contacted by email at [email protected], by mail addressed to Nadia Effendi at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower, 22 Adelaide St. W, Toronto, ON M5H 4E3 or by telephone by contacting Nadia Effendi at 416.367.6728.
According to its Terms of Reference, the aim of the Review is to, among other things:
- shed light on the causes for the continued presence of harassment and sexual misconduct despite efforts to eradicate it;
- identify barriers to reporting inappropriate behaviour and to assess the adequacy of the response when reports are made;
- make recommendations on preventing and eradicating harassment and sexual misconduct; and,
- assess the recruitment, training, performance evaluation, posting, and promotion systems in the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as the military justice system’s policies, procedures, and practice to respond to such allegations.
The Review will include the views and Defence workplace experiences of: current and former Department of National Defence (DND) employees; Canadian Armed Forces members; Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces employees; and contractors. It will also include the perspectives of those employees, members and contractors who identify as part of historically disadvantaged groups, with specific focus on women, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2) community, to assist the DND and the Canadian Armed Forces in furthering understanding of the perspective of these groups. In addition, it will consider all relevant independent reviews concerning the DND/Canadian Armed Forces, along with their findings and recommendations.
The Reviewer and her team are independent of DND and Canadian Armed Forces. Learn more about the Review.
Information communicated to the Reviewer and her team in the course of the Review will be received in confidence unless otherwise agreed to by the Reviewer and the person providing the information.