Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

Misconduct crisis hurting recruitment: Anand

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Nov, 2021 04:31 PM
  • Misconduct crisis hurting recruitment: Anand

HALIFAX - The sexual misconduct crisis afflicting Canada's military is hurting recruitment and morale in the ranks, Anita Anand said Friday as she used one of her first public addresses as Canada's new defence minister to lay out her priorities for the position.

Top of that list was what Anand described as significant and lasting change to the Canadian military's culture as the Armed Forces faces a crisis of confidence following complaints of inappropriate and in some cases criminal sexual behaviour involving senior officers.

It was in this context that Anand, who took over as defence minister last month from Harjit Sajjan, who was criticized for not doing more to address such behaviour among the top brass, noted the damage wrought on the military — and why culture change is her primary concern.

"This crisis is hurting morale and recruitment in the Canadian Armed Forces," she said in an address to Canadian and foreign delegates during the opening of the annual Halifax International Security Forum, which runs through the weekend.

"And I believe that in order for our military to be effective, our troops must feel safe, they must feel protected, and they must feel respected wherever they are, whatever they are doing."

Anand's speech came just under a month after she was named defence minister, becoming only the second woman take over the position after Kim Campbell held it for six months in 1993.

It also came two weeks after Anand announced she had accepted retired Supreme Court judge Louise Arbour's recent call to transfer the investigation and prosecution of military sexual misconduct cases to civilian authorities.

The minister reiterated her decision on Friday, saying the move "demonstrates that we are serious." 

"I am serious and committed to transparent institutions free from conflicts of interest," she said, before adding: "This is a first step There's no quick fix that will make these problems go away overnight."

Among those in attendance in Halifax was Gen. Wayne Eyre, the former Canadian Army commander who has been serving as acting chief of the defence staff since February, when Adm. Art McDonald stepped down due to a military police investigation into his own conduct.

McDonald has since called for the government to reinstate him after military police opted not to charge him, but the government instead put him on administrative leave and promoted Eyre. A decision on who will serve as permanent defence chief is expected soon. 

While Anand spent the first part of her address focusing on sexual misconduct in the ranks, she later went out of her way to underscore the important work that the Canadian military has been doing even as the current crisis has been raging.

That included contributing hundreds of troops to long-term care facilities early in the COVID-19 pandemic, helping distribute vaccines in dozens of remote communities, and responding to more than a dozen natural disasters over the past two years.

The most recent is this week's disastrous flooding in B.C., where the first of what will likely end up being hundreds of troops have started to arrive from Edmonton to help with evacuations, sandbagging and other emergency tasks.

Anand also underscored the role Canadian troops are playing overseas, including in the Asia-Pacific region, where she noted Canadian warships have maintained a "solid presence," which includes several traverses of the Taiwan Strait.

While much of the world considers the 180-kilometre strait to be international waters, Beijing claims ownership of the strait separating mainland China from Taiwan and has repeatedly condemned such passages by warships from the U.S., Canada and elsewhere as illegal.

Anand also recommitted to the Liberal government's defence strategy, which was released in 2017 and includes a plan to dramatically increase military spending over the next 20 years to expand the size of the Armed Forces and purchase new equipment.

There have been some concerns in military circles that the government could scale back that planned spending if and when it starts looking for ways to cut the federal deficit, which has soared to record highs during the pandemic.

MORE National ARTICLES

Heat-wave death risk grows for seniors in Canada

Heat-wave death risk grows for seniors in Canada
That heat wave lasted several weeks and saw the town of Lytton, B.C., destroyed by a fire a day after it recorded a temperature of 49.6 C, the highest temperature ever seen in Canada.

Heat-wave death risk grows for seniors in Canada

Bill introduced to overhaul B.C. forestry

Bill introduced to overhaul B.C. forestry
Katrine Conroy told the legislature the proposed changes align forestry legislation with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act passed in late 2019 and introduce "new tools to establish resilient forests."

Bill introduced to overhaul B.C. forestry

Vancouver police told to change handcuff policy

Vancouver police told to change handcuff policy
The police board says it launched a review of the department's protocols when Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed after trying to open an account at the Bank of Montreal using their government-issued status cards.

Vancouver police told to change handcuff policy

VPD investigates replica pipe bombs found at safe injection site

VPD investigates replica pipe bombs found at safe injection site
On October 16 just before 3 p.m., cleaning staff at the safe injection site near Pender and Abbott streets found what are now known as two replica pipe bombs inside the toilets. Staff believed they were imitation bombs and turned them over to police. VPD’s Emergency Response Team Bomb Technician attended and safely destroyed the device. 

VPD investigates replica pipe bombs found at safe injection site

Proactive policing leads to seizure of drugs, cash and a vehicle: Surrey RCMP

Proactive policing leads to seizure of drugs, cash and a vehicle: Surrey RCMP
Police seized 151 oxycodone pills, 51 morphine pill, and 21 grams of cocaine, which was packaged for street level sale. In addition to the illegal drugs, officers seized $4685 in cash along with the vehicle being used to facilitate the offences.

Proactive policing leads to seizure of drugs, cash and a vehicle: Surrey RCMP

Richmond RCMP seek public assistance in locating South Asian female Shewanie Gounden

Richmond RCMP seek public assistance in locating South Asian female Shewanie Gounden
Police are very concerned for Shewanie's health and well-being and friends and family report that it is out of character for her to be out of contact for this long.

Richmond RCMP seek public assistance in locating South Asian female Shewanie Gounden