Recommendation 1:
With the understanding that Defence Administrative Order and Directive (DAOD) 9005-1 (Sexual Misconduct Response) is to be promulgated, the committee recommends that DAOD 5012-0 (Harassment Prevention and Resolution), 5019-1 (Personal Relationships and Fraternization), 5019-5 (Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Disorders) and 9005-1, along with the relevant Treasury Board policies, be reviewed with specific attention to the recommendations made by the ERA. They should be amended to clarify the definitions of certain terms, such as harassment, sexual misconduct and adverse personal relationships, as well as to address the concepts of consent, hostile work environment, military sexual trauma, and duty to report. The revisions to the DAODs should therefore use plain language terminology as much as possible, as well as terminology consistent with relevant definitions, such as sexual assault, found in the Criminal Code of Canada.

In addition, the suite of relevant DAODs (5012-0, 5019-1, 5019-5 and 9005-1) should be made consistent with the most recent federal legislation addressing harassment and violence that occurs in the course of employment – An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017 – as follows: “harassment … means any action, conduct or comment, including of a sexual nature, that can reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation or other physical or psychological injury or illness to an individual, including any prescribed action, conduct or comment.”  The DAODs should continue to cover harassment within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act (i.e. based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, pardoned conviction and conviction for which a record suspension has been ordered). Policy documents and directives should also clearly state that complainants of harassment have the option to pursue their complaint outside of the military system should they so choose.

Specifically, DAOD 5012-0 should be redefined to cover the harassment that potentially could occur outside the workplace for CAF members, given the nature of military organizations as “total institutions” where members of the military live, work, train and socialize together. DAOD 5012-0 should also cover:

• sexual harassment through the use of various forms of social media; and
• examples of conduct that, while not exhaustive, will assist in understanding what constitutes prohibited sexual harassment, such as:
  • use of belittling language referring to body parts;
  • unwelcome sexual invitations or requests;
  • unnecessary touching or patting;
  • leering at a person’s body;
  • unwelcome and repeated innuendo or taunting about a person’s body, appearance or sexual orientation;
  • suggestive remarks or other verbal abuse of a sexual nature; or
  • visual displays of degrading or offensive sexual statements or images.

Recommendation 4: That the CAF and the Department of National Defence (DND) implement evidence-based policies and practices to ensure that all CAF members, former CAF members, and civilians working for either organization who have experienced or been affected by sexual misconduct receive the medical, psychological, social, legal, and financial support that they need to heal from military sexual trauma, in any form. Support programs under these policies must be purpose-built for survivors of sexual trauma and respond to the individual clinical needs of members using them, while maintaining gender sensitivity and being culturally relevant. Spouses and children of military members who have been affected by sexual misconduct should be provided a similar level of support. Policies and programs must take into consideration the particular support needs of CAF members who are single, as well as those deployed or on tasking. In support of this recommendation, Queen’s Regulations and Orders, Volume 1 - Chapter 34 (Medical Services) should be amended to ensure that all individuals listed above have the appropriate and adequate entitlements to care.
To be effective in ensuring the expected results, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) should utilize the expertise available within the External Advisory Council, recently established by the CAF, by allocating additional support personnel and finances, including appropriate stipends. The External Advisory Council should be given a renewable five year mandate, which would allow them the time to use their expertise to review summaries of all investigations of any form of military sexual trauma (with gender noted but other identifying details removed), so that they can assess outcomes, identify issues of concern and make recommendations for improvement in how complaints are being handled. These advisors would not have enforcement authority, but their advice would go to the CDS or the Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) for the initial five years of their mandate, and all officers with any area of management responsibility in the chain of command would be advised as to the areas for improvement that they are directed to implement, with timelines for delivery to enable the CDS or VCDS to make specific annual public reports to the Minister of National Defence as to what actions if any are being taken, in response to the findings and recommendations of the advisory group. An effectiveness review should be conducted after the first five years.