Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre salutes after placing a wreath during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of V-J Day and the end of the Second World War, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, on Aug. 15, 2020.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Canada’s new Chief of the Defence Staff is pledging to change military culture to make it more inclusionary and dispel the notion that it’s an “old boys’ club,” as the Forces continue to grapple with a sexual misconduct crisis.
Wayne Eyre, who was named the head of the Canadian military last week, said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday that culture change is at the top of his list “to make our military a better place.”
General Eyre said there are many aspects of military culture he wants to keep – such as protecting others and service above self – but he wants to address the “exclusionary aspects” and bring in the values of inclusion as the “face of Canada is changing.”
“So if we want to be able to attract and retain the best talent from all segments of Canadian society, we have to embrace that value of inclusion,” he said on the television program.
Military recruitment, morale hurt by sexual misconduct crisis, Defence Minister says
Gen. Eyre said that over the next few weeks, the Canadian Armed Forces will be announcing a number of initiatives in greater detail around culture change, support for survivors of misconduct, and the complaint reporting system.
Defence Minister Anita Anand announced this month that investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct cases in the Forces will be moved from the military justice system to the civilian system, following years of calls for such a change.
She announced the move as former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour is in the midst of conducting a review of sexual misconduct and harassment in the Forces and the Defence Department, with the goal of making recommendations for setting up an external reporting mechanism. Ms. Arbour had previously included a move to civilian justice in a set of interim recommendations she sent to former defence minister Harjit Sajjan on Oct. 20.
Gen. Eyre on Sunday said he supports an independent reporting system outside of the chain of command. “I for one would welcome a system like that if it’s going to increase the confidence of our members at all levels,” he said.
“I tell you one of the things that I have learned is transparency and talking about measures that we’re going to take, and consultation, and using that as a vehicle to dispel the perception of an old boys’ club. It’s not going to happen overnight, and we’re going to do this step by step.”
Gen. Eyre also said that of the 19,000 or so Forces personnel, past and present, who have submitted claims in a class-action settlement against the federal government over sexual misconduct allegations in the military, 42 per cent are male.
“So this is not just a women’s issue. This is a Canadian Armed Forces issue writ large. And it may not necessarily be a sexual issue. It quite possibly is an abuse-of-power issue,” he said.
Gen. Eyre was named to the top job on Thursday after Admiral Art McDonald was fired from the post. He remains on administrative leave. Adm. McDonald stepped aside in February as he faced a sexual misconduct allegation, and Gen. Eyre had served as the acting chief of the defence staff since then.
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Laura Stone