Minister of National Defence Bill Blair is shown in his office at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. Members of the military now have the option to bypass the Canadian Armed Forces grievance process and taking complaints of sexual misconduct, harassment or discrimination to a third party. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – Members of the military now have the option to bypass the Canadian Armed Forces grievance process and taking complaints of sexual misconduct, harassment or discrimination to a third party.
The military announced today that the independent Canadian Human Rights Commission will hear new and existing complaints.
Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour recommended the change in her May 2022 report on sexual misconduct and toxic culture in the Armed Forces.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says the government will also stop filing objections to human-rights complaints on the basis that there is another process underway.
Before the changes were made, military members had to exhaust internal grievance processes before asking for an independent review of their case.
The commission says in a statement that it supports all the recommendations from Arbour’s report.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2023.
