The Minister's Advisory Panel was created in December 2020 with a clear mandate to seek out the policies, processes and practices that enable systemic racism and discrimination in the Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and provide advice on how to eliminate them from our institution. Their work has focused on Anti-Indigenous and Anti-Black Racism, LGBTQ2+ Prejudice, Gender Bias, White Supremacy, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination against people with disabilities.
Today, Minister of National Defence Anita Anand released the final report and discussed next steps. The Minister was joined by the four members of the Advisory Panel, MGen Ed Fitch, OMM, MSM, CD (Retired); Sgt Aronhia:nens Derek Montour (Retired); Maj Sandra Perron, CD, HLCol of the Régiment de Hull (Retired); and Capt Door L. Gibson, MMM, CD (Retired), as well as General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, and Bill Matthews, the Deputy Minister of the Department of National Defence.
The report provides recommendations for change in thirteen areas that cross the organization-from improving education and awareness of reconciliation, to promoting the history of Black service personnel, to improving recruitment efforts in multicultural communities, and using data to measure progress.
The Panel urges Defence Team leaders to consider these recommendations with resolve and urgency, and to use it as a guide for current and future work to eliminate racism and discrimination in all forms.
As part of this effort, the Defence Team will be establishing a cross-sectional working group that will include Branches from across the organization and the Defence Advisory Groups (DAGs) and Networks to address the report's recommendations, including by developing an implementation Framework and Action Plan. This work will be synchronized with the broader Culture Change Strategy currently in development by the Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture. Officials from the DND and CAF will update on progress during their regular updates to Canadians on the steps that the Defence Team is taking on culture change.
