Last week, defence minister Harjit Sajjan announced a slew of new initiatives in hopes of drawing a line under the rolling controversy of sexual harassment in the Canadian military. Including the appointment of former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to lead an independent review of sexual harassment and misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence. This will be the second of its kind in six years. The breadth and depth of the proposed measures is indicative of the level of concern senior government decision-makers have with the issue and its potential to erode the government’s feminist credentials in the eyes of voters.
Those credentials had recently been boosted by the government’s recent ‘feminist’ budget. The investments in childcare and women’s economic well-being, a national action plan on gender-based violence, and increased support for gender-based violence services were all well-received by gender equality advocates.
Women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and these investments were needed. Boosting women’s participation in the workforce is smart economic policy, especially when trying to build sustained economic growth. And, since women are a key constituency for Liberals, it makes sense politically to ensure they feel heard and supported. Nonetheless, the military and DND sexual misconduct and harassment crisis has the potential to severely undermine it all.
Military issues don’t tend to resonate with Canadians, often barely registering with what really matters to voters. This one feels different. After months and months of coverage, the story has not gone away. The opposition has continued to press the government on “who knew what when” and “who said what to whom,” and it now looks as though they’ve identified their next target.
It is clear there is a major cultural problem within the Canadian military. The Deschamps Report, while thorough and useful, did not have the same carte-blanche that the Arbour Report will ultimately have. Retired Supreme Court Justice Deschamps herself has said that Madame Arbour’s mandate “appears to be broader” and would not be a mere repetition. And, whether right or wrong, the Deschamps Reports’ link to the Harper government hurt its chances of being fully embraced by the Trudeau government.
No one should kid themselves into thinking that more bad news isn’t coming. For the government, last week’s announcement was about taking back control of a narrative that has had them on the backfoot for months. Now they can at least point to a plan, albeit an imperfect one, when further questions and issues emerge.
More problematically, it also means that they’ve run out of excuses and fingers to point. With an election on the horizon, the last thing the government wants, or can afford, is to have their carefully crafted feminist agenda chiseled away by the news drip falling from DND HQ. From here on in, if things don’t start getting better, there is no one left to blame but themselves.
