Letter to the Minister of National Defence about allegations of misconduct in the Canadian military

March 2, 2021

The Honourable Harjit Sajjan
Minister of National Defence
101 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa ON K1A 0K2
By email: DND_MND@forces.gc.ca

Dear Minister Sajjan,

I am writing today regarding recent allegations of misconduct at the very highest level of the Canadian military. As you know, these are not the first such charges involving current or former Chiefs of the Defence Staff (CDS) to become public over the past few years.

While these allegations are currently being looked into from a military leadership perspective, little if any mention has been made about the needs of the over 25,000 public service employees who support the Forces on a daily basis. I am sure you recognize that their confidence in Department of National Defense (DND) leadership has been seriously eroded by these recurring events. If CDS themselves are not held accountable to departmental Sexual, Violence or Harassment policies, it is fair to ask how DND employees can expect fair hearings when they bring such cases forward.

The damage caused by these incidents to their morale and confidence is such that I urge you to immediately issue a statement of support for our 5000 members employed by the Department. Please be assured that we are ready to work with your office towards the development and implementation of a detailed, transparent roadmap outlining how DND plans to restore our members’ faith in their senior leadership.

I thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau,
President, PIPSC

Published on 10 March 2021

23 December 2019

What the Federal Government’s Ministerial Mandate Letters Mean for Our Members

On December 13, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released the mandate letters for his Cabinet. These documents outline his expectations and priorities for his ministers and for the organizations that they lead.

23 December 2019

Productive meeting with Federal Pay Equity Commissioner Karen Jensen

On December 11, 2019, I met with Canada’s first Federal Pay Equity Commissioner, Karen Jensen. She was appointed in September 2019 and is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the new Pay Equity Act.

19 December 2019

2019: A year of results

2019 saw new collective agreements for 14 groups, new scientific integrity policies, Phoenix compensation and progress on the new pay system. Together, we made this all happen.

12 December 2019

Post-Election Government Relations off to a Good Start

With the swearing-in of the new federal Cabinet and the election of close to 100 new Members of Parliament, I have been putting together a new government relations plan and building new relationships with elected officials.

20 November 2019

PIPSC Welcomes the New Federal Cabinet

On November 20, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the composition of his new Cabinet.

18 November 2019

Bed bugs in government offices

As you are certainly aware given the extensive media coverage over the past few days, at time of writing bed bugs have been found in at least 8 government buildings located in the National Capital Region. They have also been reported in federal government buildings in Montreal and Winnipeg. There may be other affected locations across Canada that have yet to be formally identified.