Dr. Megan MacKenzie, Author of Arbour Report Recommendation Implementation Report Card
Photo Credit: Dr. MacKenzie
Esprit de Corps Magazine December 2024 // Volume 31 Issue 11
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 69
By Military Woman
Question:
What was the government’s response to the 42 recommendations in the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) report, Invisible No More. The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans?
Answer:
Before diving into the government’s response, let’s first thank Member of Parliament (MP) Rachel Blaney and her office for hosting the Second Annual Parliamentary Reception in Honour of Women Veterans on October 28, 2024.
This inspiring event featured speeches from three women Veterans — Carly Arkell, Donna Riguidel, and Louise Siew — all of whom had testified as part of the ACVA study on Women Veterans (see Esprit de Corps, Vol. 30, Issues 5 and 10 for summaries). One speaker described MP Blaney as today’s 'Alexa McDonough' for her outstanding dedication to social justice issues. Many hope that MP Blaney will stay involved in the Veteran community after she retires from Parliament next election.
The reception had over 70 attendees, including the Minister and Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs, Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, and the Defence Team’s Champion for Women LGen Lise Bourgon. Even MPs Blake Richards and James Bezan, both of whom missed the June 12, 2024, celebration of the ACVA report’s release, were also able to attend (see Esprit de Corps, Vol. 31, Issue 6 for more on the June 12th event).
Unfortunately, there was minimal representation from Veterans Affairs Canada’s (VAC) Office of Women Veterans and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans, even though the invitation was open to all. The Champion of Women Veterans’ Health was also absent, reinforcing community concerns about the office’s invisibility since it moved from VAC’s ‘Policy’ section to its ‘Public Affairs’ team in summer 2023.
Many of us believe that the best way for VAC to honour women Veterans is not through focusing on events, but by equitably supporting us with evidence-based, sex- and gender-informed policies, research, benefits, services, and programs.
The Government’s Response to the ACVA Report on Women Veterans
On October 10, 2024, the government tabled its formal response to the ACVA report’s recommendations. At first glance, the response seems supportive: the government agreed or agreed in principle with 38 of the 42 recommendations, took note of three, and disagreed with only one (Recommendation #18).
Veterans familiar with “government-speak” can often tell when official responses may not lead to real action. Many in the community felt let down by the lack of a clear plan to implement the recommendations that were agreed to (see Esprit de Corps, Vol. 31, Issue 9 for the hoped-for actions). There’s growing frustration with the government’s “say-do” gap, especially among women Veterans. While many VAC programs have improved for Veterans overall, they all too often still overlook inclusion of the challenges unique to women — particularly those related to service-related disabilities tied to women’s biological, physiological, and hormonal factors.
For instance, mental health challenges that can be worsened by pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause remain “invisible” topics in Veteran studies and policies. Naming a strong Women Veterans Council will be an essential step to ensure that women’s voices meaningfully help shape VAC’s programs and services — “Nothing about us, without us.” Additionally, VAC frontline staff and civilian healthcare providers both need more training to better understand women Veteran culture and prevent unnecessary re-traumatizations.
Ultimately, federal budgets reflect a government’s commitment level to change. Next year’s VAC budget will need dedicated funding for long-term research, together with the military, on issues specific to women Veterans for meaningful change to happen.
For full implementation of the ACVA report recommendations, external oversight is likely needed. As was seen with the Deschamps Report, which led to the naming of an external monitor for implementation of the Arbour Report recommendations. Similar accountability tools used for the Arbour Report like Dr. Megan Mackenzie’s “Report Card” could be adapted by women Veterans to externally track the ACVA report recommendations implementation progress.
Bottom Line
While the government’s response to the ACVA report on Women Veteran’s Experiences appears positive, meaningful implementation will likely require external oversight. If you are a woman Veteran, consider adding your voice to the ‘Report Card’ being developed at OpACVA.ca to help ensure real change happens.
