By Military Woman
Question: What has happened so far at the Parliamentary study on the “Experience of Women Veterans” ?
Answer: The House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) started their first ever study on women Veterans on March 30, 2023. In case you have not had the chance yet to follow these meetings personally - here are some women Veteran specific highlights from the first four meetings.
The study commenced with the testimony of Veterans Ombud Nishika Jardine. You can read her opening remarks in last month’s Esprit de Corps magazine (Vol 30 Issue 4). She also encouraged us all to hear the voices of women Veterans “as a distinct group”. The second half of the meeting focused on the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Research Directorate. It was during this testimony that VAC confirmed it still has no women Veteran’s research strategy, only generalized “research priorities”, despite years of promises for a formal strategy to be “coming soon”.
The study’s second meeting, held on April 17, 2023, saw four dynamic Veterans each speak truth to power. Heartfelt kudus go out to Donna Riguidel, Rosemary Park, Michelle Douglas and Christine Wood who all courageously shared their individual lived experiences and aspirations for positive change moving forward. This two-hour meeting covered a wide range of topics from the type of training programs needed to better address military sexual trauma, to gaps in the meaningful commemoration of Canadian servicewomen, to reminders about the ongoing impacts from the LGBT Purge. Other topics discussed included an ongoing need for a top-down gender-based analysis plus published review of all of VAC’s programs, services and benefits and for VAC to identify and feedback to the military relevant information from VAC claims related to potentially preventable women-specific health issues. Examples include harm resulting from forcing women to use ill-fitting boots designed for men during basic training, and military service-related pelvic floor injuries that can result in stress incontinence problems. Several Members of Parliament appeared to be caught unprepared for the intensity of this session. Indeed, despite the trigger warning offered before the start of each of these meetings, this meeting was particularly raw and real.
You can learn more about some of the issues discussed by Christine Wood, in particular by reviewing her input to the November 9, 2022 recording of “The Walrus Talks at Home: Veteran Identities” and the February 9, 2023 recording of VAC’s “Women and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans Forum.”
The study’s third meeting, held on April 20, 2023, saw the three co-chairs of the “Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network” (WREN) offer the Committee a strategic framework for approaching these often complex and confusing topic areas. One point particularly emphasised to the Committee Members, was their responsibility to hold VAC accountable to meaningfully address the issues being raised. A further challenge was made to the Committee Members by Karen Breeck to prioritise working collaboratively, versus by party lines, for Veteran health and wellbeing issues. The ongoing lack of research specifically in the area of the military workplace’s influence on women’s reproductive health was also highlighted.
The study’s fourth meeting, held on April 24, 2023, saw the Committee bring back many of the same groups who had recently appeared as part of the “National Strategy for Veterans Employment After Service” study. This time, however, each Veteran Employment related group brought along with them a female Veteran. Congratulations to Elena Vazquez, Cora Saunders, Patricia Henry and Kristin Topping for sharing with us all their powerful lived experiences with “Coding for Veterans”, “Helmets to Hardhats”, “National Association of Career Colleges” and “Prince's Trust Canada” , respectively.
Stay tuned for more “Experiences of Women Veterans” meeting highlights next month! Until then, a reminder that everyone is welcome to watch these meetings online or in person. Anyone wishing to participate in this study is invited to submit a written brief or a request to testify before September 30, 2023.
Please consider adding your voice to this discussion or encouraging someone you know to do so. Now is the time to speak up!
