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

9 December 2020

2020 Fall Economic Statement: 5 takeaways for PIPSC members

PIPSC Economist, Ryan Campbell, brings us the 5 takeaways from Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland’s 2020 fiscal update delivered on Monday, Nov. 30, 2020.

16 October 2020

NextGen HR and Pay moves forward with first pilot department

The long-awaited successor to the failed Phoenix pay system will enter a pilot project at Canadian Heritage.

25 September 2020

Speech from the Throne: steps in the right direction, still more to be done

On September 23, 2020 Governor General Julie Payette delivered a particularly important Speech from the Throne that outlined the government’s priorities and plans for the critical months ahead. In the Speech, the government made a number of statements on issues of great importance to our members and to all Canadians.

9 June 2020

Thank you to our public service professionals

When COVID-19 struck, you were ready and you delivered. You are what keeps this country together, and we couldn’t be more proud.

25 March 2020

Remote Meeting with Minister of Digital Government Joyce Murray

As we continue our best to represent and advocate for our members despite the current situation with COVID-19, we wanted to share with you an important meeting we held by teleconference with Minister Joyce Murray.

14 February 2020

The state of federal buildings is completely unacceptable

The inexcusable state of federal buildings across the country is an extremely concerning situation that can only be corrected by a long-term, and expensive, commitment on the part of the government. We will continue to keep a very close watch on the situation.