A report by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs made 42 recommendations that will make the most impact on outcomes for women veterans. Photo: Department of National Defence
After more than a year of study, the report on the experience of women veterans, produced by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA), was released.
In early 2023, ACVA undertook a comprehensive study on women veterans that included nearly two dozen meetings and testimony from 93 witnesses, including Federal Retirees. The main topics included the physical and mental health injuries and treatments that were most likely to affect women during military service, the particularities of transitioning out of military service for women, retirement and long-term care and initiatives developed in allied countries. I appeared before the committee during one of its first meetings on the topic in spring 2023.
With 42 recommendations across 156 pages, the report focuses on four areas that will make the most impact on outcomes for women veterans: research, addressing specific medical and health needs, recognition and commemoration and the need to remove barriers to accessing services and support.
Federal Retirees applauds the release of the report and its recommendations.
“It's well past time for Canada to focus on equitable outcomes for those who serve, and not only on things such as wait times,” says CEO Anthony Pizzino. “The report and its 42 recommendations focus on areas that will make the most impact in delivering equitable outcomes for veterans."
The report elicited a range of emotions from those involved, including relief that it had been tabled before Parliament rose for the summer and a sense of pride that their lived experiences have been documented and that future generations of military and RCMP women will benefit. Many of the people who participated in the committee’s study laid bare harrowing personal histories of trauma and invisibility, and detailed the impacts of decades-old gaps in supports and services. Their courage and their concrete recommendations make the report a remarkable document that charts the way forward.
On the day of the report’s tabling, veteran women who could not attend the milestone event in person organized watch parties. In Ottawa, individuals and representatives from at least 15 organizations, including Federal Retirees, watched on as committee chairperson MP Emmanuel Dubourg delivered a powerful and emotional statement as he tabled the report.
Committee members from the Liberal, Bloc Québécois and NDP parties participated in a press conference together after the tabling, reinforcing their mutual support for the report. While it’s notable that the report has cross-party support, supplemental opinions from the Conservative Party of Canada and from the NDP were included in the final report. The supplemental report tabled by the NDP includes a recommendation to ensure the services delivered, and how they are delivered by Veterans Affairs Canada, are trauma-informed.
Federal Retirees with its partners involved in the Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network, or WREN, is working on an analysis of this report and looks forward to digging into the details during fall 2024 and doing the work to achieve equitable outcomes for and with veterans.
“Acting on this report is going to require a dedicated plan, funding, goals, transparency in reporting and accountability to achieve the desired objectives across relevant departments,” Pizzino says. “It’s time for the government to commit to such a plan, and we will be here to help ensure that happens.”