Canada’s military colleges are at a crossroads. What 2 graduates want now
The future of Canada’s military colleges is at a crossroads, say two veterans of the school and the military.
Defence Minister Bill Blair named the college’s review board on Wednesday after a Statistics Canada survey found “significant” spikes in sexual assault in the military in 2022 compared to two surveys done before the pandemic.
The finding comes two years after renewed focus on the military’s sexual misconduct crisis, spurred by reporting from Global News, and the resulting report from former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour report calling a significant overhaul at the institution.
The college’s first female cadet, Kate Armstrong, tells The West Block host Mercedes Stephenson that many issues with the college are carried on through a long-running tradition.
“What I wrote about a lot of the historical traditional things happening that were disturbing are still going continuing now,” Armstrong said.
“The cadets start out as recruits to the fourth year and then they go through the system … and so in that way, I think culturally that’s how things end up being carried on.”
Armstrong wrote a book, The Stone Frigate, detailing her time among the first RMC class to allow female officer cadets at the previously all male institution.
In her 403-page report, Arbour writes that the RMC has an outdated leadership structure and there are “legitimate reasons to question the wisdom of maintaining the existence of these military colleges, as they currently exist.”
“There is a real risk that the perpetuation of a discriminatory culture at the colleges will slow the momentum for culture change the CAF has embarked upon. There is enough evidence that military colleges are not delivering on their mandate that I believe alternatives
Read more on globalnews.ca
