EDITORIALS Forces members need champion
It’s past time for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to step in and ensure that Canada’s military ombudsman is not being prevented from doing his job by defence-department brass. And the best solution could be to make the office truly independent, reporting to Parliament.
Ombudsman Gary Walbourne plays a vital role for members of the Canadian Forces, veterans, families and all Canadians. The office helps individuals and families with complaints or concerns, and can investigate and report publicly on any issues that affect the well-being of those who serve or have served, and their families.
It’s a critical role that recognizes both our obligation to the people who serve and the inevitable conflicts that will emerge in a large, bureaucratic and hierarchal organization like the Department of National Defence, with its 120,000 members, reservists and civilian employees.
Walbourne says he has faced problems whenever his office releases a report that defence brass don’t like. “The administrative burden gets a little bit more. Things get delayed a little bit. It’s insidious.”
While the ombudsman officially reports to Sajjan, many aspects of the office’s operations are effectively controlled by the DND.
Most significantly, the department decides on the ombudsman’s budget, he noted in a report titled The Case for a Permanent and Independent Ombudsman Office. For example, he notes, the ombudsman can’t decide on the budget to visit members on bases such as CFB Esquimalt to hear their concerns. That budget decision is made by Department of National Defence. And the overall budget is lower than when the office was created 18 years ago, Walbourne says.
“Independence, real or perceived, is not possible where someone else holds the purse strings,” he notes.
That seems self-evident. And the Liberal government’s justifications for not ensuring the office’s independence are not persuasive.
Sajjan notes that tighter control by the department is the result of a 2015 auditor general’s report that found mismanagement by Walbourne’s predecessor.
That does not address the serious issues raised by the ombudsman or their impact on Forces members, veterans and families.
Walbourne suggests the minister is paying too much attention to the military brass and not enough to the issues raised in reports from his office. Sajjan turned down offers for briefings on recent reports, Walbourne notes, including one on unfair treatment for seriously injured cadets and another on problems in providing benefits to the approximately 1,500 members who leave the forces each year because of illness or injury. (All reports are available at ombudsman.forces.gc.ca.)
Military service demands commitment and, often, sacrifice. That should be clear now as many of Canada’s Afghan veterans cope with the physical, mental and emotional effects of their time in that country.
The ombudsman’s office is an important safeguard and resource. It should be able to operate as effectively and independently as possible.
And that means it should be freed from any real or perceived control by military brass, and given true independence as an independent office reporting to Parliament.