Canadian Military Colleges Review Board

In April 2021, the Minister of National Defence (MND) announced the launch of an Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR) of policies, procedures, programs, practices, and culture within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND). The DND/CAF engaged former Supreme Court Justice, The Honourable Louise Arbour to undertake the review. The aims of this review were to: shed light on the causes for the continued presence of harassment, and sexual misconduct in the CAF despite efforts to eradicate it; identify barriers to reporting inappropriate behaviour; assess the adequacy of the response when reports are made; and to make recommendations on preventing and eradicating harassment and sexual misconduct.

The Report identified serious deficiencies and systemic issues with the experience of officer cadets at the Royal Military College (RMC) Kingston and RMC Saint-Jean, known collectively as the Canadian Military Colleges (CMCs), and documented persistent concerns with sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct. The Report identified systemic deficiencies and harmful cultural issues at the colleges and concluded by questioning the purpose, outcomes, and methods for, and with which, the CMCs currently operate. Further, the IECR recommended that, “A combination of Defence Team members and external experts, led by an external education specialist, should conduct a detailed review of the benefits, disadvantages and costs, both for the CAF and more broadly, of continuing to educate ROTP [Regular Officer Training Plan] cadets at the military colleges”. This recommendation was endorsed by the MND.

The Canadian Military Colleges Review Board will focus on the quality of education, socialization, and military training at military colleges. The CMCs Review Board will report to the Deputy Minister and the Chief of the Defence Staff and will consist of five members hired from outside National Defence and the Public Service, and two members from the Defence Team These roles are compensated, full-time and 12 months in duration.

The 5 external appointments will focus primarily on seasoned executives with a depth of governance experience and a specific area of expertise:

• External Cultural Evolution and Organizational Change (unilingual), Bachelor’s degree (ideally Masters) in related field, five years’ experience within the last ten years as a practitioner or educator in the field of Cultural Evolution
• External expert in young adult development and socialization (unilingual), Bachelor’s degree (ideally Masters) in a related field, Five years’ experience as a practitioner or educator in the field of young adult socialization
• External academic (bilingual), Masters (ideally PhD) degree in a field related to education, Five years’ experience within the past ten years as a practitioner in the field of adult education
• Chairperson (bilingual), Masters (ideally PhD) degree in a field related to education, Recognized expert in adult education, minimum five years’ experience within the past 10 years in leading teams at the institutional level
• External executive (unilingual), Executive level position in another sector (private, public, not-for-profit, or foreign military), Five years’ experience within the past 10 years as an executive in their field of expertise

Board representation will take into consideration gender, first official language, and, ideally, at least one representative who has familiarity with the Ontario and Quebec post-secondary education systems.

The perceived and real impartiality of the Board is of central importance in order to ensure the credibility of its report and, in turn, the cultural evolution and the future of the CMCs within, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Any individual in a position of conflict of interest (including current/former CMC students), such as having expressed a strong public opinion regarding the future of CMCs, cannot be a candidate for the CMC Review Board. All Board members will be vetted and must disclose any potential conflict of interest before empanelment. The members of the Review Board will, to the greatest degree possible, reflect an array of identities, background, culture, perspectives, and experiences that are representative of Canada’s current and evolving population, with particular emphasis on members of identifiable groups who are under-represented in the CAF (including women and people of colour).

Applications are being considered immediately. Should you wish to be considered, please apply below. Only those chosen for further development will be contacted.

Odgers Berndtson is committed to the principles of employment equity and to achieving a workforce that is representative of the Canadian population. We are committed to inclusive, barrier-free recruitment processes and work environments. If you require an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, please contact us to make your needs known in advance. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.