As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That Veterans Affairs Canada, together with the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the allied countries, fund and implement a structured long-term research program on servicewomen and woman Veterans, and that this research be women-specific.

Recommendation 2

That Veterans Affairs Canada pay tribute to women Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces with a work of art worthy of their commitment.

Recommendation 3

That the Government and the Canadian Armed Forces officially apologize to the women who have served and continue to serve in a culture where military sexual trauma has been allowed to thrive for decades.

Recommendation 4

That, for the next five years, the Department of National Defence table an annual progress report on the implementation of the Women’s Health Initiative at the Committee.

Recommendation 5

That Veterans Affairs Canada be more flexible in its assessment of secondary medical conditions, for example chronic pain, resulting from military sexual trauma.

Recommendation 6

That Veterans Affairs Canada build more flexibility into its rehabilitation program and take a holistic view so that Veterans can access the physical, mental, psychosocial and vocational aspects at the same time, or any of the aspects based on their greatest needs.

Recommendation 7

That Veterans Affairs Canada collaborate with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces in the creation of an injury tracking system to improve data and facilitate research on women Veterans’ physical health.

Recommendation 8

That Veterans Affairs Canada clearly define and recognize women’s health conditions and ensure VAC medical employees are able to document them, including but not limited to the use of female-specific forms for sexual, urinary, reproductive and menopausal-related issues.

Recommendation 9

That the Canadian Armed Forces provide all military personnel with a copy of their medical file upon release.

Recommendation 10

That the Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada fund service providers which ensure that all serving women and women Veterans have access to healthcare professionals who specialize in the treatment of women, and that Veterans Affairs Canada accept diagnoses made by these professionals.

Recommendation 11

That Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces cooperate in informing Veterans and the public when a new compensable condition has been recognized, in order to facilitate its identification, prevention and treatment within the Canadian Armed Forces, and to speed up the processing of compensation claims with Veterans Affairs Canada.

Recommendation 12

That the Canadian Armed Forces ensure that all medical personnel are trained to diagnose, support, treat and follow up on medical conditions specific to women, including care related to pregnancy and childbirth, and that women’s health specialists be available at each base.

Recommendation 13

That the Canadian Armed Forces ensure CAF members who are pregnant receive specialized physical training support.

Recommendation 14

That the Department of National Defence renew personal military equipment contracts only if suppliers can guarantee that their equipment, including maternity wear and footwear, can fit female physiology when such equipment exists.

Recommendation 15

That the Canadian Armed Forces hire more medical specialists and help civilian medical specialists to gain cultural competencies about the needs of women servicemembers.

Recommendation 16

That Veterans Affairs Canada develop a list of medical conditions for which a presumptive link to military service would be granted when epidemiological studies indicate a higher prevalence of these conditions in Veterans compared to civilians, in women Veterans compared to the general female population, and in women Veterans compared to men Veterans.

Recommendation 17

That the Canadian Armed Forces compile a registry of sites where they used or stored chemicals known to be potentially linked to a higher prevalence of certain medical conditions in military personnel and Veterans, including in pregnant women and children of Veterans, and that this registry be accessible to Veterans submitting claims for compensation to Veterans Affairs Canada.

Recommendation 18

That the Government of Canada determine the number of Canadian women Veterans and servicemembers who were exposed to anti-malarial drugs, such as Mefloquine or Lariam, and evaluate the steps allied countries have taken to address the potential risks these drugs posed with regard to reproductive health.

Recommendation 19

That Veterans Affairs Canada expedite its updating of the Entitlement Eligibility Guidelines and the Table of Disabilities regarding medical conditions that mainly or exclusively affect women Veterans, remove sex-specific biases through a more transparent Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA +) process, and table (at the Committee) a progress report on the initiative to modernize these documents.

Recommendation 20

That the Canadian Armed Forces undertake a full historical inventory of all operations, actions and decisions likely to have affected the medical conditions for which women Veterans have filed compensation claims with Veterans Affairs, that this inventory be regularly and systematically updated and serve as the basis for the presumptive approval of disability claims when other evidence is not available.

Recommendation 21

That Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence allow releasing military personnel, particularly those being medically released, to be eligible for training through career transition programs while still serving, including training and support for those who want to become entrepreneurs.

Recommendation 22

That Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces, in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, fund a research program whose objectives include identifying:

• the reasons for the higher proportion of servicewomen who are medically released compared with men;
• the causes of musculoskeletal problems that affect servicewomen in higher proportions than servicemen;
• the risk factors that explain the similar proportion of medical releases for mental health problems in servicewomen and servicemen despite the lower participation of women in combat operations; and
• The risks of military service on fertility and pregnancy.

Recommendation 23

That Veterans Affairs Canada fund a research program focusing exclusively on the barriers to career transition faced by women Veterans.

Recommendation 24

That the Canadian Armed Forces, in partnership with the appropriate provincial and territorial authorities and respecting their jurisdictions, offer flexible childcare services adapted to the needs of military personnel.

Recommendation 25

That the Government of Canada pay the premiums for the Public Service Health Care Plan for Veterans during the first years of their transition to civilian life, when they are not participating in a Veterans Affairs Canada rehabilitation program.

Recommendation 26

That the Government of Canada contribute financially to the construction of women-only Veteran community housing.

Recommendation 27

That Veterans Affairs Canada ensure that unhoused Veterans and those with insecure housing are not barred from access to Veterans Affairs Canada’s programs and services simply because they have no fixed address.

Recommendation 28

That Veterans Affairs Canada do more to find and contact homeless Veterans, offer them the appropriate benefits and services, and connect them with emergency or long-term housing supports.

Recommendation 29

That Veterans Affairs Canada ensure that women Veterans who live alone are not at a disadvantage when claiming benefits and services.

Recommendation 30

That Veterans Affairs Canada avoid re-traumatizing Veterans and waives the need for them to recount the circumstances of traumatizing events leading to the medical condition for which a claim has been filed when this information has already been compiled by a person acting under the authority of a federal institution and forwarded with the Veteran’s consent.

Recommendation 31

That Veterans Affairs Canada recognize that their current standard operating procedures often re-traumatize the Veteran, and establish mandatory in-person, in-depth training sessions on trauma-informed practices for all its personnel.

Recommendation 32

That Veterans Affairs Canada publish the Gender Based Analyses Plus (GBA +) of its programs in a way that really assesses the impact of these programs on gender and diversity, and how programs have been changed as a result of such analyses.

Recommendation 33

That Veterans Affairs Canada recognize more clearly the sacrifices that military families must make and accordingly relax the eligibility criteria for benefits and services for the immediate family members of Veterans.

Recommendation 34

That the Government of Canada commit to hiring more Veterans in the Public Service, that Veterans Affairs Canada lead by example in that regard, and that a Gender Based Analysis Plus be performed on the hiring of Veterans.

Recommendation 35

That the Department of Veterans Affairs identify the barriers that Veterans, especially women Veterans face, in accessing benefits and services, and proactively communicate with Veterans when they begin their transition out of the Canadian Armed Forces regarding all benefits and services available to them, regardless of time served.

Recommendation 36

That Veterans Affairs Canada create a ministerial advisory group on women Veterans, ensuring that both officers and non-commissioned soldiers from the army, air force and navy, as well as Veterans from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are represented.

Recommendation 37

That the Canadian Armed Forces / Veterans Affairs Canada Joint Steering Committee establish a subcommittee on military women and women Veterans.

Recommendation 38

That Veterans Affairs Canada support the establish, publishing and maintenance of a directory of programs offered to Veterans by community organizations and other third parties, including those that provide services specifically for women, and ensure that case managers can refer Veterans to these programs.

Recommendation 39

That Veterans Affairs Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces, offer women-only peer support programs.

Recommendation 40

That the Department of National Defence, in accordance with the many recommendations made in the wake of the Deschamps, Fish and Arbour reports, establish a reporting mechanism outside of the military chain of command, provide victims of military sexual trauma with safe and confidential legal resources, and transfer the jurisdiction to investigate sexual misconduct and prosecute its perpetrators to civilian authorities.

Recommendation 41

That Veterans Affairs Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces, assign civilian personnel to transition centres to support and assist victims of sexual misconduct and other transitioning members in preparing their compensation claims, and collect data on how many transitioning members were thus supported.

Recommendation 42

That Veterans Affairs Canada review its “Disability Benefits in Respect of Peacetime Military Service—The Compensation Principle” to provide more flexibility in determining the events in which the participation of women Veterans qualifies them to be considered “on duty.”