Defence minister says he wants to change the drinking culture on military bases

Defence Minister Bill Blair says the government has no plans to ban alcohol in the military, but he will speak to senior military leaders in the coming weeks about how to improve the culture at social establishments on military bases that serve alcohol.

A recentStatistics Canada survey found 33 per cent ofmilitary members who were sexually assaulted in 2022 believed the perpetrator's use of alcohol or drugs was a contributing factor in the assault.

CBC News asked Blair about the survey and the military practice of requiring that all servingmembers belong to a military "mess."

Messes traditionally are the centre of a militaryunit's social interactions. They includebars and often feature dining areas, TVs and games areas.

A military member who contacted CBC News said they resent being compelledto join a mess and pay monthly fees to fund a drinking culture they don't support.

Blairsaid Wednesdayhe wasn't aware that service members are "compelled to actually join the mess." He said he would look into it.

On Thursday, the Department of National Defence confirmed membershipin messes is mandatory. Blair's office said the minister would speak to military leaders about "what more can be done to build inclusive, safemess cultures."

"While we have no plans to ban alcohol in the Canadian Armed Forces, we do need to manage it better," Blair's office told CBC News in a media statement.

The government and the military have vowed to overhaul the military's culture in response to a sexual misconduct crisis that saw a series of senior leaders in 2021 removed from prestigious posts. The crisis damaged morale and trust in the ranks.

WATCH | 'We need to make change,'says defence minister of military drinking culture:

"We need to make change," says defence minister of military drinking culture

9 months ago

Duration 0:38

When asked if the military has a problem with alcohol, Defence Minister Bill Blair says the government is looking at all circumstances that can give rise to inappropriate conduct in the military.

Sexual assaults more common during the holidays

The Canadian Forces have in the past reported a spikein sexual assaults during the month of December, corresponding with the holidays. Senior military leaders across the country were given new guidance to prevent sexual assaults this month, saidLt.-Gen.Jennie Carignan.

Carignan, who is tasked with changing the military's culture, told CBC News alcohol is no longer supposed to be used as a team-building tool, military members are not supposed to bepressured to drink, andbases are expected to make non-alcoholic drinks available.

Carignansaid she is not moving to ban alcoholon bases entirelybecause she believes that wouldmove drinking to off-site parties without supervision.

WATCH |Alcohol should not be used as military team-building tool, officer says:

Alcohol should not be used as a military team-building tool, officer says

9 months ago

Duration 0:48

The military's Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan says new guidance has been issued to senior military leaders to prevent the overconsumption of alcohol during the holiday season, a time when sexual assaults on bases have been known to spike.

But some military members want the military to allow them to opt out of mandatory mess membership.

"I am obligated to pay $26.36 per month toward a bar that promotes a culture that I do not condone," said one military officer. "I cannot opt out.

"I am not aware of any other workplace that requires all employees to subsidize a bar."

Military members must have permission from their chain of command to conduct interviews. CBC News is not naming the service member, who said they could face repercussions for speaking out without authorization.

'Military values and traditions'

The defence department says messes on military bases are "an important part of military life" that permitmembers to socialize and "engage in leisure activities, while at the same time continuing to promote military values and traditions."The spaces are typically segregated by rankand used for team-building activities. Drinking alcohol at mess events is not mandatory, the defence department says.

"All CAF members must belong to a mess appropriate to their rank," defence department spokesperson Andre-Anne Poulinsaid in a statement to CBC News.

Mess members are "required to pay mess dues" to help pay for activities in the mess, the defence department said. Members are typically responsible for paying for their own drinks, multiple military members told CBC News.

After CBC's story was first published, a serving member of the navyemailed CBC sayingthey don't drink and the mess doesn't promote alcohol. The individual also said they don'tresent the dues that pay for running the mess and the dues are also used to subsidize events for members and their families.

"They also provide financial support for members in difficult situations, flowers/gifts for members inhospital," said the serving member,who is not authorized to speak publicly.

Theydescribed the mess as a community centre that gives service members a place to interact with "mess mates that you may not work with on a daily basis."

WATCH |Canada's top soldier says 2022 spike in sexassault cases shows there's work to do:

Canada's top soldier says 2022 spike in sexual assault cases shows the military still has work to do

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Chief of defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre responds to a new Statistics Canada survey that tracked an increase in reported sexual assaults in the military last year.

Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute who researches culture change in the Canadian military, said "a lot of service members" are questioning the role of alcohol on bases and military leaders must address the problem head-on, despite the resistance they could face.

"It's one of the more complex culture change pieces because of the amount of resistance you can get on this one, but it is one of the most critical," said Duval-Lantoine.

"The military needs to address the drinking culture at the mess if they want to eradicate sexual misconduct as much as they want."

'A culture that promotes drinking'

Duval-Lantoinesaid shedoesn't feel the messes should close down entirely, but members shouldn't be forced to join.

"A culture that promotes drinking is inherently a culture that is not inclusive," she said.

The defence department said that in recent years, the military has moved to make messes "more community centred" with"activities ranging from children's parties to social events to more formal functions."

Retired vice-admiral Mark Norman said it's time to have a "mature conversation" about the role of messes in 2023.

"Why would messes in their traditional sense be important to the Armed Forces?" he said. "The Armed Forces is going to have to answer that question and I think it's entirely legitimate that question needs to be asked."

In 2014, Norman announced a ban on alcohol consumption onboard navy ships abroad following incidents of misconduct. He made an exception for special occasions, or when ships are docked. He said hefound that alcohol was considered a factor in 90 per cent of misconduct incidents in the navy at that time.

But Norman said banning alcohol entirely across the military is "not a useful approach" and would amount to "mass punishment." He said the key is to create a climate of responsible consumption through leadership, supervision and training.

He said he'salso heard from a number of service members some of whom are struggling financially who are not happy they have to pay mess dues.

"I don't know that the historical and traditional intentof these messes, as part of the institution of the Armed Forces, are as relevant in 2023 as they were in 1993 or 1973," he said.

'Society has a problem with alcohol' Blair

Blair's office said drinking at mess events is not mandatory and service members should not be pressured to do so. When asked if the military has a problem with alcohol, Blair has said in the past that "society has a problem with alcohol."

"We're looking at all the circumstances that can give rise to this grossly inappropriate conduct and how we eliminate it from the experience in the workplace and in the lives of the members serving in our forces," Blair said Wednesday.

A former military member who reported being groped by her platoon commander at a mess dinner and a longtime military law expert who represents victims of sexual assault are among those who have called on the military to ban serving alcohol on bases to prevent sexual assault.

Earlier this week, Blair also offered an update on the government's efforts to change the military's culture in response to the sexual misconduct crisis.

Blair said that, to date,the government has followed through on 17 out of 48 recommendations inretired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour's final report in 2022. The government tasked Arbour with reviewing the military's culture.

Blair said that by the new year, 19 recommendations would be completed. They includeno longer using the term "sexual misconduct," a phrase Arbour said is too vague. Instead, the forces will use language such as "sexual assault."

Arbour's key recommendation to strip the military of its jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual offences will be implementedearly in the new year, Blair said. Last month, Blair said he hoped to change the law before the new year.

Blair also announced he has appointed Michelle Douglas as the military's first honorary colonel for "professional conduct and culture." Douglas is a human rights advocate who launched a landmark legal challenge against the military's discriminatory policies regardingLGBTQcommunity service members.

Douglas was honourably discharged in 1989 from the Canadian Armed Forces for being "not advantageously employable due to homosexuality," the defence department said in a press release.