Anita Anand: Trudeau entrusts a woman with the task of cleaning up the image of the Canadian Department of Defense, splashed with allegations of abuse | International

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented his new Cabinet on Tuesday. At a ceremony in Ottawa, the 38 ministers were sworn in before Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada. As in his first two terms, Trudeau will work with a joint team. The arrival of Anita Anand in the Defense portfolio was one of the most commented movements and from which better results are expected. Your task will not be light: to effect profound transformations in a ministry bogged down by multiple cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault. “We know that there is a crisis in the culture of our Canadian Armed Forces and that the women and men who serve there deserve better support, they deserve a change in the type of government they have,” said Trudeau.

Anand replaces Harjit Sajjan, who has headed the ministry since Justin Trudeau came to power in November 2015. For months, opposition figures demanded that Trudeau replace Sajjan for his mishandling of the crisis in the ministry. Two reports described a climate conducive to sexual offenses, where opacity stands out, and proposed a series of recommendations to be applied.

This problem is not only present among the troops. Members of the high command were also singled out. Former military chiefs of staff, General Jonathan Vance and Admiral Art McDonald, have come under scrutiny, as have nine other high-level military personnel. Sajjan said at the time that he took “the allegations of misconduct seriously” and would continue to take decisive action “regardless of rank or position”. However, the image of the ministry continued to tarnish. Experts recommended that Trudeau appoint a woman to implement a strategy focused on far-reaching cultural change, greater attention to victims and an effort to restore confidence in the institution.

Prior to entering politics, Anita Anand (Kentville, Nova Scotia, 54) was a lawyer and university professor. Liberal MP for Oakville, Ontario, assumes her new role after serving as Minister of Public Services, where she stood out for being responsible for purchasing covid-19 vaccines. She is the second woman in Canada to head the Department of Defense. The first was Kim Campbell, who served for five months in 1993. “One of the things people will learn about Anita Anand in the months to come is that she is a world-class expert in governance, with decades of professional experience. Trudeau said, stressing that Anand will show leadership and contribute significantly to the operations of the armed forces.

Among other appointments from the new Cabinet, Harjit Sajjan holds the International Development portfolio; Mélanie Joly becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs and Steven Guilbeaut arrives at the Ministry of the Environment. For her part, Chrystia Freeland remains Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. Justin Trudeau won a third term in the September 20 election, although he failed to form a majority government, his goal by calling these elections. Parliamentary proceedings will begin on November 22.

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