Statement made on 04 November 2009 by Senator Jane Cordy
Hon. Jane Cordy:
Honourable senators, November 5 to 11 marks Veterans' Week in Canada. It is a time each year to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and to pay tribute to all who served our country during times of war and times of peace. It is with this in mind that I would like to recognize the contributions Canadian women have made in service to our country.
Women first served in the Canadian military in 1885 as nurses. During World War I and World War II, women in the military started to get additional training outside of nursing. They received paramilitary training in small arms, first aid, mechanics, parachute rigging and heavy mobile equipment driving.
Although women were beginning to get more training for a wider variety of roles in the military, the vast majority of these additional roles were as reservists and emergency home guards.
The image of the female Canadian veteran serving in the Canadian military solely as a nurse did not start to change until more recently. It was not until 1989 that all occupations in the Canadian Armed Forces, except for submariners, were opened to women. It was not until 2000 that submarine occupations were opened to women as well.
Today, women make up just over 15 per cent of Canada's total military, serving in all branches of the Armed Forces, including combat roles.
My work with NATO has helped me to understand more fully the reality of the need for women in today's peace and security support forces in conflict areas all over the globe. There is an increased demand for female personnel in all roles and ranks within the NATO peace-support operation forces.
The Committee on Women in the NATO Forces strives to advise NATO leadership and member nations on critical issues affecting women in the alliance's Armed Forces, such as promoting recruitment, training and quality of life for female personnel.
Women personnel have many advantages when deployed with peace and security forces. Female victims of violence often find it easier to approach and talk to another woman when appealing for help.
Female personnel are valuable at checkpoints when it comes to performing any type of search on other women when checking for illegal weapons. They are also a visible reminder to those women they are there to help that there are possibilities available for women to gain control of their lives.
Women in the military can also play a role to involve more local women in peacemaking.
To quote Colonel Annicq Bergmans, former chairperson of the Committee on Women in the NATO Forces, when speaking of peacekeeping in Kosovo, she said: "To move negotiations forward with the male villagers, sometimes we needed to involve and convince female villagers because they held the power behind the scenes."
Honourable senators, I am honoured to pay tribute today to all those women who served Canada with distinction over the years and continue to serve today in far away lands and, indeed, in our own country.