Over 40 per cent of military sexual misconduct class action claims are from men: Eyre

Gen. Wayne Eyre said fixing the military's culture is vital because the world is "probably more dangerous now than it has been since the end of the Cold War."

More than 40 per cent of the nearly 19,000 claims submitted by survivors and victims of military sexual misconduct are from men, says Gen. Wayne Eyre.

In an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, Eyre said the scope of the claims submitted through that process demonstrate the fact that the problem is one that everyone in the Canadian Forces must work to address — even though there are no easy answers.

“The scope speaks to the depth of the issue,” Eyre said.

“I think it’s also important to note that the latest stats I’ve seen, 42 per cent are men, and that speaks to this not being just a woman’s issue. It’s an issue for all of us to address. It’s an issue of power dynamics as well that speak to an element that we have to fix.”

Eyre was formally appointed as chief of the defence staff on Thursday, after Adm. Art McDonald’s appointment to the role was terminated by the government, citing a lack of confidence in him.

The position of chief of the defence staff is one that serves “at pleasure,” meaning the appointee can be removed at any time, for any reason, by the government.

McDonald stepped aside voluntarily in late February after military police announced they were opening an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct made against him. McDonald has denied the allegation and the investigation ended this summer without charges.

Military police cited a lack of evidence, and shortly after, McDonald launched what became an increasingly public battle to try to return to the duties of the role, claiming in a letter to senior military officers that he had been exonerated and the allegation against him deemed “unsubstantiated.”