The Women Veterans Engage: Ottawa Workshop brought together women veterans, researchers, advocates and parliamentarians for a day of engagement, discussion and action.
On Oct. 30, 2025, Federal Retirees co-hosted the Women Veterans Engage: Ottawa Workshop, in collaboration with the Centre for Social Innovation and Community Engagement in Military Affairs (SICEMA) at Mount Saint Vincent University, led by Dr. Maya Eichler, and the Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network (WREN).
The workshop centred on advocacy and engagement related to the all-party-supported report by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA), Invisible No More. The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans, which was tabled on June 12, 2024. The report included 42 recommendations focused on research, addressing specific medical and health needs, recognition and commemoration, and the need to remove barriers to accessing services and support.
Through this workshop, women veterans from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the RCMP from across Canada came together to identify and discuss barriers that keep women veterans from participating in parliamentary studies. They also explored the ACVA recommendations and their impact on the lives of women veterans, while building connections with other women veterans, researchers, advocates and parliamentarians.
The workshop included a panel discussion moderated by Rachel Blaney, former MP and co-sponsor of the Invisible No More parliamentary report, alongside three women veterans who reflected on their experiences, insights and lessons from participating in the ACVA study, as well as their views on its recommendations and meaningful implementation.
Participants then split into breakout groups to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and barriers they see in moving the parliamentary report and its recommendations forward.
The workshop concluded with a discussion of reflections on the day and next steps, including the need for continued connection and engagement, advocacy tools, ongoing collaboration such as additional workshops, and the importance of accountability in the implementation of the ACVA recommendations.
This workshop was part of Invisible No More: Canadian Women Veterans Moving The ACVA Report to Implementation, a SICEMA-led project designed to ensure the 42 report recommendations are implemented in a way that meaningfully reflects the perspectives of women Veterans.
There were many meaningful exchanges of mutual support and collaboration, all underscored by a shared drive for change. One particularly powerful experience was the collective viewing of the CAF apology for systemic racism and racial discrimination, delivered in Ottawa that same day.
After the workshop, Federal Retirees hosted a reception which gathered members of Parliament, senators, veteran-serving organizations, women veterans and stakeholders to honour women veterans and highlight the ACVA report and recommendations. The event included remarks from Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight, Senator Bev Busson, Senator Rebecca Patterson and Sharon Squire, a national director with Federal Retirees.
Insights from the workshop will inform the Invisible No More project and the Association’s ongoing advocacy priority to move the ACVA report into action and ensure the recommendations are fully and meaningfully implemented.