3-4 June 2025
15:00 – 18:00 EST
Virtual (MS Teams)
Women Veterans Council members
- Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Eleanor Taylor, Canadian Armed Forces
- Constable (Retired) Vivienne Stewart, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Lieutenant (Navy) (Retired) Wenshuang “Wen” Nie, Canadian Armed Forces
- Colonel (Retired) Telah Morrison, OMM, CD, Canadian Armed Forces
- Sergeant (Retired) Jessica Miller, Canadian Armed Forces
- Corporal (Retired) Sarah Lefurgey, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Warrant Officer (Retired) Celine Filion, Canadian Armed Forces
- Constable (Retired) Jennifer Chorney, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Lieutenant-Colonel Dawn Leblanc, CD, Canadian Armed Forces
- Captain (Retired) Lindsay Shields, CD, Canadian Armed Forces
- Corporal Ellen Peters, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Captain (Retired) Hélène Le Scelleur, CD, Canadian Armed Forces
Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) officials
- Amy Meunier, Assistant Deputy Minister, Commemoration and Public Affairs
- Peggy Nash-Butt, National Rehabilitation Consultant
- Alesia Chiasson, A/Project Officer, Women and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans Team
- Ana Belen, Program Operations Assistant, Women and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans Team
Land acknowledgement and welcome remarks
Assistant Deputy Minister, Commemoration and Public Affairs opened each day by welcoming the Women’s Veterans Council members and offered a land acknowledgment.
Governance process
Council members reviewed their governance document, gathered feedback, and designated individuals to complete the final revisions. The Council agreed that all decisions require a two-thirds majority vote and that a separate document will be developed to outline a Council communications strategy.
Priority setting discussion
Council members will complete their priority-setting exercise before the next meeting.
Sub-group updates
Medical research
- Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans hosted a two-day conference and is forming a roundtable with VAC, CAF, and Health Canada to develop an action plan on women’s pelvic health.
- A meeting with the VAC Research Directorate is scheduled for the following week.
Community and peer support
- Proposed doing consultation to better understand how the community defines peer support and community engagement.
- Discussed research on volunteering motivations and barriers to volunteering among women Veterans, including the need to address a common misconception that excessive volunteering can negatively impact VAC benefits.
- Explored potential avenues for community engagement. A motion was passed to assess the feasibility of establishing a direct email channel for community input. This would enable Council members to begin drafting supporting materials while VAC explores the proposal’s feasibility.
Operations delivery
- The Operations delivery sub-group will resume work once members have completed the priority setting exercise.
Other discussions
- A motion was passed to align the submission of the Minister’s Annual Report with the anniversary of the Women Veterans Council establishment on 2 December of each year.
- The Council created a sub-group to consult on the planning of the 2026 Women’s Forum.
Concluding remarks
Assistant Deputy Minister, Commemoration and Public Affairs offered closing remarks. The co-chairs thanked Council members for their valuable input and engagement. The meeting was adjourned.