Petition to Consider Former Spouses and Partners of Military Members Seeks Support

Support for military members, their spouses and children is a concept that is coming to the forefront of Canadian society. However, a group that still flies under the radar are the former spouses and partners of military members.

Although they may be divorced or separated, former partners and spouses can often still feel the impact of living the military life. To alleviate the challenges of these particular civilians, Petition e-5095 is currently on the books and looking for 500 signatures to be brought forth to the House of Commons.

The petition calls upon the Minister of Justice to work alongside the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence to develop a strategy to support civilian former spouses and partners of military members.

Specifically, the petition says, “We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Justice to work with the CAF and DND in developing and deploying duty of care to civilian former spouses and partners of military members policies, including detailed plans to deal with service offences related to court ordered financial disclosure and corollary relief and educating the Chain of Command and Justice System.”

Supporting the venerable

The petition was brought forth by Rachel Dunleavy, a resident of Nova Scotia who founded a virtual support group for separating and divorcing civilian partners and spouses in 2021.

“I started petition e-5095 after noticing a trend among the members over the last three years. It has become clear that civilian former spouses and partners of military members and veterans feel discarded by the Canadian Armed Forces as an institution and by the members,” said Dunleavy in a statement.

Because of her work with this particular group of individuals, Dunleavy felt it was her responsibility to reach out to higher authorities.

“As an advocate for military-attached civilians, I decided to bring this issue to the attention of government officials,” continued Dunleavy.

Duty to Care

According to the petition, this particular group of individuals needs support because they are typically underemployed, unemployed, victims of family violence, live far from their support systems and cannot afford to return to the court to enforce court orders.

The petition also claims that many CAF members disobey court orders for financial disclosure or corollary relief, and the chain of command has denied them this support. Dunleavy looks to the publications, case law, and experiences of the members of the Civilian Ex-Spouse of A CAF Member/Veteran Separation & Divorce Group to verify these circumstances.

“Where they were once the strength behind the uniform, they are abandoned upon marital breakdown. When these, predominantly, women reach out to military officials, they are lied to and gaslit in protection of the member. They struggle to get financial disclosure and to have members honour court-ordered child and spousal supports. Additionally, the court system is oblivious of military laws, policies, and culture which further marginalize these women,” said Dunleavy.

The petition is open until Dec. 11 at 10:42 a.m. To sign the petition you will be asked to confirm your email address, which triggers an email being sent to your in-box that you need to respond to sign the petition.

To sign the petition, click here.