Members of the Canadian Armed Forces march during the Calgary Stampede parade in Calgary, Friday, July 8, 2016.
The time has come for the Canadian Armed Forces to permanently give up control of investigations of sexual offences by its members, says a damning new report by a former Supreme Court justice that recommends sweeping changes across the Canadian military — including an overhaul of the recruiting and military college systems.
Military sexual trauma complainants have been demanding for decades that civilians take over sexual misconduct cases, arguing that the Canadian Armed Forces has failed to properly support victims and to thoroughly investigate and prosecute cases. Anand said that, in some cases, her department will consult with military officials to decide how to implement certain recommendations — especially ones involving systemic changes — while in other cases military officials will be expected to explain why a particular recommendation could not be pursued.
"In none of the initiatives it has launched is there a single reflection on whether its insular, hierarchical structures may have facilitated the abuse of power that characterizes most sexual misconduct." "The first clarity that we should expect is, if something is not going to happen, just say it. That already would bring a lot of clarity."Arbour said that a culture of misconduct at the Royal Military Colleges in Kingston, Ont. and in St-Jean Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., should be addressed by a thorough review of the institutions.
The report by Louise Arbour, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, is the second on sexual misconduct in the military in seven years. Going forward, Arbour recommends that the CAF be stripped of its ability to object to any complaint related to sexual harassment or discrimination on the basis of sex being brought before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
CBC News has documented cases of sexual assault survivors saying that their cases were dropped because the perpetrator wouldn't be interviewed, that they were re-victimized by the reporting process and that they faced reprisals so severe they left the military altogether.Taxpayers spent up to $720K on salaries for military leaders sidelined by sexual misconduct crisis
Deschamp's report differs from that of former Supreme Court justice Morris Fish, who recommended last year that the military retain jurisdiction over sexual assault and misconduct cases as long as it set in place more rights for victims first.Arbour wrote in her report that the Canadian Armed Forces' definition of "sexual misconduct" is "too broad" and captures everything from acts of micro-aggression and unconscious bias to sexual assault and harassment.
"The exposure of sexual misconduct in the CAF has shed light on a deeply deficient culture fostered by a rigid and outdated structure that did little to modernize it," wrote Arbour.The Canadian Global Affairs Institute's Charlotte Duval-Lantoine studies culture change in the Canadian Armed Forces. She took part in consultations with Arbour in the fall of 2021.
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