(OTTAWA) Only half of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) sexual misconduct cases have been transferred to civilians since November 2021, when National Defense Minister Anita Anand promised action.
“It’s now 50-50,” she said Thursday in the foyer of the House of Commons, Frenchifying the English expression.
About a year and a half has passed since Mr.me Anand announced that sexual misconduct cases that had been handled internally would be removed from the hands of the military.
“The progress is there, but we must continue to do this important work,” she summed up on Thursday.
Asked about the slow transfer of files, the Minister pleaded that it is essential to do things right. “We are continuing this work with a process because we now have a system with the provinces and the federal government to make sure that there is a methodology for the transfer of these cases,” she said.
The Solicitor General of Ontario sent a letter to Mr.me Anand to complain about the burden that the new files put on the resources in place. Last July, he also publicly indicated that the police authorities refused to accept 23 cases.
Agreements are in place with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Sûreté du Québec and the Ontario Provincial Police for the transfer of investigations for cases of sexual misconduct.
Senior officials refused to specify, during a technical briefing, how many files had been referred and how many, if any, rejected.
Called to react to the slowness in the transfer of files, the New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh described the delays observed as “unacceptable”. “It’s not only (more than a) year since the minister’s promise, but several years since a (former) Supreme Court judge gave clear recommendations and the government has not acted,” he criticized, referring to the damning report filed by Marie Deschamps in 2015.
When she was named head of the Department of National Defence, Ms.me Anand promised that the culture change needed in the CAF to end sexual misconduct would be his priority.
She assures us today that this remains the case despite the major issues in which she also had to get involved, such as Canada’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I always encourage my team to remember that no matter what crisis arises in the world, the first priority is to build a strong military team that can stand the test of time, which means modernizing our thinking to ensure that discrimination, sexual harassment and inequality have no place in the (CAF),” said the Minister.
After Marie Deschamps’ report, another former Supreme Court justice, Louise Arbour, more recently made 48 recommendations on the issue. Nearly a year ago, she filed a scathing report after leading a thorough review of the military’s handling of sexual assault, harassment and other misconduct.
The government of Justin Trudeau has indicated that it accepts all of the recommendations of the ex-judge. Gold, M.me Arbor reported in December that she saw clear signs that military leaders were resisting the implementation of several of them.
Mme Anand maintains that the 48 recommendations of Mr.me Arbor are accepted by Ottawa and she provided an update on the work in progress on Thursday.
A legal assistance program has been initiated through the Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Center (CSRIS). This first phase of implementation will allow the reimbursement of legal costs incurred from April 2019, specified the Minister.
The assistance program will be available to military personnel and anyone who alleges that they have been the victim of sexual misconduct by a member of the CAF.
Ottawa also announced that CSRIS will expand the scope of its services to also meet the needs of cadets, junior rangers and any National Defense employee who is at least 16 years old.
With information from Sarah Ritchie