(Ottawa) A week or so after her appointment, the new Minister of Defense, Anita Anand, sets the bar for the crisis in the Canadian Armed Forces in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct targeting several high-ranking officers .
Mme Anand announced that she has accepted “in their entirety” the recommendations of former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Arbor to transfer the investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct cases to the civilian system. These investigations have so far been handled by the military justice system.
“I have fully accepted Madame Arbor’s recommendations to transfer the investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct to the civilian system,” Minister Anand said in a tweet on Twitter.
In this tweet, she included a copy of the letter sent by Mr.me Arbor to former Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan on October 20, six days before the formation of the new cabinet by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In this three-page letter, former judge Louise Arbor asserts that the transfer of civil proceedings is a crucial step to ensure transparency and accountability.
“I believe there is a need to establish a process that will facilitate the handling of allegations of sexual offenses in an independent and transparent manner, totally outside the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces),” she said in her letter.
“Recommendation no 68 by the Honorable Morris J. Fish should be implemented immediately. All sexual assault and other criminal offenses of a sexual nature under the Criminal Code, including historical sexual offenses, alleged against a CAF member, past or present, should be referred to civilian authorities.
Result: From now on, the Canadian Armed Forces Provost Marshal will have to transfer all allegations of sexual offenses to civilian police forces, including allegations currently under investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), unless that these inquiries are almost completed. In any case, according to former Justice Arbor, the charges should be laid in a civil proceeding.