Denunciations of Canadian soldiers for sexual misconduct jumped in 2023. But two complaints out of three are still handled by the police of the Armed Forces, rather than externally.
In the first five months of 2023 (January to May), 93 Canadian military personnel filed complaints of sexual misconduct.
However, for the whole of 2022, a total of 97 similar complaints had been reported, according to Jamie Bresolin, public affairs officer for the Canadian Armed Forces.
There were therefore almost as many complaints in the first months of this year as for the whole of the previous year.
These figures published without context are difficult to analyze, judge Charlotte Duval-Lantoine of the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs. “Either there are more sexual assaults, or the victims are more comfortable to file a complaint,” she observes in an interview.
A victim may have several motivations for reporting. She can also do it years after her attack, recalls Mme Duval-Lantoine, who wrote a book on military sexual misconduct.
Transmit investigations to civil
In recent years, a series of sexual misconduct scandals involving high-ranking officers have shaken Canadians’ confidence in military justice.
Since November 2021, the army is therefore supposed to apply the recommendation of ex-Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. This recommendation is that investigations into sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces be done externally, by civilian police.
The aim is to restore the confidence of victims in the handling of their allegations.
Of the 190 complaints received in total since December 2021, less than half have been transferred to civilian police, or 93, said Brigadier General Simon Trudeau, Provost Marshal of the Canadian Armed Forces, in a written statement Friday.
There are several reasons why a complaint is not forwarded to the civilian police, he explains. For example, when the allegations of sexual misconduct occurred abroad. Or, when the victim himself prefers a follow-up by the military police. This is the case of 20 complaints, out of the 190, he assures.
Civilian police refused complaints
But even among the transferred investigations, not all are handled by the civilian police, which reserves the right to refuse any. She has done so 29 times in the past year and a half, according to the Provost Marshal.
The denunciations refused by the civil police return to the bosom of the military police, confirmed to The Press Mr Bresolin.
“There are several reasons why a file can be declined by the civilian police, but we will not go into the details at this point,” he said.
“There are still a lot of police departments that refuse to take responsibility for transferring military complaints,” says Ms.me Duval-Lantoine. All for questions of resources and responsibilities between the federal, the provincial and the municipalities, she adds.
In total, it is therefore rather one complaint out of three (64 complaints out of 190) which has been dealt with outside the army for a year and a half.
Plans to turn things around
On Thursday, Department of Defense and Canadian Armed Forces officials released an update on their efforts to implement the 48 recommendations made by Mr.me Arbor last May.
Defense Minister Anita Anand also presented a plan in December to implement the changes.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr.me Anand said a federal-provincial-territorial committee has been created to facilitate conversations between deputy ministers on the transfer of criminal sex offense cases.
In the meantime, the Armed Forces have reached agreements with the RCMP, Sûreté du Québec and now the Ontario Provincial Police to refer cases to police for investigation, officials said.
In her report, Justice Arbor warned that Ottawa and the provinces could find themselves engaged in “endless discussions” over the issue if the federal government does not officially make the change.
The New Democratic Party has called on the Liberals to introduce legislation to permanently remove such cases from the jurisdiction of the military police.
With The Canadian Press