An extensive and detailed report by former Supreme Court Judge Louise Arbor on sexual harassment and misconduct in the Canadian military will be released today.
National Defense Minister Anita Anand has had the report for more than a week and is holding a press conference at 12:30 pm ET with Arbor and the Chief of Defense Staff, General Wayne Eyre.
On Monday, I will join the Honorable Louise Arbor, General Eyre, and Deputy Minister Matthews for the release of the final report of the Comprehensive Independent External Review of Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in @CanadianForces.
– @ AnitaAnandMP
More than a year ago, the government commissioned Arbor to conduct an external review to offer recommendations on establishing an independent reporting system that would allow whistleblowers to report their cases without fear of reprisals.
For decades, critics have accused the military of failing to prosecute whistleblowers.
Former Navy member Dawn Mcllmoyle appeared publicly on the cover of Maclean’s magazine in 1998 and said she was sexually assaulted when she was 19, unbelievable when reported, and later charged. and fined $ 250 by the Forces for being in the men’s barracks after 11 p.m. The main soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces at the time, General Maurice Baril, was quoted as saying that “society is asking us to be better”.
Mcllmoyle said he is still waiting for the military to change its culture and wants to see an action plan announced today.
“Next year will be 25 years since all this happened,” he said. “What happened? There’s nothing but written reports. It’s frustrating … Words without facts mean nothing.”
Dawn McIlmoyle published her sexual assault case on the cover of Maclean’s in 1998, in the hope that it would lead to a change in culture. Decades later, Mcllmoyle said he is still waiting for that to happen. (Submitted by Dawn McIlmoyle)
Series of scandals
Since January 2021, the credibility of the Forces has been affected by a relentless series of sexual misconduct scandals.
Experts have said they cannot think of another army anywhere in the world that has seen so many high-ranking leaders swept away in one scandal at a time.
Since the beginning of February 2021, 13 current and former Canadian military officers they have been marginalized, investigated, or forced to retire from some of the most powerful and prestigious positions in the defense establishment.
Former Chief of the Defense Staff, retired General Jonathan Vance, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in March. Major Kellie Brennan, a staff officer at Army headquarters, told Global News that she and Vance had an intimate relationship again, again. He later testified before a parliamentary committee and claimed that Vance had fathered two of his eight children.
Provincial court documents said Vance tried to obstruct justice “voluntarily” by repeatedly contacting Brennan and trying to persuade her to make false statements to investigators.
Vance’s former chief of HR, Vice Admiral Haydn Edmundson, is scheduled for a 13-day criminal trial next year. He was charged in December 2021 with sexual assault and committing indecent acts. Edmundson has denied any wrongdoing.
Vance’s replacement, Admiral Art McDonald, resigned from the main post in 2021 following allegations of misconduct.
Other senior military leaders have been criticized for supporting the perpetrators and accused of failing to help survivors of military sexual trauma.
Anand and Eyre presented a historic and long-awaited apology last year to women and men whose lives were damaged by sexual assault, misconduct and discrimination in the military.
In one of his first acts as Canada’s new Minister of Defense, Anand announced last fall that he would act on Arbour’s interim recommendation and transfer the investigation and prosecution of cases of sexual misconduct within the Canadian Forces into the system. of civil justice.
Attempts to cover up misconduct
Over the past year, CBC News has documented attempts to cover up cases of alleged misconduct and the re-traumatic effect on whistleblowers of a faulty reporting process.
One of the leading women in the Canadian military resigned in March 2021, saying she was “disgusted” by ongoing reports of sexual misconduct in the Armed Forces.
Two other senior officials said in March that they would leave the Navy because they claim that senior leaders did not hold subordinates responsible for plotting a case of sexual misconduct.
The report by Louise Arbor, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, is the second on sexual misconduct in the military in seven years. (Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press)
Arbour’s report is the second such independent review in seven years.
In 2015, the historical report of former Supreme Court Judge Marie Deschamps found that sexual assault, harassment and school harassment were endemic in the Canadian Armed Forces, and that senior leaders tolerated.
The Canadian Armed Forces has been criticized for not fully implementing the recommendations of the Deschamps report.
“Prevent the military from saying they didn’t know”
Charlotte Lantoine-Duval of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute studies cultural change in the Canadian Armed Forces. He participated in consultations with Arbor in the fall of 2021.
He said this report “was not necessary in itself” because previous reports have yet to be properly implemented. It still has value, he added.
“It will provide us with additional information on what the issues are,” Lantoine-Duval said. “And it can keep the military from saying they didn’t know.”
the lieutenant general. Jennie Carignan, head of professionalism and conduct, has also been tasked with changing the culture of the military and has said she plans a five-year campaign.
LOOK: The then Minister of Defense, Sajjan, is asked why a second revision is needed:
Sajjan is asked why the army needs another report to help end sexual misconduct
Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan spoke to reporters on Thursday about the plan to change the way the military treats inappropriate sexual conduct.