Sexual Assault & Sexual Misconduct in the CF
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daftandbarmy
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Report says...
EXTERNAL MONITOR REPORT Fourth Status Report – November 12, 2024
Introduction
1. In 2021, at the request of the Government, former Justice Louise Arbour launched a sweeping review of the problem of sexual misconduct within the Canadian Armed Forces. Her 2022 report is referred to as the Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR). It contained 48 recommendations that focused on “avenues of reform” in dealing with the “institutional shortcoming and structural impediments” that had allowed the problem to persist.
2. Since the beginning of my mandate in the fall of 2022, I have witnessed departmental action directly in response to the many external recommendations it has received, but also the development of other initiatives related to improving the culture and work environment of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF).
3. The first three status reports reflect on milestones that have been reached. For example, a Comprehensive Implementation Plan (CIP) has been created that maps out the timelines by which the intent of hundreds of recommendations from external reviews (including the IECR) will be substantively met. Its value lies in the public commitment that it represents. While some may view the CIP as a mere timetable, I see it as an important accountability mechanism that reflects the rate of progress agreed upon at the highest levels of the organization and sanctioned by the Minister of National Defence (MND).
4. I have also commented on some of the impediments that are affecting the rate of progress. A case in point is the CAF’s process for creating and updating its policies. It is multi-layered, involves many interlocutors and is legalistic by design. The impact is clearly seen on the timelines. But it can also affect the clarity of the message in what is meant to be incisive guidance to those responsible for dealing with inappropriate behaviour. In my view, the rotating schedule of CAF members in and out of jobs at national headquarters has a compounding effect.
5. All told, notwithstanding the impediment noted above, there has been positive momentum since 2021 on matters that, in time, could ultimately create the foundation for true change. Here are a few examples:
• the professional education continuum focused on ethical values that get reinforced throughout a member’s career;
• a promotion process that is built upon the precepts of character-based leadership;
• the efforts to choose instructors who genuinely personify and can effectively teach appropriate behaviour; and
• the creation of a probationary period that will more systematically assess the suitability of recruits in terms of moral values without incurring an administrative burden.
EXTERNAL MONITOR REPORT Fourth Status Report – November 12, 2024
Introduction
1. In 2021, at the request of the Government, former Justice Louise Arbour launched a sweeping review of the problem of sexual misconduct within the Canadian Armed Forces. Her 2022 report is referred to as the Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR). It contained 48 recommendations that focused on “avenues of reform” in dealing with the “institutional shortcoming and structural impediments” that had allowed the problem to persist.
2. Since the beginning of my mandate in the fall of 2022, I have witnessed departmental action directly in response to the many external recommendations it has received, but also the development of other initiatives related to improving the culture and work environment of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF).
3. The first three status reports reflect on milestones that have been reached. For example, a Comprehensive Implementation Plan (CIP) has been created that maps out the timelines by which the intent of hundreds of recommendations from external reviews (including the IECR) will be substantively met. Its value lies in the public commitment that it represents. While some may view the CIP as a mere timetable, I see it as an important accountability mechanism that reflects the rate of progress agreed upon at the highest levels of the organization and sanctioned by the Minister of National Defence (MND).
4. I have also commented on some of the impediments that are affecting the rate of progress. A case in point is the CAF’s process for creating and updating its policies. It is multi-layered, involves many interlocutors and is legalistic by design. The impact is clearly seen on the timelines. But it can also affect the clarity of the message in what is meant to be incisive guidance to those responsible for dealing with inappropriate behaviour. In my view, the rotating schedule of CAF members in and out of jobs at national headquarters has a compounding effect.
5. All told, notwithstanding the impediment noted above, there has been positive momentum since 2021 on matters that, in time, could ultimately create the foundation for true change. Here are a few examples:
• the professional education continuum focused on ethical values that get reinforced throughout a member’s career;
• a promotion process that is built upon the precepts of character-based leadership;
• the efforts to choose instructors who genuinely personify and can effectively teach appropriate behaviour; and
• the creation of a probationary period that will more systematically assess the suitability of recruits in terms of moral values without incurring an administrative burden.
Now that I’ve actually read the CanLII… Wow. Brutal.
I’ve know her slightly since our PRes time overlapped in the mid 2000s. She’s been an MP for quite a while now.
As a general rule of thumb my understanding is an IPV file has to get investigated as thoroughly as reasonably possible. Been a while since I worked IPV, just as a caveat. Moving forward without a victim statement is hard but not impossible if there are external witness or other corroborating evidence. But the odds of successfully prosecuting a sex assault without a cooperative victim as witness are very low. You’d need fantastic external evidence.
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That was a very interesting read.
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There's a non zero number of Defense Counsel lawyers reviewing their cases (past and current) and checking for the names of those MPs.
Yup, probably.
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I wonder how long it will take for their phones to mysteriously self-destruct...
That read like a sampling of pretty much every terrible story you've ever heard about an MP rolled into one long drama.
lenaitch
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Ontario has a 'mandatory charge policy' that directs that police must lay charges if they have reasonable grounds that a prima facie case exists for a Criminal Code offence - any offence, notwithstanding other factors including the victim's/partner's willingness. Unfortunately I can only find a 2000 policy online when it was still called 'domestic violence'. There used to be a policy that bail was to be opposed in all cases but I think that was softened after it pretty much created chaos in the courts.
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When I was on a digital forensics course down in Quantico, for some bizarre reason there were two CAF MPs from Valcartier on it. They wouldn’t even come out for a beer with us
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When a judge goes on the record to say the judgement of a particular Sergeant in the military police CFNIS branch cannot be trusted… just wow.
Weird that they went to Virginia instead of taking the Computer Forensic Examiner course at CPC. Though maybe the digital forensics course isn't as heavy in case law so it didn't matter.When I was on a digital forensics course down in Quantico, for some bizarre reason there were two CAF MPs from Valcartier on it. They wouldn’t even come out for a beer with us
I do know one really solid digital forensics guy who came out of the MPs and works for my outfit now. Super switched on dude and did some awesome digital forensics in a tough file we were on together.
Halifax Tar
Army.ca Fixture
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I wonder if they will face admin/discipline repercussions?
I don’t know the MPs well enough to say. I can say that for civilian police having the court rip into your credibility and integrity in a written decision is pretty fatal to any future investigative career.
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Being the CAF I'm sure it will be an IC, and a stern talking to. Maybe a 129 and a $200 fine as well.
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Or, in the more likely realm, promoted and posted.
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