The Liberal governmentโs long-awaited bill to address sexual misconduct in the military is facing pushback from some victims, former military officials and opposition parties.ย
The bill aims to strip the military of its power to investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases.ย If passed, only civilian police and judges would be allowed to handle these criminal offences.
“Iโm disappointed to hear that this isnโt being supported by all parties,” Defence Minister David McGuinty said Thursday.
“This must be removed from the Canadian Forces in order to complete the kind of culture change we want to see.”
The proposed legislation acts on a recommendation from former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour in 2022. She found serious concerns remain with the independence and competence of military investigators, prosecutors and justice system.
Arbour said the Canadian Armed Forcesโ handling of sexual offences over the past 20 years has eroded public trust and the forces should no longer have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
In a new report, former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour says the Canadian military should permanently move sexual offence investigations into civilian criminal courts, citing past mismanagement of sexual misconduct allegations and an overall resistance to change.
Ottawa hired Arbour to investigate the militaryโs sexual misconduct crisis that saw a series of senior military leaders removed from high-profile jobs.
McGuinty said that opposition MPs raising concerns with Bill C-11 in the House national defence committee have some explaining to do.
“I donโt think any of us are in a position, frankly, to second-guess the work of Madam Justice Arbour,” he said.
He also said the Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan heard from 14,000 military members, victims groups and outside interveners and “they have all come to a position to say this must happen.”
Opposition cites victim testimony
Bloc Quรฉbรฉcois and Conservative MPs told CBC News they want to improve the bill after hearing victims’ testimony.
“Victims are mostly always losing their cases in regular civilian courts,” said Bloc Quรฉbรฉcois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay.ย
Conservative MP James Bezan said cases, including sexual assaults, are also being thrown out in civilian court because of strict trial deadlines โ something he said victims have underscored.
He said that victims are “very aware” that they would be moving from a system “that’s not perfect” to one that is “overburdened.”ย
At least two complainants who filed sexual assault complaints against members of the military who are now senior officers say their cases were officially closed by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal on the same day the new defence minister announced most ongoing sexual assault investigations would be moved to the civilian justice system.
Retired captain Hรฉlรจne Le Scelleur recently told MPs that military members deserve the right to choose if civilian or military authorities handle their cases.ย
Le Scelleur said she never reported that a senior officer sexually assaulted and harassed her in Canada and while deployed in Afghanistan because the “risks were far too great legally, professionally and personally.”
She wants a joint, hybrid investigative team, arguing that either system is not enough on its own.
“The military system understands the operational context,” she said. “The civilian system provides independence and oversight.”
Veteran Christine Wood is calling for an independent justice system within the military. Sheย told MPs she experienced almost every form of sexual misconduct during her first 18 months in uniform and eventually went to military police after being raped.
Wood said she would have never reported her case to civilian police โ not even if it happened today.
“The Canadian Armed Forces must uphold its own good order and discipline,” Wood told the national defence committee last week.
But multiple experts are standing behind the bill, including Megan MacKenzie.
“Given that we have now had decades of high levels of sexual crimes and low levels of accountability, I think it’s clear that this rationale for an internal system is no longer valid,” said MacKenzie, who holds the Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security at Simon Fraser University.ย
A judge stayed a sexual assault charge against Noletโs alleged perpetrator in August because the case took too long to get to trial.
Retired colonel Bruce MacGregor, the former director of military prosecutions, told MPs the military has greater access to evidence, bases and units where incidents happened than civilian police.
“Admittedly, the military justice system has flaws with respect to protecting victims, and has been slow to move. But it has made significant strides,” he said.ย
Retired Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps also testified a decade after her report into a pervasive macho military culture that recommended victims of sexual assault should be allowed to request that their file is transferred to civilian authorities.ย
Deschamps said she now believes that there is significant risk if less serious sexual acts are transferred to civilian police and courts. The military’s sexualized culture includes smaller acts committed on a daily basis and if theyโre not punished internally, a “culture of impunity takes over,” Deschamps told MPs.
“And this paves the way for more serious crimes,” she said in French.
But for more serious sexual offences, she pointed to the fact that Arbour concluded giving the victim the choice would be a burden. Arbour said this puts them in an untenable position and they may regret their choice if thereโs an acquittal.
Push for further study
The Bloc Quรฉbรฉcois has put forward a motion that the committee study an option for victims to have access to a specialized tribunal.
Savard-Tremblay told CBC News he wants MPs to look at a pilot project in Quebec. That province created a specialized civilian court that hears sexual and domestic violence cases. The program is also designed to provide support to victims to improve their experience dealing with criminal court.
Bezan said the Conservatives are supportive of the motion. He also wants tweaks to the bill so victims can choose if the military or civilians handle their cases.
But McGuinty says the first step is to move these sexual offence cases out of the militaryโs justice system.
If the specialized court in Quebec could expedite cases and help victims, thatโs “positive” and should be taken up with the provinces because they have jurisdiction, he said.
If youโre in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database. โโ
