National

Give CAF misconduct cases to civilians: Arbour

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Nov, 2021 09:57 AM

OTTAWA - All cases involving allegations of criminal sexual misconduct in the military should be immediately transferred to civilian authorities, retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour told the federal Liberal government last month.

“All sexual assaults and other criminal offences of a sexual nature under the Criminal Code, including historical sexual offences, alleged to have been perpetrated by a CAF member, past or present, should be referred to civilian authorities,” Arbour wrote in the Oct. 20 letter to Harjit Sajjan, who was defence minister at the time.

Her recommendation came six months after the Liberal government tapped Arbour to come up with ways to address sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. The call for action follows months of allegations of sexual misconduct involving some of the military’s most senior officers, which have forced an unprecedented reckoning in how such cases are handled.

Sajjan and the Liberal government have also faced criticism for not doing more. Sajjan was replaced as defence minister last week by Anita Anand. She has promised to make dealing with the issue one of her top priorities.

Shortly after The Canadian Press first reported on Arbour's letter Thursday, Anand posted on Twitter that she had accepted “in full Madame Arbour’s recommendations to move the investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct cases to the civilian system.

I have accepted in full Madame Arbour's recommendations to move the investigation & prosecution of sexual misconduct cases to the civilian system. pic.twitter.com/ZD8Hr6bF9c
— Anita Anand (@AnitaOakville) November 4, 2021

“The (Canadian Armed Forces) are working with federal, provincial and territorial partners to implement these interim recommendations,” she added.

Arbour is the second retired Supreme Court justice to have called for the military to transfer criminal cases involving sexual misconduct to civilian authorities in recent months.

Following a comprehensive review of the military justice system, Morris Fish said in June that the investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults should be temporarily removed from the military’s hands until a declaration of victims’ rights is implemented.

The government and military said at that time that they had accepted Fish’s recommendations in principle, but that further study would be needed.

In her letter, Arbour wrote that she has heard widespread doubts about the independence and competence of military police, which has spawned serious mistrust in the military justice system, especially when it comes to investigations.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Despite a surge in demand due to COVID-19, many distress centres across Canada are dangerously close to folding thanks to major declines in both volunteers and revenue. Stephanie MacKendrick, CEO of Crisis Services Canada, which runs the only national suicide-specific helpline in Canada, says her organization relies on a network of approximately 100 community distress centres across the country to field calls from people.

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer laid out Monday the numerous lines of inquiry his party intends to follow this week as a modified version of a House of Commons sitting gets underway. They include the state of the nation's emergency supply stockpile, the mishmash of federal economic benefit programs that allow some to fall through the cracks and to what extent the minority Liberals are backstopping provincial efforts to reopen their economies, Scheer said.

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings

Canada's chief public health officer warned Monday there is still a lot we don't know about the virus that causes COVID-19, but said stopping this pandemic or preventing a future one will require more than just physical distancing and handwashing. Dr. Theresa Tam said we simply do not know yet whether someone who has had COVID-19 will be immune from getting it again, or how long that immunity will last.

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the world at a tipping point that's challenging social, political, economic and environmental structures, says the director of a new academic research institute at British Columbia's Royal Roads University. Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon said Monday the pandemic is an event with the power to cause those structures to fall like dominos or shift radically to new paths.

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey

Illicit drugs and cash have been seized from a residence in the Whalley area following an investigation by the Surrey RCMP. The investigation began on March 5th, 2020 by the Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit (CRU). CRU observed suspicious activity consistent with drug trafficking at a residence in the 11400 block of 124 street.

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey

Police say B.C. woman whose disappearance sparked wide search found dead in Burnaby

The body of a missing British Columbia woman has been found two months after she disappeared. A statement from New Westminster police says the body believed to be that of Nirla Sharma was discovered Sunday along the Fraser River between New Westminster and Burnaby. The woman's disappearance from her New Westminster home sparked a major search in late February.