‘Deeply deficient culture’: Review calls for greater civilian role to tackle sexual misconduct crisis in Canadian Armed Forces

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This article was published 29/05/2022 (941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Calling out a “deeply deficient culture” that has allowed sexual misconduct to continue to fester in the military, a highly anticipated report released Monday delivered dozens of recommendations to tackle the Canadian Armed Forces’ misconduct and leadership crisis.

Independent reviewer Louise Arbour recommended a greater role for civilian authorities in dealing with complaints of sexual assault and harassment, for the defence minister to be more active in holding military leadership accountable, and a revamp of the military’s recruitment and promotion processes.

The review was launched by the federal government last year, with the military in crisis as a number of current and former senior leaders were being probed following allegations of sexual misconduct.

“The exposure of sexual misconduct in the CAF has shed light on a deeply deficient culture fostered by a rigid and outdated structure that did little to modernize it,” wrote Arbour, a former Supreme Court justice and UN human rights commissioner.

“For all the hardship it has caused over decades, the attention that this issue has recently attracted presents opportunities for change that might have been unimaginable without such a shock to the system.”

She stressed that the military cannot implement major change on its own, and will require external input throughout its efforts. “Meaningful change,” Arbour stressed, will rely on the political will of the government which oversees the military.

“In my view, two things could derail the path to significant change. The first would be to assume that this is only attributable to a culture of misogyny, and that change will come naturally with time and more enlightened attitudes,” she wrote.

“The second would be for the CAF to think that it can fix its broken system alone.”

Arbour and Defence Minister Anita Anand are expected to discuss the report at a news conference at around 12:30 p.m. Monday.

Arbour recommended that civilian authorities have exclusive jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences committed against military members, and that complaints of sexual harassment be handled by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

“These two recommendations are based on the idea that civilian authorities should be the first ‘port of call’ for the reporting and investigation of all serious forms of sexual misconduct,” Arbour wrote.

“‘Civilianizing’ these processes ensures their independence from the chain of command — as well as the appearance of independence that the CAF so desperately requires to rebuild confidence in its ability to address misconduct and take care of its own.”

Concerns have been repeatedly raised about the independence of the military justice system when probing sexual offences, Arbour noted. “The handling of sexual misconduct by military justice has eroded trust and morale among the organization,” she wrote.

Arbour had already delivered an interim recommendation last year calling for the transfer of military sexual assault cases to civilian authorities, a recommendation accepted by Anand.

While stating that “corrective measures are urgently needed” and that leadership has failed to address the problem over the years, Arbour stopped short of recommending the creation of a new external body to address sexual harassment and misconduct, as several critics have called for.

She called for existing external bodies and offices, particularly that of the minister of national defence, to take a more active role in holding the military accountable.

“There have been many calls for the establishment of additional external oversight over the CAF. In my view, this approaches the issues too narrowly,” she wrote.

She said oversight “suggests an ‘after the fact’ approach,” while also finding that external input “should be a common thread” throughout the military’s efforts to stamp out sexual misconduct.

“In particular, I believe the minister of national defence … must be prepared to play an active role in holding defence team senior leadership accountable, and ensuring that the CAF remains ready and able to adapt and change,” Arbour wrote.

“On the issues that I have addressed in this report, important tasks will fall on the minister to implement,” Arbour said. “She will need to muster the necessary resources and political support to move things forward expeditiously. Ultimately, she, and the government, are accountable to the Canadian public.”

Arbour said the minister should be briefed “on all investigations related to sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and leadership culture in the defence team.”

Arbour did recommend that the government immediately appoint an “external monitor” to oversee the implementation of her recommendations and publish biannual public reports.

Arbour’s report follows an external review conducted by retired Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps in 2015, which found that sexual misconduct was “endemic” in the military. Arbour wrote that her mandate was broader, including the handling of sexual misconduct by the military justice system.

She said she would not focus on the “already clear picture” painted by the Deschamps report and others, but would rather look at “the institutional shortcomings and structural impediments that have allowed this state of affairs to remain uncorrected.”

Arbour recommended that the military create a probationary period “in which a more fulsome assessment” of recruitment candidates can be performed, “and early release effected, if necessary.”

“The CAF should put new processes in place to ensure that problematic attitudes on cultural and gender-based issues are both assessed and appropriately dealt with at an early stage, either pre- or post-recruitment,” she recommended.

On promotions, Arbour recommended the creation of a “past misconduct sheet” for each individual up for promotion to senior ranks, which should include at minimum criminal convictions for sexual misconduct.

Arbour recommended that the defence minister also consult with a “senior civilian adviser” outside the defence team when approving senior promotions, and that in consultation with the chief of the defence staff, the minister “should examine what efforts are being made to correct the overrepresentation of white men in (general officer and flag officer) ranks.”

And there should be a “system of progressive targets” for the promotion of women, to increase the number of them in each rank, Arbour said.

Jacques Gallant is a Toronto-based reporter covering politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @JacquesGallant