‘My recommendations will be implemented’: Louise Arbour prepares to review misconduct in Canada’s military

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This article was published 29/04/2021 (1239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When faced with the idea of conducting an external review on sexual misconduct in the military — six years after a similar review was completed — retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour said her initial impression was: “Seriously? It’s been done.”

Upon reflection, Arbour said she saw an environment in which she could make a lasting contribution, having been given a broader mandate from the federal government than the one handed to retired Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps when she conducted a similar review.

“I have been given assurances that my recommendations will be implemented,” a point Arbour returned to several times in an interview with the Star on Friday, while acknowledging that “you might think it’s a bit naïve” considering the military’s response so far to the Deschamps review.

“Six years after the Deschamps report, I think there’s better hope this time that something will come of this…If I was profoundly skeptical and cynical, I wouldn’t be doing this. I really have to believe that there is a window of opportunity.”

Arbour’s external review, announced Thursday by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, was immediately blasted by critics as a deflection tactic by a government and military that have failed to fully implement Deschamps’s recommendations.

The Conservatives said it was meant to take attention away from ongoing questions about the government’s handling of an allegation against ex-chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance in 2018.

Deschamps — who concluded in 2015 that sexual misconduct is “endemic” in the military — told the Star she welcomed Arbour’s appointment, noting her broader mandate and that her review “would not be a mere repetition of what I did.”

A former justice on the country’s top court, UN high commissioner for human rights, and chief prosecutor at the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Arbour brings a deep knowledge of human rights issues to her new task.

“Maybe the most important part of (Deschamps’s) work was the diagnosis,” Arbour said. “It was really earth shattering, the assessment of the prevalence of this predatory, sexualized culture.”

Arbour said she understands the frustration of survivors of military sexual violence, both those who have come forward, as well as those who never have due to lack of trust in the system.

“I understand their frustration and possibly their skepticism, about just another review by another justice. I get that,” she said. “I really want to say: Just bear with me. I think moving forward, this might be the right time for the right thing to get done.”

Unlike Deschamps’s mandate, Arbour has been instructed to come up with recommendations on what external oversight of the armed forces should look like. She will also be studying the military justice system’s “systemic performance” in dealing with sexual misconduct allegations, as well as recruitment and promotion to senior leadership.

“How is the leadership selected? In other words, what do people understand will serve their career or not in their behaviour in the armed forces?” she said.

The main recommendation from the Deschamps report was the creation of an “independent centre for accountability” outside the chain of command that would receive reports of sexual assault and harassment and be the central authority on data collection.

What was created instead is the civilian-run sexual misconduct response centre, which reports to the deputy defence minister. It provides support to complainants and monitors the military’s work on eradicating sexual misconduct, but it does not probe allegations.

Arbour has been specifically tasked with assessing the centre’s mandate, including to see if its independence can be improved.

“Considering that there’s lots of conflicting opinions on what external oversight needs to looks like, it’s reasonable that the government is asking someone like Justice Arbour to come up with recommendations. She’s extremely well positioned to do this work,” said Maya Eichler, an expert on sexual misconduct in the military at Mount Saint Vincent University.

Arbour has a year to deliver her final report, but can make interim recommendations. Nothing will be doable without buy-in within the military, which she hopes to achieve, noting that many institutions are “resistant if not allergic to external scrutiny and oversight.”

And there is no institution or workplace quite like the military. “So we need the internal buy-in to actually pull the military out of that very toxic subculture,” she said.

Acting chief of the defence staff Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre said Thursday that the military must “embrace” Arbour’s review, and to “welcome scrutiny with humility.”

On Sunday, Eyre announced that Maj.-Gen. Peter Dawe has been relieved as commander of Canada’s special forces after writing a character reference four years ago for a soldier convicted of sexually assaulting a comrade’s wife.

Brig.-Gen. Steve Boivin, who was to take over as special forces commander this summer, instead moves immediately into the position. Though he was to move into a new senior advisory position, the military now says Dawe’s future remains undecided.

“These are difficult times for us as an institution, and for many who continue to suffer,” Eyre said in a statement Sunday. “That suffering is inflamed through a sense of betrayal, and I recognize that it is real.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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