Louise Arbour accuses military of foot-dragging, blasts progress on misconduct reform
Retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour accused military leaders of dragging their feet when it comes fighting sexual misconduct in the ranks on Tuesday, even as Defence Minister Anita Anand staked her reputation on their success or failure.
Arbour delivered her scathing indictment to the House of Commons defence committee six months after issuing dozens of recommendations to improve the military's handling of inappropriate and criminal sexual behaviour.
Her testimony coincided with an update from Defence Minister Anita Anand on the progress on those recommendations, all of which have now been accepted.
While Arbour acknowledged some positive steps, such as the appointment of an external monitor to keep tabs on the military's progress, she was exceedingly critical on many other fronts.
Chief among them was what she saw as resistance to one of her key recommendations: That the Canadian Armed Forces be permanently stripped of its jurisdiction over the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault and other related crimes.
"It's very obvious to me that those involved in that process are dragging their feet on the military side," said Arbour, who previously served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
In her own update presented before Arbour's committee appearance, Anand said the government is consulting with provinces and territories about transferring responsibility for sexual crimes from military police and prosecutors to civilian counterparts.
Military officials have also revealed there were difficulties transferring those cases. Anand issued an interim order to do so in November 2021, but civilian police declined to accept 40 out of 97 cases referred to them by military police over the past year.
This comes as some provinces and municipal police forces have complained about the need for more funding and other resources to absorb the military's cases into their own systems.
However, Arbour suggested such requests for money amounted to "posturing," given the number of alleged sex crimes involving military personnel each year represents a tiny fraction of the total in the civilian system.
During her appearance before the defence committee, Anand emphasized the importance of acting on the recommendation but rebuffed calls for immediate change, saying several challenges need to be addressed.
Those include how to handle cases outside Canada and the capacity of civilian police and courts to take on more files.
Anand also repeatedly referred to the amount of time needed to change the law to officially remove the military's jurisdiction over sex offences, but refused to say when legislation would be presented to Parliament for approval.
"My officials will come and present options," she told the committee. "It would be imprudent of me to simply provide a date to this committee and to Canadians."
While acknowledging that amending legislation would take time, Arbour noted civilian police already have jurisdiction over such cases if the military decides not to take them.
"Therefore, all that needs to happen today is that the military system stops, and the civilian side takes on investigations of sexual assault and other forms of sexual offences committed by CAF members, on CAF bases or anywhere," she said.
"So that requires no change whatsoever. Just this: The military side stops, and the civilian side takes it on."
Anand later pushed back against suggestions that the government and military would repeat past failures by pretending to agree with Arbour's recommendations only to let them gather dust on a shelf.
"The way that we ensure cultural change occurs in the military is by trying every single day to get it right," she said. "And the gist of my tenure as minister of national defence is to ensure that that occurs."
Arbour also took issue with the military's failure to remove "the duty to report," which requires that troops report inappropriate or criminal behaviour even if the victim doesn't agree. That had been flagged as a major issue by victims' groups.
The former judge also blasted the Armed Forces for not having launched a promised review on the costs and benefits of Canada's two military colleges -- and accused them of having already decided that closing the institutions isn't on the table.
"We're now seven months after the production of my report and we're still at a stage of examining parameters and terms of reference," she said.
"All of that against the backdrop of a suggestion that the military colleges as they exist are 'superior institutions.' It doesn't suggest the kind of open mind with which I think this kind of exercise should be undertaken."
Anand in her own testimony said the review will be focused on the quality of education, socialization and military training at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., and its French counterpart in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. -- not whether they are required.
"These colleges attract some of the best that Canadian society has to offer," she said. "But let's be clear: The culture at our military colleges must change significantly, and we will ensure that this occurs."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Baby and grandparents killed in wrong-way crash involving police on Ontario's Highway 401
An infant and the child's grandparents – aged 55 and 60 – were all killed when a vehicle being pursued by police in the wrong direction on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont. caused a crash involving at least six vehicles, the Special Investigations Unit says. The driver of the suspect vehicle also died.
Freeland tables motion previewing omnibus budget bill
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass the sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget.
Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000 and raises threat of jail in hush money trial
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
New cancer treatment approved, but not everyone thinks it's what's best for patients
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
T. rex is at the centre of a debate over dinosaur intelligence
Surmising even the physical appearance of a dinosaur - or any extinct animal - based on its fossils is a tricky proposition, with so many uncertainties involved. Assessing a dinosaur's intelligence, considering the innumerable factors contributing to that trait, is exponentially more difficult.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
This is how many dentists have actually signed up for Canada's new free dental program
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Local Spotlight
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.