Veterans pan move to end military investigation, prosecution of sexual misconduct

OTTAWA — Veterans and advocates say the government’s move to end the military’s ability to prosecute sexual assault and similar crimes will push more cases into an already overburdened justice system, and won’t solve the real problem.

Defence Minister Bill Blair has introduced proposed changes to the National Defence Act to remove the military’s jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute a list of Criminal Code offences that are sexual in nature.

The change is based on a recommendation from former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who found Armed Forces members did not trust the military justice system to handle such cases. 

But some veterans who have experienced sexual misconduct in the military say the civilian system is not any better equipped to deal with the problem. 

“People were desperate for a change when we saw how broken the system was,” said Christine Wood, a former air force logistics officer, referring to the 2021 crisis that saw a number of high-ranking military leaders lose their jobs after accusations of sexual misconduct. 

Arbour was hired to complete an independent review of military culture, and made 48 recommendations in May 2022. 

A recent Statistics Canada report found that 74 per cent of Armed Forces members wanted to see sexual misconduct cases handled by the civilian justice system. 

Since late 2021, the government has told the military to hand over such cases to civilian authorities. 

Just over half of the 285 cases were referred to civilian police since then, with only 103 of them accepted. In 64 other cases, the victim wanted military police to investigate.

Wood said victims should have that choice. 

“We want choice, we want agency, that’s what we were denied in the very first place,” she said. 

Diane Rose, a veteran who helps run a peer support network for military members who have experienced sexual misconduct, said she’s heard the same concern.

“People keep saying, ‘They’re not hearing us. This is wrong. The civilian system doesn’t understand what we’ve had to go through.'”

The StatCan report found that 64 per cent of military members who experienced sexual assault did not report it to anyone, most often because they did not believe doing so would make a difference. 

“I think that’s a direct comment on what we’ve seen happening with the transfer of cases to the civilian courts, and the number of them that have been dismissed or thrown out because too much time has passed,” Wood said. 

The rate of convictions for sexual assault in the civilian system is higher than in the military system. 

A 2020 paper by Dalhousie University law professor Elaine Craig found that conviction rates for sexual offences in the court martial system were only about 28 per cent, compared to 55 per cent in the civilian system. 

Craig also found high rates of plea deals in the military that allowed offenders to avoid a sexual-assault conviction.

Military law expert Rory Fowler said someone who pleads guilty to disgraceful conduct will still have a criminal record, and moreover, their chain of command will be aware. 

Civilian police don’t have an obligation to inform the military about investigations — something that worries veteran Donna Riguidel. 

“The chain of command might not even know that’s happening,” she said. 

Under the proposed changes, military police would still investigate alleged crimes that happen outside of Canada, but turn their investigations over to civilian prosecutors. 

Fowler said there are benefits to the military system: military police have the ability to investigate across jurisdictions, including outside the country, and prosecutors don’t have anywhere near the same caseloads as their civilian counterparts.

He pointed out that the military was given jurisdiction over sexual offences in 1999 at a time when sexual misconduct was a huge concern as women were integrated into combat roles. 

“Now we’re going through the exact same thing, saying, OK, we have to take those offences away,” he said. 

“They’re not attacking the right problem.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2024. 

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press