Arbour warns against letting her report on sexual misconduct sink into a policy 'graveyard'
The minister says she's serious about stamping out misconduct in the military — but we've heard it before
The Liberal government might be wishing for a dose of "deliverology" at the Department of National Defence (DND) when it comes to its decades-long effort to eradicate sexual misconduct and assault from the Canadian military.
At one point on Tuesday, Defence Minister Anita Anand teared up as she unwrapped the government's roadmap to implement the recommendations in last spring's landmark report by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour.
It was a genuine expression of emotion over a moral scourge that haunted more than one of Anand's predecessors.
Whether they turn out to be tears of joy or frustration will depend on how closely the military and DND — hidebound institutions that have been down the misconduct reform road before — adhere to Arbour's 48 recommendations.
The Liberals came to power in 2015 touting deliverology, a trendy management theory that promised to spur politicians and bureaucrats to actually deliver on promises. It has since faded into the bureaucratic background.
Anand made it clear that the government accepts all of Arbour's recommendations. In an interview late Tuesday on CBC's Power & Politics, she said she is committed to implementing them.
Did you catch the distinction?
The gap between intention and results is precisely where Arbour aimed her criticisms during an appearance before the House of Commons defence committee on Tuesday. She told MPs that she has her doubts about the degree to which the military and DND's civilian management are actually committed to reform.
"To be candid, I was concerned that my recommendations would find their place in the graveyard of recommendations, which is heavily populated in the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence," Arbour said.
"The method of implementation is the business-as-usual of sending it back to another review, another committee."
Fair point.
Prior to Arbour's report, the most recent effort to stamp out sexual misconduct, misogyny and outright criminal behaviour in the forces was led by a former Supreme Court colleague of hers, retired justice Marie Deschamps. Her report with its 10 recommendations, released seven years ago, was also hailed as a landmark.
You'll get an argument on whether DND ever implemented those recommendations. A senior officer, Brig-Gen. Andrew Atherton, testified before a separate parliamentary committee in the spring of 2021 that all of the proposals in the Deschamps report were implemented.
'Talk is very cheap'
That assertion — coming as it did during a series of high-profile criminal investigations into sexual misconduct allegations against top military leaders — was greeted with groans from experts, advocates and most knowledgeable observers.
It was left to Conservative MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman to observe that "talk is very cheap" and parliamentarians, members of the military, survivors and the general public need to "actually see action on it."
Anand has promised that this time will be different — that the government's roadmap, along with an independent monitor and regular reporting to the public, will ensure the Armed Forces, the department and the government are held to account.
"Now you see, everyone can see, Canadians can see, you all can see what our plans are," Anand told the defence committee following Arbour's testimony.
The minister picked up on Arbour's skepticism and impatience. "In the fine print of the report [last spring]," she added, "Madam Arbour acknowledges this is going to take several years to implement."
But Arbour, a former United Nations human rights high commissioner, came to the committee with specific concerns — especially about the pushing and shoving over her recommendation that sexual assault cases be handled by the civilian justice system.
Foot-dragging over civilian investigations
It's there, she said, that she sees the most resistance to change.
"It's very obvious to me that those involved in that process are dragging their feet on the military side," Arbour told the committee.
The military has revealed that since it was ordered to transfer cases over a year ago, civilian police have declined to accept 40 out of 97 cases sent to them by military police over the past year. Some provinces and municipal police forces have complained, saying they need more resources to take on the responsibility.
Arbour said it's clear there's a need for federal legislation — most likely an amendment to the National Defence Act — to force the issue. She said she sees no sign such a move is on the horizon.
Arbour also suggested there are some easy things the military can do now that it's not doing.
It could, for example, abolish the service requirement known as "duty to report," which requires military members who witness sexual misconduct incidents to notify superiors.
The requirement is widely believed to take away from the victim's right to control their own story.
The idea of doing away with "duty to report" is still being reviewed by an internal task force, the military's culture czar, Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan, told the committee.
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, who has written extensively on sexual misconduct in the military, said she continues to hold out some hope that change will come.
She said she sees a level of personal commitment in Anand that was, in her estimation, absent in previous defence ministers.
Still, she acknowledges the gap between aspiration and implementation.
"It's really encouraging to see the path that we're seeing here, but once again only time will tell if that commitment sustains."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
