Independent report on military sexual misconduct to be released Monday

The independent review probing how best to address sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces is set to be released Monday.

Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour will be joined by Minister of National Defence Anita Anand for the release of the final report at approximately 12:30 p.m. EST.

Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre, and Deputy Minister of National Defence, Bill Matthews, will also be available to answer questions.

Over the past year, an ongoing investigation and series of exclusive reports from Global News have sparked a national reckoning over allegations of sexual misconduct against senior leaders in the military.

In the wake of the first report published on Feb. 2, 2021, former defence minister Harjit Sajjan announced an independent, external review into what experts have described as a “crisis” of military sexual misconduct.

According to the Department of National Defence website, the aim of the review is to “shed light on the causes for the continued presence of harassment and sexual misconduct in the military, identify barriers to reporting inappropriate behaviour and to assess the adequacy of the response when reports are made; and make recommendations on preventing and eradicating harassment and sexual misconduct.” 

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-With files from Global News’ Amanda Connolly