The Canadian Armed Forces is making progress as it implements recommendations aimed at combating sexual misconduct in the military, but lacks an “overall strategic plan” to change its culture, a new report says.
The report released Wednesday is the first update from external monitor Jocelyne Therrien, who was appointed last October to oversee the military’s response to former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour’s independent review of sexual misconduct in the Armed Forces.
Although Therrien concluded “a significant level of tangible activity” has been taken within the military on many of the 48 recommendations in Arbour’s final report over the past year, she said there needs to be an overarching plan to manage those changes in a way “that will bring fundamental reform in a timely manner.”
So far, such a plan does not appear to exist, she said.
“Although I have seen some cross-referencing among the recommendations, there is no overall framework that sets out how the organization, as a whole, will move from one phase to the next,” Therrien wrote.
“Does this mean that there is no progress? Not at all,” she continued. “But an overall strategic plan would serve to ensure that the resources are aligned to priorities.”
Arbour’s report, released last May, described the military as a “broken system” out of sync with the values of Canadian society, and which poses a “liability” to the country.
Her review was formally launched a year before that — in May 2021 — in response to exclusive reporting by Global News into allegations of sexual misconduct among the highest ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Global News first brought to light in February 2021 allegations of sexual misconduct against senior leaders — the first of dozens of exclusive reports into such allegations and the military’s handling of them over the past 18 months.
Therrien’s appointment met one of Arbour’s recommendations for an external monitor who will report every six months on the military’s progress toward rooting out sexual misconduct.
In her inaugural report Wednesday, Therrien said a strategic plan would help prioritize legislative changes the military would need to propose to Parliament in order to implement some of the recommendations.
For example, she noted legislation would be needed to institute a probationary period that would allow “a more fulsome assessment” of military candidates who exhibit unacceptable behaviour and may need to be removed from military colleges. Until that happens, Therrien said the CAF plans to use interim mechanisms, including “irregular enrollment,” to expedite early releases.
Despite those warnings, government and military officials highlighted the “significant progress” made so far in response to the report.
“As I meet with members of the CAF across Canada and around the world, I see their clear desire to advance meaningful culture change,” Defence Minister Anita Anand said in a statement. “Together, we must continue to make progress, because failure is not an option.”
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre did not acknowledge Therrien’s call for a strategic plan in a statement announcing the release of her report.
“We have seen great momentum toward cultural growth within our institution, and we must continue to be seized by the need to have a workplace where everyone feels valued, protected, and able to apply their full range of talents, their diverse perspectives, and their authentic selves to be able to fully contribute to mission success,” he said.
The report comes after Anand and the military last week announced progress on two major recommendations: the transfer of sexual misconduct criminal investigations from military to civilian police, and legal supports for victims.
On Thursday, officials said they had fulfilled one recommendation by renaming the sexual misconduct response centre to the sexual misconduct support and resource centre.
The centre has launched a new fund to help victims of sexual misconduct with legal fees incurred during criminal proceedings or for four hours’ worth of legal advice. The fund would be available to military members and people who say they faced misconduct perpetrated by a military member.
The military on Friday said military police have referred 93 cases of criminal sexual offences to civilian police forces since December 2021, 64 of which are under investigation.
Therrien noted there are agreements in place with the RCMP, Sûreté du Quebec and now the Ontario Provincial Police to refer cases to police for investigation, along with other civilian police forces.
The report found progress has been made in several areas, particularly around changing the culture at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School, which provides basic training to military members as well as senior leadership training. Instructor screening has been improved and courses have been redesigned to “support a more robust learning” of values and ethics surrounding sexual misconduct and harassment, it said.
An external review panel for military colleges is expected to be in place by June, the report said. In the meantime, the exit survey for graduating cadets has been changed to capture attitudes on sexual misconduct. A review is underway to determine how to improve screening for recruits.
And an external auditor is being contracted to review administrative files that recommend members’ expulsion for sexual misconduct — many of which Therrien says have been ignored in the past.
She said she expects to report “significant progress” on that issue in October when her next update is due.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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