Lee Berthiaume
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for International Migration Louise Arbour speaks during a press briefing after the closing session of UN Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mosa ab Elshamy April 29, 2021 - 8:17 AM
OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government is tapping former Supreme Court justice and United Nations high commissioner for human rights Louise Arbour to lead what it is billing as an independent review of the militaryâs handling of sexual assault, harassment and other misconduct.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced Arbour s appointment Thursday, nearly three months after the government and Canadian Armed Forces were rocked by allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by the militaryâs very top commanders.
O Toole defends Conservatives handling of Vance allegation in 2015
by Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
Posted Apr 29, 2021 4:57 pm EDT
Last Updated Apr 29, 2021 at 5:14 pm EDT
OTTAWA Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says he acted appropriately after hearing a “rumour” about Jonathan Vance months before the general took over as Canada’s top military commander in July 2015.
The comments follow new questions about the decision by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government to move ahead with Vance’s appointment in spite of two separate allegations that the senior officer had engaged in inappropriate relationships.
One of those allegations revolved around a relationship that Vance had with an American military officer, Kerry Wheelehan, which military police investigated but did not lay charges, and the two are now married.
iPolitics By iPolitics. Published on Apr 29, 2021 6:02pm Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan. (Andrew Meade/iPolitics)
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For the second time in six years, Ottawa is launching an external review into sexual misconduct in the military. The harassment and misconduct probe will be led by former supreme court justice Louise Arbour, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced Thursday. The end product will be “concrete recommendations” on how to set up an independent, external reporting system one which allows victims to report violence and misconduct outside of the military chain of command, and without fear of reprisal.
There s no simple answer, said Thomas. It may seem like we re moving too slowly. We accept the Deschamps report was not implemented as intended by its author. We re not going to interpret the [eventual Arbour] report this time we re going to implement it. How many people are going to suffer?
The review is expected to take about a year. That long timeline dismays some survivors of sexual assault, who say the federal government has reviewed the problem enough. What do they want to study more? asked Sherry Bordage, a former master corporal who left the military in 2014. How many people are going to suffer in the interim while they continue to delay taking any real action on an issue they re already aware of? They have a lot of power and don t want to give it up.