Liberals restore bill containing incoming GG's recommendation for Canada's military

On the same daytime the undercoat government minister named Louise Arbour as Canada's next regulator superior general, the Liberals voted to restore proposed legislation to move ahead with Arbour's key recommendation for the country’s military. 

The bill before parliament would put into law Arbour's 2022 recommendation to strip the Canadian Armed Forces of the power to investigate and prosecute sexual offences, leaving that to civilian authorities instead.

The Liberals voted on Tuesday to drop a Conservative amendment to the bill that would have given victims of sexual offences the right to choose whether their cases are tried by the military or civilian judicial system. 

Some Conservatives are questioning the timing of the Liberals' move.

"There's no question in my mind that a lot of this was staged for [Arbour's] appointment," said Conservative defence critic James Bezan.

The Conservatives and some former military members say they're upset their input at a committee that studied the bill has effectively been ignored.

Ottawa hired Arbour, a retired Supreme Court justice who also served on international criminal tribunals, to investigate the military’s sexual misconduct crisis that saw a series of senior military leaders removed from top jobs in 2021.

The government’s proposed legislation to act on Arbour’s advice has faced resistance from some sexual misconduct survivors, former military officials and opposition parties.

Military sexual misconduct investigations should move to criminal courts, report says

On Tuesday, the Liberals used their recently secured majority to scrap a series of opposition amendments to the bill.

"This is fortuitous," McGuinty said. "It happened, it was random."

The 2022 report said the military’s handling of sexual offences over the past 20 years has eroded public trust, and recommended stripping the Forces of that responsibility.

McGuinty said in practice, the military has been transferring the cases to civilian courts since Arbour made the recommendation, and the government always planned to turn that practice into law.

"It’s the right thing to do," he said. "A lot of people are counting on us."

Liberal government re-introduces legislation to reform the military justice system

But Conservative MP Jeff Kibble says the government is ignoring critical testimony from sexual assault survivors and other witnesses at the defence committee that studied the bill and made amendments.

He said there are serious concerns that some cases will not meet the threshold set by the civilian judicial system, whereas the military system would have prosecuted them. 

"It’s going to be a free pass for predators as far as I’m concerned," Kibble said. 

Arbour’s report found giving victims a choice between the civilian and military systems would place an unfair burden on victims, and could leave them regretting their choice if there’s an acquittal. 

"I think that it's infantilizing survivors a bit," said retired major Donna Van Leusden, who trains organizations to help other sexual assault survivors.

In her own case, a soldier was sentenced in 2012 to time in military jail for disgraceful conduct after being convicted of an indecent act.

She said giving survivors the choice between a civilian or military process is the right move.

"Any choices within a system that is very inflexible already does a little bit to give back that agency, that power that was stripped away [with] that violation," she said. 

Military closed sexual assault cases as Ottawa announced transfer to civilian courts

Retired captain Hélène Le Scelleur told the committee that in 2007 a senior officer sexually assaulted and harassed her both in Canada and while deployed in Afghanistan. 

It was the first time she had publicly shared her experience, and she hoped it would lead to change.

Le Scelleur says the Liberals' move to stick with Arbour’s recommendation is a setback, and she doesn’t believe civilian authorities would accept her case.

"It's really frustrating for me because it was the first time I was speaking out about what happened to me. The way now the bill is going, it means my story doesn’t count."

"It means what I sustained as assault will no longer be looked at.”

Le Scelleur said she thinks Arbour will be in a conflict if she eventually grants the bill royal assent as governor general.

"For me, there’s a huge conflict of interest here," she said. 

Bezan said it makes for an "interesting constitutional discussion."

"As the governor general, she has to approve something that is actually based upon her own work and potentially changes the way our military justice system will work forever," he said.

Constitutional expert Philippe Lagassé says there's no conflict of interest in this case because the governor general provides assent on the advice of the houses and is required to grant it.

The Privy Council Office said Arbour is an "esteemed Canadian" who will be an "exemplary representative of Canada and its institutions."

"The Governor General has a constitutional duty to grant Royal Assent to legislation passed by the Senate and the House of Commons," the Privy Council Office said in a statement. "As her predecessors have done, she will carry out this constitutional duty."

MPs will debate the bill on third reading in the House of Commons on Friday. If passed, the bill would then move on to the Senate for review.

Arbour is set to be installed as governor general on June 8. 

Senior reporter

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