(Reuters) – Allegations of sex crimes in the Canadian military should be investigated externally by civilian authorities and the armed forces should establish clear targets for the promotion of women, a former supreme court justice said in a report released Monday.
Former justice Louise Arbour, who was tasked last year with leading a probe into military harassment and sexual misconduct claims in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), laid out 48 recommendations aimed at changing the culture inside the military.
“One of the dangers of the model under which the CAF continues to operate is the high likelihood that some of its members are more at risk of harm, on a day-to-day basis, from their comrades than from the enemy,” Arbour wrote in her report.
“This must change.”
Grievances related to sexual misconduct should be identified, prioritized and fast-tracked, Arbour recommended in her report submitted to Canada’s Defense Minister Anita Anand.
Anand will review the recommendations and decide on their implementation.
Arbour recommends Anand should immediately appoint an external monitor to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the report and should inform parliament by the end of the year of any recommendations she does not intend to implement.
Another scathing report released last month by a four-member advisory panel found the leaders of Canada’s military had failed to address systemic racism and discrimination over the past two decades and that had harmed national security.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
