Minister of National Defence Anita Anand speaks on the next steps in the Canadian Armed Forces efforts to support Ukraine, during a press conference in Toronto, on Aug. 4.Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press
Ontario police chiefs are calling upon the federal government to develop formal policies outlining how military sexual-assault investigations are handed over to civilian detectives – a demand that is being made one year after Defence Minister Anita Anand announced these transfers were effectively a done deal.
The law-enforcement leaders in Canada’s largest province say that without stepped-up federal support, civilian police may lack the resources, databases and protocols to adequately investigate sexual assaults within the Canadian Armed Forces, or CAF.
“Complexities can and may arise as it relates to the investigation of military sexual offences which might occur on military bases, planes, boats, submarines and vehicles,” the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police said in a statement released Wednesday.
The group urged the government to simplify this work, including by allocating “appropriate resources to achieve the frameworks needed.”
The unsigned statement from OACP – which includes the leadership of the Ontario Provincial Police, Canada’s second largest police force – was endorsed by Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, who serves as the group’s president.
“Our police investigators are eager to work with our CAF and community partners to ensure justice for victims of sexual offences in the Canadian military,” he said.
Victims of military sexual assaults have long criticized Canada’s military police for their investigations and for not being independent of the CAF’s chain of command. Last year, former Supreme Court justices Morris Fish and Louise Arbour released reports recommending that sexual-assault cases be taken over by civilian police and that they no longer be handled by the military’s internal justice system.
When Ms. Anand was appointed defence minister in the fall of 2021, she announced she would immediately move on the judicial recommendations. “I have accepted in full Madame Arbour’s recommendations to move the investigation & prosecution of sexual misconduct cases to the civilian system,” she tweeted last November.
But questions over jurisdiction may be complicating the handover process in parts of Canada. Police forces usually answer to provincial and municipal governments, while the military is run and funded by the federal government.
Police in several provinces told The Globe and Mail this year that they are prepared to take on any individual military sexual-assault cases referred to them, but they were still awaiting the outcomes of federal-provincial negotiations over long-term arrangements.
One B.C.-based police leader said he has told the federal government that his force could not take on the extra work. “I flat out said that, unfortunately, the Victoria Police is not in a position to undertake investigations delegated or downloaded from the Canadian Armed Forces,” Victoria Police Chief Del Manak told The Globe in March.
Ontario has CAF bases in Kingston, Trenton, Petawawa, Borden and North Bay, and a station in Leitrim. The province sees an average of 71 military sexual-assault investigations each year, according to the Arbour report. This is by far the most of any province, and almost as much as Quebec (22), Alberta (19), British Columbia (18) and Nova Scotia (17) combined.
Two federal politicians – Justice Minister David Lametti and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino – will be meeting their provincial counterparts in Nova Scotia on Thursday to discuss a range of law-enforcement issues.
Ms. Anand is in Belgium, where she announced additional funding for Canada’s contribution to training and arming Ukrainian soldiers resisting the Russian invasion.
Her spokesperson, Daniel Minden, said some of Canada’s largest police forces have taken on military sexual-assault investigations.
“The RCMP, Sûreté du Québec, and other police services across Canada have accepted these cases, which number in the dozens on an annual basis,” he said in a statement by e-mail.
Mr. Minden said federal and provincial deputy ministers met last week to discuss the handovers of sexual-assault cases. “Minister Anand will continue to ensure a collaborative working relationship with provinces and territories to ensure a smooth transfer of cases,” he said.
The statement from the Ontario police chiefs says sexual-assault suspects who may have been stationed at military bases across Canada or around the world may prove difficult for local police forces to investigate. The statement adds that detectives will also face “possible hurdles if unable to access bases or military jurisdictions in a timely fashion.”
The chiefs’ association is also asking Ottawa to clarify which levels of government and agencies should take the lead on supporting victims of military sexual assaults.