The Canadian Armed Forces have been stripped of its authority to investigate and prosecute military sexual assault cases after the federal government decided to hand over the cases to civilian courts.
The situation comes amid widespread debate on how the military's top officials treat service members and allegations that they failed to uphold their pledges to change a culture that has allowed such injustices to develop.
Canada Military Sexual Assault Controversies
On Thursday, the country's newly-appointed defense minister, Anita Anand, announced the decision. The official had previously been praised for her successful management of Canada's vaccine rollout process.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal minority government has recently come back into power, struggled with widespread criticisms for the delay in setting up an independent system to make legal decisions for the sexual misconduct accusations.
Anand's appointment last week was made based on preliminary recommendations from former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. The former official was reviewing the military's culture and policies, including how it responded to claims of sexual misconduct, the Washington Post reported.
Military leaders in top positions have been under investigation since Feb. 11, which has pushed them out of their roles or forced them to retire. Authorities have also put several others on leave over their alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct investigations.
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Many current and former servicewomen have spoken out about their experiences with what they describe as military culture. The victims claimed that the military enabled and covered up inappropriate sexual behavior conducted by its senior officers.
The former chief of the Canadian Forces defense staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, who retired in January, was charged by military police with one count of obstruction of justice in July. The incident followed an investigation that looked into allegations of sexual misconduct, the New York Times reported.
Canada's New Defense Minister
After the swearing-in ceremony for Anand, Trudeau said she was a world-class expert in governance with the help of decades of professional experience. The prime minister said the new defense minister's capabilities will help her ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces, the leadership, and the operations thereof were conducted in service of the people of the country.
Anand is a former law professor and expert in corporate governance was first elected to Parliament less than two years ago. The official had a lengthy resume but no military experience under her belt.
However, her lack of a political background was not enough to stop her from overseeing the country's procurement of tens of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses. Many have praised Anand for being responsible for the procurement of the biggest supply of vaccine doses worldwide. This was made even more impressive due to Canada having no capacity to manufacture its own vaccines.
"Like you saw with vaccines, I am determined. I work very hard and I am results-oriented. So, these are the qualities that I will bring to this file," said Anand to reporters on Tuesday. The official later said that she will be reviewing everything, from past reports of misconduct within the military to the most recent incidents, Politico reported.
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