OTTAWA — A dispute between the federal government and provinces over funding and other resources is slowing efforts to transfer military police investigations and prosecutions of alleged sexual crimes to civilian authorities.
Defence Minister Anita Anand said last November the Canadian Armed Forces would start transferring criminal sexual offences to civilian police forces and courts on an interim basis.
The decision followed an interim recommendation from Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour who was in the midst of leading an external review of sexual misconduct and harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces. She said moving the cases from military to civilian police and courts was necessary to address widespread mistrust and doubt about the military’s ability to properly handle such cases.
Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Simon Trudeau, the military’s top police officer, reported last month that 22 new investigations and nine pre-existing cases had been accepted by civilian police forces, including the RCMP, municipal police forces in Quebec and some other provinces.
What Trudeau didn’t say was that at least 23 cases have been rejected by civilian authorities and remain with military police amid a disagreement between Ottawa and several provinces over funding and other resources.
Anand cited those numbers in a letter last month to Ontario’s then-solicitor general Sylvia Jones as she urged Jones to push police and courts in the province to accept the transfers.
“Our aim is that civilian police services investigate, and civilian courts adjudicate, all Criminal Code sexual offences alleged to have been committed by a CAF member,” Anand wrote in the letter sent June 5.
“The civilian justice system and civilian law enforcement already have jurisdiction over these Criminal Code offences, and I urge you to work to ensure they exercise their jurisdiction and enforce the law.”
Anand’s letter made no mention of funding or other federal support despite receiving a letter from Jones three months earlier stressing the need for additional resources to accommodate the military’s cases in Ontario’s “already strained system.”
Anand instead said the federal government was looking at permanently removing the military’s jurisdiction over criminal sexual offences — a move that would dump all such investigations and prosecutions in the provinces’ lap.
A spokeswoman for Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, who took over the portfolio from Jones last month, underscored the provincial government’s assertion that Ottawa needs to provide additional resources to facilitate case transfers.
“This includes the federal government providing concrete data to local police services on cases to be transferred so they are equipped to investigate and pursue potential charges interprovincially and internationally in a manner that is supportive to victims of sexual assault,” spokeswoman Hannah Jensen said in an email.
Ontario isn’t alone in the request.
A statement from British Columbia’s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General also calls for “adequate resources and consistent protocols, procedures and standards to support both the survivors and civilian police.”
“We will continue to engage with B.C. policing agencies, victim services and (the) B.C. Prosecution Service as the CAF works towards implementing the transfers of the cases,” the statement reads.
In her final report released at the end of May, Arbour noted that some police forces and associations representing chiefs of police had publicly and privately opposed her earlier recommendation for the military to transfer cases to their jurisdictions.
Those included the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and its counterpart in British Columbia.
Yet she noted some other provinces and police services had agreed to accept such cases, including Quebec. She went on to argue that based on historical trends, all provinces besides Ontario were likely to see less than 25 additional cases per year.
Ontario was likely to see about 70 new cases but Arbour said those numbers were not a justification for saying no to transferring them.
“The number of cases, spread across the country, with slightly higher volume around CAF bases and wings, and virtually none elsewhere, hardly justifies this refusal to enforce the law,” she said of those opposed to taking military cases.
“The targeted need for additional resources, if any, can be easily identified and accommodated.”
Arbour went on to predict that unless the federal government formally removed the military’s jurisdiction over criminal sexual offences, Ottawa and the provinces would engage in “interminable discussions” between the two sides.
While Provost Marshal spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. James Bresolin says military police continue to handle those cases that civilian counterparts have refused to accept, the situation is raising fresh worries about the impact on victims of sexual crimes.
“The concern for victims is really that there seems to be sort of a hot-potato situation where some of the provinces essentially don’t want to take the cases,” said Megan MacKenzie, an expert on military sexual misconduct at Simon Fraser University in B.C.
“Victims are going to be impacted if there’s this sort of back and forth between different authorities and potentially under resourcing and disputes about who should be taking care of these cases.”
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, whose book on military sexual misconduct was published last month, worried for victims who may have come forward only because they thought their cases would not be handled by the Armed Forces.
“That’s going to contribute to the re-traumatization of people who have waited decades to come forward.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2022.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Sentencing hearing continues for University of Waterloo gender studies class stabber
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it
Inequality has broad impacts on the health of Montreal children, report finds
Liberal majority victory shifts political landscape in New Brunswick
Thomson Reuters acquires AI accounting assistant developer Materia
Ontario aiming to become energy superpower, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce says
Sonia Furstenau staying on as B.C. Greens leader in wake of indecisive election
Thousands of international students miss fall semester amid uncertainty, visa delays
