Political briefing: Louise Arbor accuses Canadian military leaders of dragging their feet in crackdown on sexual misconduct

Hello,

Retired Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbor has accused Canada’s military leaders of delaying its fight against sexual misconduct in the military.

Her scathing indictment before a parliamentary committee came about six months after she made dozens of proposals to improve the military’s handling of inappropriate, even criminal, sexual misconduct.

Earlier today, Canadian media reported that Defense Minister Anita Anand updated Parliament on the military’s progress in implementing the recommendations.

Anand said all of the proposals were accepted, but Arber said there were clear signs that military leaders were resisting many of them.

Arbor said she has seen opposition to removing military jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual assault and other related crimes.

The Canadian Armed Forces said military police had to investigate dozens of alleged sex crimes last year after civilian authorities refused to accept 40 of 97 cases.

This is the Daily Political Briefing newsletter, sponsored by Ian Bailey. It is only available to our digital subscribers.If you read this article online, subscribers can Subscribe to the Political Newsletter and 20 more on our newsletter signup page. Any comments? let us know what you think.

Today’s headlines

Hockey Canada’s existential crisis: Cromwell – Canada’s hockey team faces a crisis this fall after its handling of sexual assault allegations exposed a series of governance failures at the top of the organization, a former Supreme Court justice told a federal hearing Tuesday. An existential crisis.story here.

NG Conflict of laws breach: Ethics Commissioner – The Federal Ethics Commissioner has ruled that Trade and Small Business Minister Mary Ng breached conflict of interest laws in relation to two media training contracts awarded to close friends.story here.

Former Ontario cabinet minister wins by-election – Former Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa is headed to Ottawa after winning Monday’s federal by-election in Mississauga-Lakeside.story here.

Canada contributes to rebuilding Kiev’s power grid – Canada is helping to fund the reconstruction of Kiev’s war-damaged power grid, and Ottawa earlier this year imposed a 35 per cent tariff on imports from Russia and its ally Belarus.story here.

Bank chief points to costs of rising rates – Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said rising rates are starting to slow the economy and lower inflation, but the bank remains wary of doing too little to keep prices in check.story here.

More arms sales to Qatar – Canada will sell more arms to Qatar even as scrutiny of its human rights record intensifies.story here.

Trudeau talks guns and Haiti in end-of-year interview – In end-of-year interview with Canadian media, PM Justin Trudeau says – Story here — His government is trying to draw a line between guns that are good for hunting and those that have no place in society because they pose a major danger in the wrong hands. On a separate issue, Mr. Trudeau also said he wanted European countries to join Canada in sanctioning Haitian elites for their alleged links to the violent gangs that have crippled the country.story here.

Ripley’s Role in Legislation — The federal government’s two flagship bills seem to depend on just one man: the brilliant and ubiquitous Owen Ripley.story here.

B.C. Minister Calls on Government to Do More on Gender-Based Violence – B.C. NDP government must do more to ensure legal system and family court system don’t do more harm to victims of gender-based violence, Former B.C. minister Katrina Chen, minister of state for child care, last week opened up about her personal story of dealing with ongoing trauma.story here From the Vancouver Sun.

NWT joins fight against federal law – NWT government leaders are defending the Territorial Attorney General’s decision to join the Supreme Court of Canada in challenging a federal law that gives Indigenous governments the power to control their own child and family services.story here From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

this and that

Today in the House of Commons – Expected working order in the House of Commons, 13 December, accessible here.

Carr Memorial – A public memorial for former Cabinet Minister Jim Carr will be held on Saturday, December 17 at the Winnipeg Centennial Hall (555 Main St.). The announcement was posted on the Twitter account of the South Central Liberal MP for Winnipeg, who died this week after battling cancer.The tweet stated that the funeral time will be announced soon, and the family declined the flowers, and said that they could donate to the Jim Carr Foundation c/o instead of flowers Winnipeg Foundation.

Deputy Prime Minister’s Day – Chrystia Freeland, who is also Finance Minister, spent the day in Paris, including private meetings and attending solidarity with the people of ukraine The meeting was co-hosted by France and Ukraine. Freeland was scheduled to speak at the conference and pose for photos with attendees. She also plans to hold bilateral talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Smekhal and attend an evening event in support of Ukraine hosted by the Olena Zelenska Foundation and Ukraine’s first lady.

Métis Government Meeting – Minister of Royal-Indigenous Relations Mark Miller and Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron are scheduled to co-chair a meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday to discuss a permanent Canada-Métis Nation bilateral mechanism between federal ministers and Metis national leaders.

Prime Minister’s Day

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a closed meeting in Ottawa, chaired an incident response team meeting on the situation in Haiti and spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz. The prime minister is also scheduled to attend the question period.

leader

Bloc Québécois, leader Yves-François Blanchet takes questions from the media on Capitol Hill before attending the question period.

Ottawa’s NDP leader Jagmeet Singh plans to take questions from the media, take part in a question period and meet Sean Strickland, executive director of the Construction Workers Union of Canada.

No timetable was released for other party leaders.

decibel

On Tuesday’s Globe and Mail podcast, science reporter Ivan Semeniuk Explains how NASA hopes to return to the Moon within the next decade with the help of international partners including Canada, and what obstacles must be overcome to complete the mission Artemis Project As successful as its predecessor, the Apollo.decibel is here.

View

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board On how the housing shortage was built on poor planning, but Toronto did a groundbreaking rewrite of the rules: “toronto It has the potential to become a city of privilege like London or San Francisco, rather than the city of opportunity it always should have been. “Our competitiveness in attracting talent [and] Driving Innovation,” Toronto Regional Trade Council said a year ago, “It’s up to addressing the housing shortage.” The city may finally be taking real action, and it could blaze a trail for other cities across the country.mayor john tory proposes A sweeping rewrite of the rules to address the root cause of the housing shortage: A deliberately rigid planning process slows construction amid a rapidly growing population. “

Martha Redman (Globe and Mail) On how a report from the University of Toronto School of Medicine revealed the shameful results of anti-Semitism today: “Imagine being afraid to go to the doctor.Not because of deep-rooted irrational fears or previous bad experiences, or because you’re worried about a diagnosis…but because you’ve heard some Doctors at local medical school say people like this you.exist In 2021, Israeli-born Canadian physician and scientist Ayelet Kuper was appointed Senior Advisor on Anti-Semitism by the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine (TFOM). This position was created in response to growing reports of anti-Semitism affecting Jewish students, staff and faculty. Last week, Dr. Cooper’s report was published in the Canadian Journal of Medical Education. It is breaking. “

Gary Mason (Globe and Mail) On how our national housing program became a slow-moving spending black hole: “In 2017, the federal Liberal government launched a $70 billion national housing strategyAmong its many goals is to eliminate homelessness by the end of the decade and reduce the number of Canadian households in “core housing need” (defined as households paying more than 30% of their pre-tax income for housing) by 530,000. So how is the government doing in meeting its goals?how many purpose built The rental unit has been built, at what cost to taxpayers? How many people will be able to use these new homes and what will be the rent? What is the demographics of those lucky enough to get one of these “affordable” units? Answer? who knows. “

Conor Healy and Margaret McCuaig-Johnston (Contributing to The Globe and Mail) On Canada’s naive view of China’s tech risks: “The RCMP’s decision on Sinclair is the foreseeable result of years of inaction on these issues, starting with the federal government Sale of Norsat allowed (and its subsidiary Sinclair) provided services to Hytera in 2017 without a full national security review.When the federal government wanted to negotiate a free trade agreement with China, our ambassador John McCallum wanted “More more more” from China. We now know this was a fantasy, and policy should reflect the new reality.The government recently released Indo-Pacific strategy Demonstrated a new Chinese consciousness that is aggressive and coercive.Surveillance technology is One of China’s many tools, should not be welcome in Canada. “

Do you have a news tip you’d like us to investigate?email us tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely?contact details safe delivery.