Brigadier-General Jennie Carignan of the Canadian Armed Forces joins soldiers during a lunch with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ont. on July 15, 2019. The military's chief of professional conduct and culture says the Armed Forces will end its "inflexible and inhuman" mandatory reporting policy. Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan says members will still be able to report misconduct but they will no longer face possible penalties for failing to report something they experience or witness. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The military’s chief of professional conduct and culture says the Canadian Armed Forces will end its “inflexible and inhuman” mandatory reporting policy.
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan says members will still be able to report misconduct, but they will no longer face possible penalties for failing to report something they experience or witness.
The change is meant to give victims of sexual misconduct control and agency over the reporting process.
It was recommended by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour in her May 2022 review of military culture.
Arbour said in her report that in reality, the duty to report has terrorized and revictimized the people it was meant to protect.
The changes will come into force this winter, after a transition period.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.
