Roundup: A damning report on military misconduct

Posted on by

The Deschamps Report is now released, and as feared, it’s a black eye for the Canadian military. The report details a highly sexualised culture within the Forces, complete with sexist language, jokes, and unwanted advances leading to date rape and worse, making the Forces a hostile environment for not only women, but also GLBT individuals within the Forces. It was also stated that the more people went up the ranks, the more they became inured to the incidents, making superior officers unlikely to recognise it when it happens. Deschamps made ten recommendations, and the military only said they would accept two immediately, and the others “in principle,” including creating an exterior body that can receive complaints about harassment, which would be needed precisely because it’s outside of the structure of the Forces and won’t be somewhere that complainants would need to fear retaliation, and where they could be taken seriously. It needs to be pointed out that the government distanced themselves from this release – Jason Kenney was nowhere to be seen, even absent from Question Period despite the fact that he was in the Foyer giving a press conference not two hours earlier. (That the official opposition raised the report in a clumsy and scripted way is also concerning but I covered this ground in yesterday’s QP recap). A retired officer who is now a lawyer says that part of the problem is the military justice system, and it needs major reforms if it is to help end this culture. NDP MP Christine Moore, who served in the Forces, noted that she had faced this same kind of harassment the report details. And here’s a Q&A with more information about the report.

Good reads:

  • Despite growing backlogs in updating it, funding for the Canadian Police Information Centre database dropped in the budget by nearly 10 percent.
  • Michael Plaxton cribs the selection process for the next Supreme Court justice.
  • Here’s an interesting look at trying to prepare soldiers for the reality of killing.
  • Here’s the scene from Speaker Nolin’s funeral in Montreal.
  • The government remains curious about Jean Chrétien’s meeting with Vladimir Putin.
  • Brent Rathgeber was pretty clever in his bid to start a conversation on limiting cabinet size.
  • Paul Wells pens an excellent look at Stephen Harper’s political children.

Odds and ends:

The case of RCMP misconduct on the Prime Minister’s protection detail is staying closed to the media.

Conrad Black lost his bid to appeal to the Supreme Court on his back taxes for years he was technically a UK resident.

Patrick Brazeau says that he has a plan to clear his name and make a comeback in the Senate. Um, okay.