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PM blasts military commanders on sexual misconduct, say they ‘don’t get it’

OTTAWA —
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took direct goal at navy commanders on Wednesday, declaring they “do not get it” following a whirlwind 48 hours involving a senior officer who supplied a reference for a convicted intercourse offender.

Talking at a information convention the place he was saying necessary vaccine guidelines for federal public servants in addition to practice and aircraft passengers, Trudeau mentioned he was “surprised and dismayed” at current revelations about Maj.-Gen. Peter Dawe.

“It’s apparent that regardless of the work that the navy has carried out, regardless of the work that we have carried out, the navy nonetheless would not get that survivors must be on the centre … of every thing with reference to sexual misconduct and harassment within the navy,” the prime minister mentioned.

“And this exhibits they merely nonetheless do not get it.”

But regardless of repeated calls from survivors and consultants for extra oversight and accountability of the navy, Trudeau stood by his determination to have a retired Supreme Court docket justice conduct a assessment of navy sexual misconduct and discover methods to repair it.

“We’ve an terrible lot of labor to do, we all know that,” he mentioned. “Which is why we have introduced in folks like justice Louise Arbour to take a look at how we fully remodel the navy’s tradition and the way in which our Canadian Armed Forces function.”

Dawe was eliminated as commander of Canada’s particular forces in April following revelations he supplied a personality reference 4 years in the past throughout the sentencing of a soldier who was convicted of sexually assaulting a comrade’s spouse.

Appearing defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre on the time mentioned Dawe’s actions had triggered “division and ache,” and that he would take his time deciding the senior officer’s subsequent posting.

Whereas the Division of Nationwide Defence had mentioned as just lately as July that Dawe remained in limbo, and that it might announce any determination on his future, the Ottawa Citizen revealed this week that he had been quietly tasked with a brand new job.

That new place concerned working with the navy’s second in command, vice-chief of the defence employees Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen, in co-ordinating the completely different efforts at the moment underway to alter the navy’s tradition, together with on sexual misconduct.

Following an uproar from survivors and consultants on navy sexual misconduct, and regardless of Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan having stood by the appointment, Allen introduced in a press release late Tuesday that Dawe was being faraway from his new place.

“Following an sincere dialogue with members of the survivor group, I’ve determined that for now, Maj.-Gen. Dawe shall be enterprise the vital activity of partaking with that group, as different members have carried out, to raised perceive how he can contribute to significant tradition change,” she mentioned.

Allen additionally apologized for the dearth of transparency round Dawe’s appointment, however underscored each the necessity for accountability and the allowance for folks to study and develop from their errors.

“Maj.-Gen. Dawe’s willingness then and now to interact with stakeholders and affected individuals, to proceed his private and our institutional progress, is I consider, an act of accountability and a dedication to alter,” she mentioned.

The sudden about-face from prime commanders, and the accompanying powerful phrases from the prime minister, signify the newest chapter in a months-long reckoning over sexual misconduct in Canada’s navy.

The Liberal authorities has been accused of not having carried out sufficient to handle sexual misconduct within the ranks, with a lot of that criticism centring round its dealing with of an allegation towards then-defence chief Jonathan Vance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Oct. 6, 2021.

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