By Canadian Press

Chief of Defence Staff orders acceptance of sex assault panel recommendations

May 30, 2017 | 11:30 AM

OTTAWA — Canada’s top soldier accepted an internal report Tuesday that condemned the military for failing a former master corporal whose case spawned a crackdown on sexual misconduct in the military.

But Stephanie Raymond, the woman at the centre of the inquiry, called the chief of defence staff’s response to the findings “absurd.”

In ordering full acceptance of the internal inquiry’s findings, Gen. Jonathan Vance thanked Stephanie Raymond “for having the courage and tenacity to identify a series of failures by her chain of command” after she reported that she had been sexually assaulted.

“Through a comprehensive action plan stemming from the (inquiry’s) recommendations, I have ordered the vice chief of the defence staff, the commander Canadian Army and the commander of Military Personnel Command to implement the recommendations as soon as possible,” Vance said in a statement.

Raymond said she was satisfied with the board of inquiry’s findings, but disappointed with a letter she received from Vance, which she said outlined the general’s own determinations about her case.

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“He says there is no link between my lodging a complaint and the retaliation (I endured),” Raymond said of Vance’s letter.

“He contradicts the conclusions but he still agrees with the recommendations,” she said.

“Gen. Vance’s letter is absurd.”

In 2012, Raymond accused Warrant Officer Andre Gagnon of sexually assaulting her in 2011.

Gagnon was later acquitted by a military jury, but Raymond continued fighting the military, alleging that she was retaliated against as a result of the complaint. The battle resulted in Raymond’s discharge from the Forces at the end of 2013.

The board of inquiry was convened in 2015 after former chief of defence staff Gen. Tom Lawson admitted that Raymond had been treated badly by higher-ranking officers in her regiment and that she had been wrongly fired.

Vance noted that many of the inquiry’s recommendations have been implemented through the military’s efforts to stamp out inappropriate sexual behaviour, but ordered that all outstanding recommendations from the inquiry report be enacted as quickly as possible.

He also acknowledged that Raymond’s case was a catalyst for the current campaign to crack down on sexual misconduct in the military.

“Because of the concerns she raised, we are now better aware of how tremendous an impact harmful and inappropriate sexual behaviour has on our people and we are taking decisive steps to ensure this type of situation does not reoccur,” said Vance.

“Her case is one of the reasons why Operation Honour exists and why I’m so dedicated to its purpose.”

Col. Josee Robidoux, who commands the 35 Canadian Brigade Group, briefed Raymond on the report, which has not been publicly released.

A DND statement said the report was critical of the military for how it treated Raymond, in particular through a failure to apply basic leadership principles in dealing with her harassment complaint, as well as a lack of communication with her throughout the process and the absence of follow-up to ensure her well-being.

Raymond’s lawyer, Michel Drapeau, a retired colonel, called on the military to make the report public.

“Ms. Raymond doesn’t want her sacrifices, her pain, her suffering to be in vain,” said Drapeau.

“She wants all this to lead to a change of the system. And the way to do this is by being totally transparent.”

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he expects the report to be taken seriously, although he would not commit to it being made public.

“The actions that are being taken now in the Canadian Armed Forces are not just words and gestures,” Sajjan said outside the House of Commons.

“It is immediate action. The entire chain of command is seized of this.”

The report’s findings were revealed on the same day that another serviceman was charged with sexual assault.

Lt.-Col. Stephan Popowych, an army staff officer currently working at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, faces the charge in connection with an allegation involving a civilian in 1999, when he was a student at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.

— Follow @tpedwell on Twitter

Terry Pedwell, The Canadian Press