Trudeau steals the spotlight from women
Rival event undermines Arbour's efforts, Sabrina Maddeaux says.
Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour's long-awaited report on sexual misconduct in the Canadian military is as serious and thorough as anyone could have hoped for. It's 700 pages, with 48 substantial recommendations that, if implemented, will upturn the Canadian Armed Forces' (CAF) justice system, military colleges and culture.
At a Monday afternoon news conference to unveil her report, Arbour didn't mince words. She laid out the severity of the situation, critiqued both the CAF'S and politicians' dawdle toward obvious solutions and firmly said “meaningful change will rest on the political will and the determination of civilians who oversee the Canadian Armed Forces.”
If Arbour herself had the power to implement the report's recommendations, most notably removing all sexual assault investigations from the military justice system, I'd be willing to bet on real change. Unfortunately, she doesn't.
That power now rests with Defence Minister Anita Anand and, ultimately, the Prime Minister's Office. With a reputation for micromanaging even small decisions by cabinet ministers, the PMO is unlikely to cede control on an issue as large and politically fraught as this.
Yet the PMO'S record on the military sexual misconduct file is troubling, to say the least. The debacle with ex-defence chief Jonathan Vance, convicted of obstruction of justice in connection to a relationship he had with a subordinate, revealed a PMO only concerned with women's rights until the point that protecting them may result in bad publicity.
Feminism is convenient to Justin Trudeau's Liberals as a wedge issue, but he falls consistently short when it comes to backing up talk with action, whether on military sexual misconduct or access to reproductive health care.
It's tempting to think maybe this time will be different. The problem is, there's always going to be a glossier and easier issue than fixing sexual misconduct in the military. And Trudeau's government prefers hopping from trending topic to trending topic.
It's already happening. When Arbour released her report Monday, Trudeau wasn't talking about sexual misconduct in the military. He was touting new federal gun restrictions in the wake of the mass shooting in Texas, including his own personal press conference to announce a freeze on handgun sales. This speaks volumes about his government's real commitment to fixing the military and protecting women.
To be clear, it wasn't necessary for him to attend Arbour's presser with Anand: the defence minister is more than capable herself. However, Trudeau's scheduling and headlining a competing press conference — one that piggybacks on an American tragedy to reopen yet another wedge issue that's mostly settled in Canada — undermined Arbour's and Anand's efforts.
If Trudeau really wanted to address the root causes of mass murders, he'd focus less on tinkering with Canadian gun laws, which most experts agree are already sufficient, and focus more on the role misogyny plays in these crimes time and time again. Before the Texas massacre, the Uvalde shooter frequently threatened and harassed teen girls online. The gunman in Nova Scotia's 2020 mass killing had a history of domestic violence.
A culture that accepts harassment, assaults and threats against women as normal and fails to punish perpetrators is one that will see some of them go on to commit horrific crimes. Where better to start fixing a sick culture that mixes misogyny with violence than the military? Where better to start holding those who commit crimes against women accountable?
That should have been Monday's message from Trudeau, but instead he redirected attention toward a handgun ban that will do little, if anything, to stop mass shootings. He distracted Canadians from women's rights at home so he could capitalize on an American problem.
As strong as Arbour's report is, and as serious as Anand may be about changing the military, it will matter little if the PMO can't stay focused. If events thus far are any indication, it won't take much for Trudeau to put sexual misconduct on the back burner when the next attractive wedge issue walks by.