Top military police officer defends unit’s handling of sex misconduct cases

The commander of Canada’s military police found himself defending the independence and professionalism of his investigators on Tuesday as members of a parliamentary committee grilled him over how they deal with cases of sexual misconduct.

Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Simon Trudeau repeatedly asserted during an hour of testimony to the House of Commons’ committee on the status of women that his military police officers were not beholden to the top brass.

And he suggested the process of charging a chief of the defence staff or any other senior leader would be no different than for the lowest-ranking member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

“If there was an allegation against the vice-chief of defence or the (chief of the defence staff), then being independent from the chain of command, the investigation takes place as it would (for) anybody else, regardless of rank or status,” Trudeau said.

The Canadian military has long been criticized by survivors of sexual misconduct and others of not properly handling such cases, but those complaints and concerns have escalated following allegations of inappropriate behaviour by several top officers.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, which falls under Trudeau’s purview, is now investigating several of those senior military officers. Those include former defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance and his successor, Admiral Art McDonald.

Both have denied any wrongdoing.

While the allegations against senior officers prompted two separate committee investigations in recent months, Liberal and Bloc Quebecois MPs voted on Monday to shut down the study being conducted by the Commons’ defence committee.

That study was specifically looking at the government’s handling of the allegations involving Vance, whereas the status of women committee is looking at the larger question of how the military handles sexual misconduct in the ranks.

Many of the questions put forward by committee members on Tuesday nonetheless danced around the military police investigations into Vance and McDonald, and the independence of Trudeau’s investigators.

The provost marshal acknowledged he reports to the vicechief of the defence staff, but suggested the relationship was more administrative and did not include police investigations.

“Our investigations are carried out independently to ensure investigate integrity and due process for both the victims and the subjects,” he said.

Trudeau also defended the way his officers conduct investigations and determine whether to lay charges, saying all cases include a rigorous vetting and quality control process and investigators do not need to seek permission to lay charges against top officers. “CFNIS is an independent charging authority, and they do not need to ask permission to do so,” he said.