Army official says external oversight not needed
Ombudsman says his office can handle misconduct complaints
As advocates call for an external oversight body for the armed forces, the military ombudsman says there’s no need to look further than his own office.
Gregory Lick says his office already has a mandate to probe complaints and systemic issues, but it just needs a few tweaks — such as allowing him to report issues and make recommendations directly to Parliament, rather than reporting to the minister of defence.
“We do not need to recreate or stand up a new organization,” Lick told the Star in written responses to questions.
“We have the trust of the constituents. What we are missing is a way to ensure that relevant and important matters are heard by the authorities who can take action. This is an easy fix with no need for reconfiguration or retooling.”
The Canadian military has been rocked by a sexual misconduct crisis this year, as two chiefs of the defence staff are under military police investigation, facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour, and a number of other senior officers are also under investigation.
The Liberals recently launched an independent review led by retired Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour to probe sexual misconduct in the military. Part of Arbour’s mandate includes “recommendations related to establishing external oversight and/or review mechanisms related to harassment and sexual misconduct.”
Critics and experts have argued that the government can and should be acting now on establishing external oversight rather than waiting for Arbour’s final report, which is more than a year away — particularly given the fact that the government never fully implemented recommendations from a previous review in 2015 by retired Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps.
Lick also countered that “this study will have a hefty price tag for the taxpayer,” and that his office already has the mandate to probe systemic issues such as sexual misconduct.
“I’m still not sure why we didn’t have at least a draft proposal of how you would have an independent agency six years after the report?” NDP defence critic Randall Garrison said in an interview.
He noted the NDP has called for the ombudsman’s office to be an officer of Parliament.
A spokesperson for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the Arbour review is a “necessary step towards cultural transformation” for the military and defence department.
“Our institutions and mechanisms are not living up to the needs of those who have experienced misconduct, and Madame Arbour’s work will provide detailed recommendations on building better processes — including how to best establish an independent external mechanism to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct,” Daniel Minden said in an email.
The Liberal government has been under fire for its handling of an allegation of misconduct against ex-chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance, brought to Sajjan’s attention in 2018 by then-ombudsman Gary Walbourne.
Walbourne said he raised an allegation of “inappropriate sexual behaviour,” but Sajjan said he was given no details and refused to look at the evidence, saying that as a politician, he could not get involved in a potential investigation.
The matter ended up with the Privy Council Office, but Walbourne refused to provide any information as he did not have the complainant’s permission to do so. Walbourne has argued that because his office reports directly to the minister, there was nowhere else to take an allegation against the military’s top soldier then to Sajjan’s office for guidance, which Sajjan disputes.
Lick has said he would have done the same thing as his predecessor. He argues that the handling of the 2018 allegation shows why the ombudsman’s office should report directly to Parliament.
“(Walbourne) took all appropriate steps by reporting the issue to his direct superior, the minister of national defence. Unfortunately, the matter was dropped at the political level. Had Parliament been apprised three years ago, we would not be facing this crisis today.”
“This is an easy fix with no need for reconfiguration or retooling.”
GREGORY LICK
MILITARY OMBUDSMAN