Defence leaders violating law by withholding documents are ‘reprehensible,’ retired major general says
Senior leaders in the Canadian military and at National Defence should be held to account for refusing to release government records requested under the law, a former major general says.
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, acquitted of sexual assault last year, launched a lawsuit in March 2023 against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre and other military officials for their alleged actions linked to his case.
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Fortin alleged that shoddy police work and political interference not only damaged his reputation, but also led to a sexual assault charge that had no basis in fact. He announced in October that he had settled the lawsuit and he received an unspecified settlement from the federal government.
But Fortin, who has used the Access to Information Act and the federal privacy law to try to obtain records on the behind-the-scenes actions of his fellow generals, is now being stone-walled.
In some cases, officials claim not a single record exists. For other requests, the military and department officials must first consult with their political masters before releasing the material.
“There looks to be a deliberate effort to avoid disclosure,” Fortin said in a statement to this newspaper. “Skirting around the law is petty and reprehensible. Leaders should be held to account.”
Fortin is trying to obtain the records to understand what went on behind the scenes with Eyre and top department officials such as former deputy minister Jody Thomas.
“(It’s) hard to believe my case was not politicized if records can be unreasonably delayed this long or are denied release because the case was the subject of discussions amongst cabinet,” he added.
But National Defence spokesperson Frédérica Dupuis stated in an email the department’s Directorate of Access to Information and Privacy or DAIP “diligently processes requests that it receives, in accordance with policies and law. DAIP does not withhold or destroy records, nor has it ever received orders or direction to do so.”
Critics, however, have pointed out the military and National Defence are sliding towards more secrecy even as they advocate for billions of dollars in additional spending.
The problem has become so bad that the House of Commons Committee on National Defence has launched hearings into the lack of openness and transparency. So far it has heard that National Defence violates the law in almost 40 per cent of requests it receives to produce records under the Access to Information Act.
Dupuis did not explain how National Defence could claim it diligently processes such requests in accordance with the law while at the same time defence officials admitted to parliamentarians their organization breaks the law 40 per cent of the time by failing to produce requested records as required.
The committee has also heard the department continues to withhold a wide range of records, including documents on shipbuilding and fighter jet requested by a Conservative MP in 2017 and 2018 as well as files needed by military sexual assault survivors for legal purposes. In addition, some former soldiers have complained they face uphill battles to get the military to release documents needed for medical benefits claims.
The Canadian Forces is also requiring that Access to Information requests be filed for documents that should be readily available to the public.
Just days after Eyre publicly advocated for more openness on defence issues, his office informed this newspaper it wouldn’t release a copy of the March 7 speech in which he made such remarks. Instead this newspaper is required to file an Access to Information request for the speech, which was televised publicly, and tThat process could take up to two years.
In January, this newspaper reported that National Defence brought in a new and unprecedented shroud of secrecy around a controversial warship project estimated to cost taxpayers more than $80 billion. The department withheld records about the Canadian Surface Combatant for almost three years; when they were released, under the Access to Information law, all cost figures were censored from the documents.
Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard testified Feb. 21 before the Commons defence committee that she was taking the department to court in two cases to try to force the release of records. But Maynard also acknowledged military officers and department officials faced few real consequences for ignoring the law, which is supposed to provide for public access to federal records.
The Canadian Forces and National Defence have long histories of incidents involving the destruction of records and the withholding of documents. In December 2018, a military officer at the civilian trial of Vice Adm. Mark Norman testified the Canadian Forces leadership circumvented the Access to Information law to hide records even though those had been legally requested. No officers were disciplined following that incident.
David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada.
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