The government of Canada, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces will tender an unreserved apology to victims of military sexual misconduct today.
The apology was first pledged in 2019 as part of a $600-million settlement agreement with current and former service members in many class-action lawsuits.
The apology will come in three parts. Defence Minister AnitaAnand will speak on behalf of the government; Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre will apologize for the military and National Defence Deputy Minister Jody Thomas will apologize on behalf of the department.
Previously, officials had revealed that they were hoping for an in-person occurrence, but the Defence Department says the apology will be made virtually and streamed online due to COVID-19.
The apology came at a time when the Liberal government and military leadership struggle with allegations of sexual misconduct which involve senior officers.
The government had encountered calls from the Royal Canadian Legion and a lot of others to tender the apology before the 18-month window for victims to submit their claims as part of the settlement closed in November.
Around 19,000 claims were submitted before the claims period closed on November 24, though Jonathan Ptak, a lawyer that is representing the victims in some of the six overlapping lawsuits, reveals victims can still submit applications.
In an email, Ptak said: “While the deadline to file was Nov. 24, the settlement administrator has the discretion to extend this deadline by 60 days (until Jan. 23, 2022) due to exceptional circumstances, or due to a claimant’s disability.
“To date, many late claims have been accepted for consideration.”
Over 5,300 claims have been approved for payment while around 4,900 have also requested to participate in “restorative engagement.”
