Crown prosecutors need more training in sexual assault law, MPs hear

MPs studying a bill proposing to make legal training on sexual assault mandatory for prospective judges have heard that federal Crown prosecutors also feel they need more education on the law.

The House of Commons committee on the status of women is studying a private member's bill introduced by interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose.

It proposes making comprehensive sex assault legal training mandatory for anyone applying to be a federally appointed judge and requiring written decisions in all cases that involve sexual violence.

• Mandatory education on sexual assault law hot topic at school for new judges

Among those who testified this morning in Ottawa is Ursula Hendel, president of the Association of Justice Counsel, which represents 2,600 federal lawyers and prosecutors. She supports more education for judges but says they're not the only ones who need it.

"The truth of the matter is that no training of any kind is actually mandatory for Crown prosecutors," she told MPs.

Hendel was speaking for federal prosecutors, who handle sexual assault cases in all three territories. Hendel estimated that in the first 10 years of her career, she prosecuted more than 500 such cases roughly one a week.

"I'd like to see training made mandatory for prosecutors, and particularly for prosecutors who conduct sexual assault cases and early in their career. I didn't get training until I was at least five years in and by then it was a little late," she said.

Federal Crowns get most of their training from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada's "prosecutors school," which is a five-day course offered once a year. However, a spokesperson for the PPSC told CBC News it doesn't offer any courses on sexual assault because it isn't in its mandate.

Those who choose to take such training can receive it from the provincial government in B.C.

Making it mandatory, according to Hendel, would make a big difference.

"If it's not mandatory, it's very difficult to get it done. So the year goes by and even though you had the best of intentions to go off on training, or your manager had the best of intentions to send you on training, you're on back-to-back trials," she said.

Written judgments

As for judges, the Canadian Judicial Council last week decided to make its two-week introductory seminar for all new federally appointed judges mandatory.

While that news was welcomed by MPs and legal experts who testified today, they all said more needs to be done.

"We are at a crisis point in terms of the public's confidence in the justice system's ability to respond to allegations of sexual assault," said Dalhousie University law professor Elaine Craig, who is widely regarded as an expert in sexual assault law.

Craig is among those who support one of the main pillars of Ambrose's bill.

"Requiring written decisions also has the potential to ensure more thorough, careful and well-reasoned judgments in what is undoubtedly a very sensitive and difficult area of law," she said.

Craig noted that trial transcripts are difficult and expensive to obtain, making it difficult for researchers, the public and legislators to understand how well judges are applying the law or employing outdated "rape myths" in their decision-making.

"There's several recent examples of cases which involve conduct or reasoning by trial judges that is problematic but that only came to light because a reporter happened to be in the room," she told the committee.

Requiring judges to reserve their decisions, write them out and somehow make them accessible to the public comes with its own set of challenges.

Justice Adle Kent, who heads up the National Judicial Institute, told MPs that would lead to delays for litigants. Ottawa University law professor Carissima Mathen noted it would also be expensive for courts, given their already tight resources.

There are also jurisdictional headaches given that most sexual assault cases are heard at provincial court.

But NDP MP Jenny Kwan said it's all about priorities.

"Is access to justice for women who experience sexual violence a priority for us as Canadian society? If it is, then our government should put the resources in place. It needs to be in place for every single step of the process."

Sexual assault education for judges

8 years ago

Duration 3:28

In the wake of a number of controversial rulings, MPs are considering a bill to make education about hearing sexual assault cases mandatory for all judges in Canada