Sexual assault training now required for new federally appointed judges

A long-awaited bill requiring that new judges agree to undergo training on sexual assault and systemic racismbefore they're appointed to the bench has become law.

Bill C-3 received royal assent Thursday after passing third reading in the Senate.

"This bill sends a very strong messageto sexual assault survivorsand to all Canadians: You can rest assured that our judicial system will treat you fairly and respectfully ... [and] cases of sexual assault will be heard without the influence of myths and prejudice." Justice Minister David Lamettisaid in French ata press conference Friday.

The law will have a significant impact on how the federal governmentappoints judges andhow sexual assault cases are handled in Canada.

Here is what you need to know.

What will the bill do?

The bill makes a number of changes to the Judges Act and the Criminal Code.

It requires that all new federallyappointed judges agree to take continuing education onsexual assault lawand the surrounding "social context," whichincludes systemic racism and systemic discrimination.

The requirement applies onlyto judgesnewly appointed toprovincial and territorial superior courts the highest levels of courtin aprovince or territory. These judges deal with the most serious criminal and civil cases and have the power to review the decisions of provincial and territorial courts.

Watch:Lamettionlegislation that aims to sensitize judges presiding over sexual assault cases:

Bill requiring new federal judges to receive sexual assault training finally becomes law.

3 years ago

Duration 1:56

Justice Minister David Lametti spoke about the legislation that aims to sensitize judges presiding over sexual assault cases.

The training will come in the form of seminars given by theCanadian Judicial Council (CJC) an independent body that oversees the federal judiciary and the National Justice Institute, an organization that provideseducational programs forjudges.

The law directs that the seminars be developed after consultation with sexual assault survivors and related organizations. It also requiresthe CJCto report to the justice minister the content of theseminars it provides each year,andhow many judges attended each one.

The new law alsoamends the Criminal Codeto require judges to puttheir reasons on the record or in writing when they rule on sexual assault cases.

How did it come about?

Bill C-3 was modelled on a private member's bill originally introduced by former Conservative cabinet minister Rona Ambrose, who also served as interim Conservative leader after Stephen Harper resigned as party leader.

Before stepping down as an MP in 2017, Ambrose introduced the Judicial Accountability Through Sexual Assault Law Training Act.

Ambrose saidthe bill was necessaryafter a series of high-profile cases revealed thatmany judges adhere to archaic stereotypes about women who are subjected to sexual violence.

In one case,former Federal Court judge Robin Camp came under fire for comments he made during a 2014 sexual assault trial in Calgary.

Watch:'I had a good cry and I celebrated with a lot of people who have worked hard,' saysRona Ambrose:

'I had a good cry and I celebrated with a lot of people who have worked hard' | Rona Ambrose

3 years ago

Duration 7:00

Former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose joins Power & Politics discuss the long-awaited Bill C-3 becoming law.

Court transcripts from the trial show Camp, who was then a provincial court judge, called the complainant, who was homeless and 19 years old at the time of the alleged assault, "the accused" numerous times. He also told the young woman that "pain and sex sometimes go together" and asked, "Why couldn't you just keep your knees together?"

Camp stepped down from Federal Court in March 2018 after the CJC recommendedthat he be removed from the bench.

After thebill passed, Ambrose told CBC Newsthat such episodesmake women less likely to report sexual assaults to authorities.

"We should expect that those people that we appoint to the bench are completely competent in the law when they're overseeing trials," she said.

"And they also should keep up with training that around social norms and values. So that includes unconscious bias training, how they treat people in the courtroom [and]the kind of language that's used in the courtroom."

Ambrose told CBC News Network's Power & Politics Friday that the law's purposeisto build confidence in thejustice system so that more victims of sexual assault come forward to tell their stories.

"This is a small piece of the puzzle but that it shows that we can reform our institutions and rightnow that's something that I think we are all thinking about," Ambrose told guest host David Cochrane.

"Our institutions are quite opaque. We think about the army, we think about the RCMP, we think about our judiciary. We need more transparency, we need to work to reform it and education and training is a great way to do that."

Why did it take so long to become law?

Ambrose's bill passed the House of Commons in May 2017 with bipartisan support before being tied up in the Senate for two years.Itdied on the order paper when the 2019 federal election callwipedthe parliamentary slate clean.

The bill initiallywas held up by someIndependent and Liberal senators,who argued itwouldinterferewith the constitutional principle of judicial independence. ButSenate amendments at the legal affairs committee appeared to satisfythose concerns.

Later, Conservative senators used procedural moves to run out the clock on a number of private member's bills at the end of the parliamentary session in the summer of 2019 including Ambrose's bill and another aimed at ensuring federal laws were harmonized with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

In an interview in the National Post in June 2019, Ambrose accused her former colleagues in the Red Chamberof playing "political games" by delaying the bill's passage.

The Liberal government introduced Bill C-3 in October 2019 after forming a minority government following the election. It sailed through the House by November and was passed by the Senate without amendment Thursday.

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