The Canadian Armed Forces is requiring members to disclose relationships of a personal nature with a subordinate.

Military personnel must from now on proactively report to their superior any "emotional, romantic, sexual or family relationship" that involve people of different rank, seniority, position or experience.

The directive covers both new and existing relations.

Lt.-Gen. Paul Prévost, the military's chief of professional conduct and culture, says the change aims to eliminate risk that comes from any "power differential or imbalance" between members engaging in a secret relationship.

"What we want to make sure is that both members in that relationship are safe and that there's no fear of reprisal, there's no fear that one member's career will be affected by the other member," he said.

The new rule delivers on a recommendation made in a 2022 report by Louise Arbour, the next Governor General, who criticized "the persistence of sexual assault, abuse, harassment and discrimination" in the military.

Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, right, released a series of recommendations in 2022 for the Canadian Armed Forces to better handle sexual misconduct. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The new policy is more restrictive than the previous one that applied only to "adverse" relationships, a concept that Prévost and many experts considered too ambiguous.

Arbour's report came on the heels of a series of scandals in the Armed Forces, including former chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance who had a secret relationship with a subordinate while serving as Canada's highest-ranking officer.

In Arbour's report, she said it had to be made clear that "unless properly disclosed, a personal relationship involving members of different rank is not consensual."

Personal and family relationships are still permitted in the Armed Forces, where many families have formed over the years. But the new guidelines aim to help personnel and their commanders navigate through the disclosure process and determine measures necessary to avoid conflicts of interest. 

The penalties for any breach of the directive will be greater for those in positions of authority, who will have the responsibility to demonstrate that the relationship is consensual and does not disadvantage the subordinate.

"For those relationships that aren't disclosed already, when there's a power imbalance, there's a bit of red flag there. So we have to start investigating," said Prévost. 

According to the directive, a power imbalance can "amplify feelings of vulnerability and hinder the ability of the disadvantaged party to assert boundaries or resist unwanted behaviour."

"A power imbalance is a core feature in many cases of harassment of a sexual nature, conduct deficiencies of a sexual nature and crimes of a sexual nature," it says.

The directive came into effect at the end of April, a week before Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Arbour would become Governor General. Upon her swearing-in next month, she will assume the symbolic position of commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Calls for more support

Several experts applaud the new guidelines, while noting that implementing such a major change will be complex within the military hierarchy and require training throughout the chain of command.

A former deputy minister at National Defence, Jody Thomas, called it a "really good start" that will likely need to be refined with time.

"Relationships are going to happen, it's permitted. But you can't be in a situation where somebody's career can be advantaged or disadvantaged as a result of a relationship. And I think it also makes it clear that a consensual relationship can become non-consensual," said Thomas.

After a long career in the federal public service, Thomas said there is no quick fix to end harassment or toxic behaviour. But she says the CAF needs to support subordinates who wish to report a situation without jeopardizing their own careers.

"There will always be situations where a relationship forms and the more junior person starts to feel pressured or that they don't have power in the relationship," said Thomas, a former national security and intelligence adviser.

"This [directive] is trying to protect those people."

Geneviève Desmarais, a lawyer who conducts independent investigations into harassment cases, says the male-dominated chain of command in the military is a barrier to more female members coming forward with complaints. (Hugo Lalonde/Radio-Canada)

Geneviève Desmarais, a lawyer specializing in workplace harassment investigations, said it should also be easier for CAF members to disclose personal relationships outside of their chain of command.

According to National Defence, 16.6 per cent of regular force and primary reserve members are women. Desmarais said that means some female members might feel uncomfortable disclosing a relationship to their superiors.

"[Going] through the chain of command means we're going to keep this between men," said Desmarais.

Lawyer Pascale Leroy, however, said the change could make it easier for the military to impose sanctions in cases of harassment or sexual misconduct where the person in a position of authority failed to disclose the relationship.

"When a victim of sexual harassment files a complaint, the burden is usually placed on the victim to prove that they were sexually harassed," she said. "It should be up to the person in a position of authority to demonstrate that they did not abuse their power."

WATCH | From 2022: More about Arbour's report:

Prévost said he is aware cultural change takes time, but he anticipates the new directive will serve as a driving force.

He said that several sanctions can be imposed to deal with any breach of the new directive, up to and including dismissal. He also promised that the CAF will support subordinates or victims of sexual misconduct, including those whose relationship has not been disclosed.

"My message to those members is: We have their back," said Prévost.

Megan MacKenzie, a professor at Simon Fraser University, said the directive will primarily protect subordinates.

"It's a closed institution, and if you have a negative or a very difficult relationship or someone who is abusing their power, you don't have that option to sort of just find another job," said MacKenzie, who holds a research chair in peace, disarmament and human security.

When her appointment as Governor General was announced, Arbour declined to comment specifically on her 2022 recommendations. 

Still, Carney insisted those recommendations were adopted or in the process of being implemented, including the call to bring criminal offences of a sexual nature in front of civilian courts, rather than a military tribunal.

Legislation putting that change in place is currently moving through Parliament.

MacKenzie said the directive on personal relationships will help achieve the overall objective set out by Arbour four years ago. 

"This contributes to the overall goal of her recommendations, which is to address a real culture of abuse of power, of secrecy, of victims feeling they don't have the right avenues to pursue justice," said MacKenzie.