Law also requires judges to issue written decisions in sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n
A long-awaited bill requiring that new judges agree to undergo training on sexual assault and systemic racism\u00a0before they’re appointed to the bench has become law.<\/p>\n
Bill C-3 received royal assent Thursday after passing third reading in the Senate.<\/p>\n “This bill sends a very strong message\u00a0to sexual assault survivors\u00a0and 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 Lametti\u00a0said in French at\u00a0a press conference Friday.<\/p>\n The law will have a significant impact on how the federal government\u00a0appoints judges and\u00a0how sexual assault cases are handled in Canada.<\/p>\n Here is what you need to know.<\/p>\n The bill makes a number of changes to the Judges Act and the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n It requires that all new federally\u00a0appointed judges agree to take continuing education on\u00a0sexual assault law\u00a0and the surrounding “social context,” which\u00a0includes systemic racism and systemic discrimination.<\/p>\n The requirement applies only\u00a0to judges\u00a0newly appointed to\u00a0provincial and territorial superior courts \u2014 the highest levels of court\u00a0in a\u00a0province 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.<\/p>\n The training will come in the form of seminars given by the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) \u2014 an independent body that oversees the federal judiciary \u2014 and the National Justice Institute, an organization that provides educational programs for judges.<\/p>\n The law directs that the seminars be developed after consultation with sexual assault survivors and related organizations. It also requires the CJC to report to the justice minister the content of the seminars it provides each year, and how many judges attended each one.<\/p>\n The new law also amends the Criminal Code to require judges to put their reasons on the record or in writing when they rule on sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Before stepping down as an MP in 2017, Ambrose introduced the Judicial Accountability Through Sexual Assault Law Training Act.<\/p>\n Ambrose said\u00a0the bill was necessary\u00a0after a series of high-profile cases revealed that\u00a0many judges adhere to archaic stereotypes about women who are subjected to sexual violence.<\/p>\n In one case,\u00a0former Federal Court judge Robin Camp came under fire for comments he made during a 2014 sexual assault trial in Calgary.<\/p>\n 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?”<\/p>\n Camp stepped down from Federal Court in March 2018 after the CJC recommended\u00a0that he be removed from the bench.<\/p>\n After the\u00a0bill passed, Ambrose told CBC News\u00a0that such episodes\u00a0make women less likely to report sexual assaults to authorities.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “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]\u00a0the kind of language that’s used in the courtroom.”<\/p>\n Ambrose told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics<\/u><\/em><\/a> Friday that the law’s purpose\u00a0is\u00a0to build confidence in the\u00a0justice system so that more victims of sexual assault come forward to tell their stories.<\/p>\n “This is a small piece of the puzzle but that it shows that we can reform our institutions and right\u00a0now that’s something that I think we are all thinking about,” Ambrose told guest host David Cochrane.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Ambrose’s bill passed the House of Commons in May 2017 with bipartisan support before being tied up in the Senate for two years.\u00a0It\u00a0died on the order paper when the 2019 federal election call\u00a0wiped\u00a0the parliamentary slate clean.<\/p>\n The bill initially\u00a0was held up by some\u00a0Independent and Liberal senators,\u00a0who argued it\u00a0would\u00a0interfere\u00a0with the constitutional principle of judicial independence. But\u00a0Senate amendments at the legal affairs committee appeared to satisfy\u00a0those concerns.<\/p>\nWhat will the bill do?<\/h2>\n
How did it come about?<\/h2>\n
Why did it take so long to become law?<\/h2>\n