Article content

Canadian military police will no longer be required to promptly investigate sex-related cases after the military’s top cop changed the rules governing such incidents.

The change was revealed in the report Tuesday by Auditor General Michael Ferguson, who examined how the Forces deals with sexual impropriety. Ferguson noted that there are delays in investigating such cases, which take an average of seven months before they are ready to be prosecuted.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Military quietly ends policy of promptly investigating sexual misconduct cases Back to video

“We found that the resolution of complaints was not timely,” he added.

Military police policy had formerly required that investigations of potential criminal cases be closed and the results delivered to commanding officers in 30 days or less, according to Ferguson. “Closed” meant that the investigation was concluded, and the decision about whether to lay charges had been made. The policy also required that investigators provide written justification in the file if the investigation did not meet the 30-day standard.