Ottawa appeals ruling extending military sexual misconduct class action deadline – National | 24CA News
Ottawa has appealed a current Federal Court ruling that might additional prolong the deadline for submitting claims in a navy sexual misconduct class motion settlement.
Earlier this month, a Federal Court decide dominated that late claims may be accepted within the Canadian Armed Forces-Department of National Defence (CAF-DND) Sexual Misconduct Class Action Settlement till Feb. 5.
However, that ruling “compromises the integrity” of the ultimate settlement settlement (FSA) negotiated by the events and accredited by the court docket, Ottawa mentioned Tuesday in an announcement.
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“In its ruling, the Federal Court altered the terms of the FSA. This is concerning because it raises significant legal issues that could impact other class action settlements in the future, and it is critical that all parties have confidence in the integrity of agreements that are reached in good faith,” the federal government mentioned in an announcement on the Department of National Defence web site.
“The appeal does not affect the ongoing processing of claims duly filed by the January 2022 deadline. It is expected that the vast majority of those applications will be completed by the end of January 2023.”
The Federal Court dominated on Jan. 6, 2023, on an utility initially introduced by 12 people who have been searching for to have the ability to be a part of the category motion after lacking the deadline to take action final 12 months. The regulation agency Koskie Minsky LLP argued in federal court docket filings that some 640 individuals could also be eligible if the late purposes could be accredited.
The causes given by late claimants for being unable to satisfy the deadline have been as a result of emotional and psychological difficulties they suffered on account of the sexual misconduct skilled within the CAF-DND, the regulation agency urged.
Global News reached out to the regulation corporations representing claimants within the extension request, however didn’t obtain a response by publication time.
Ottawa mentioned on Tuesday it’s going to work with all events towards an settlement that “could allow claims submitted late due to a third-party error in the claims administration process to proceed before the appeal is determined.”
“Class members who have filed a late claim, or were considering doing so in light of the recent Federal Court ruling or otherwise, should seek guidance from Class Counsel on next steps.”
According to the category motion settlement web site, roughly 20,000 individuals have come ahead to this point.
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In a discover of declare filed on Monday with the Federal Court of Appeal, the Department of Justice argues that the Federal Court decide misinterpreted the part of the ultimate settlement settlement that permits for claims to be submitted past the deadline in sure circumstances.
The authorities additionally claims that the decide erred by “relying on irrelevant factors,” together with the present variety of claimants searching for depart to submit their utility past the deadline.
“The fact that the Administrator has actually received hundreds of claims since the end of the extension period is not a relevant factor in assessing what the parties intended when they stipulated that ‘No Individual Application shall be accepted for substantive review by the Administrator more than 60 days after the Individual Application Deadline without leave of the Court,’” reads the federal government’s discover of attraction.
The authorities additionally argues that the Federal Court decide made errors of regulation in his determination.
In 2019, the federal government reached a $900-million settlement over a class-action lawsuit from survivors and victims of navy sexual misconduct. More than 18,000 survivors and victims had come ahead to submit claims as of November 2021, shortly earlier than the deadline.
In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised considerations over how the Justice Department was arguing in navy sexual harassment circumstances, saying he would ask the legal professional common to observe up with authorities legal professionals to “make sure that we argue things that are consistent with this government’s philosophy.”
“Obviously, what the lawyers have been argument [sic] does not align with what my belief or what this government believes,” he mentioned on Feb. 7, 2018.
Sexual misconduct has plagued the CAF for years, and the Trudeau authorities has promised reform inside the navy.
Late final 12 months, Defence Minister Anita Anand unveiled what she described as “an ambitious roadmap” to reform CAF tradition. In her report tabled Dec. 12, Anand mentioned she had directed DND and CAF to pursue “an all-hands-on-deck effort” to handle the handfuls of suggestions made by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour when she launched her long-anticipated report into the tradition of the Canadian navy in May.
The overview was formally launched a 12 months earlier than the report was launched — in May 2021 — in response to unique reporting by Global News into allegations of sexual misconduct on the highest ranks of the CAF.
Arbour’s report discovered the CAF was an establishment that’s essentially out of sync with the values of Canadian society, and that poses a “liability” to the nation.
With recordsdata from Global News’ Marc-Andre Cossette.
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