Vice-admiral Haydn Edmundson to be tried in Ontario Court of Justice
The sexual assault trial of a former head of human resources of the military is set to begin tomorrow.
Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmundson will be tried in the Ontario Court of Justice, which means there will be no jury, according to a CBC report. In December 2021, the military laid criminal charges against Edmundson.
Edmundson was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of an indecent act, according to the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CNFIS).
Edmundson has previously denied the allegations.
“Vice-Admiral Edmundson continues to deny any suggestion of criminal misconduct and looks forward to the opportunity to restore his distinguished reputation for service to our country,” said Brian Greenspan, the naval officer’s lawyer, in a statement back in 2021.
Edmundson assumed the chief of military personnel role in August 2019. His mandate was “to recruit, train and educate, prepare, support, honour and recognize military personnel and their families for service to Canada,” according to the federal government.
The court scheduled 13 days for the trial – from Aug. 8 through 24, according to the CBC report.
In December 2021, Defence Minister Anita Anand and other officials in Canada extended their apologies to victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and discrimination inside the Canada Armed Forces (CAF), vowing to move forward and create "fundamental changes" in the CAF governance.
Months before that, former supreme court justice Morris Fish proposed recommendations for a complete overhaul of the Canadian military’s approach to handling cases of rape and sexual assault.
