The NEW NORM

In early November, 2015, four law professors asked the Canadian Judicial Council to fire Federal Court Judge Robin Camp for comments he made during a sexual assault decision he rendered from the year earlier.

The Judicial Council of Canada, chaired by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, handles complaints against federally appointed judges. This complaint came about when in late October, 2015, Alberta’s top court overturned Camp’s sexual assault case and ordered a new trial.

Normally the judges wouldn’t touch a case like this, however they felt compelled to overturn it and to try the accused man again. The judges said, “We are persuaded that sexual stereotypes and stereotypical myths, which have long since been discredited, may have found their way into the trial judge's judgment.”

During the sexual assault trial in 2014, Camp was a provincial court judge for the province of Alberta. The nineteen-year-old homeless woman who alleges she was raped in a washroom, was asked by the judge, “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?”

Despite the woman weighing approximately 100 pounds and the man weighing approximately 240 pounds, the judge asked, “Why didn’t you just sink your bottom down into the basin so he couldn’t penetrate you?” 

Then there is the “Father knows best” approach he took when asking the accused to be more “gentle” in future sexual relations. He said:

“…I want you to listen very carefully to what I’m saying right at the beginning. The law and the way that people approach sexual activity has changed in the last thirty years. I want you to tell your friends, your male friends, that they have to be far more gentle with women. They have to be far more patient. And they have to be very careful.

To protect themselves, they have to be very careful. The law in Canada today is that you have to be very sure before you engage in any form of sexual activity with a woman. Not just sex, not just oral sex, not even just touching a personal part of a girl’s body, but just touching at all. You’ve got to be very sure that the girl wants you to do it. Please tell your friends that, so that they don’t upset women and so that they don’t get into trouble.

We’re far more protective of women – young women and older women – than we used to be and that’s the way it should be. So after this, I’m going to be talking in more technical terms, but that’s the message I want you to take away and tell your friends. And, of course, it’s far more difficult if you’re high or if you’re drunk and if she’s high and drunk. You’ve got to be really sure that she’s saying yes. Her keeping quiet isn’t enough. That’s not necessarily a sign of saying yes. So remind yourself every time that you get involved with a girl from now on and tell your friends. Okay.” 

I’m under the impression that this judge could have benefited from taking my Respectful Workplace online course, where we learn to not down play sexual assault and not to bring his sexual stereotypes to work.

Camp was appointed to the Federal Court in June of 2015, but all this information was prior to his elevation to that higher court. After this case got national headlines, the Federal Court of Canada prevented Camp from hearing cases involving sexual assault. Camp made a public apology and said he would take sensitivity training on his own time and at his own expense. 

However, another forty-nine law professors called for Camp to be fired. In late November, Chief Justice Paul Crampton informed the public that Camp had been removed from all court cases and he had “informed Justice Camp that his priority is to follow a comprehensive program of gender sensitivity counselling…”  

In early January, 2016, the Canadian Judicial Council confirmed that a public inquiry will take place regarding Camp’s case. An inquiry is held automatically if a provincial minister of justice asks for one.

In December, Alberta’s Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley requested such an inquiry, stating Camp’s conduct “was so manifestly and profoundly destructive of the concept of impartiality, integrity and independence of the judicial role that public confidence has been sufficiently undermined to render Justice Camp incapable of executing his judicial office.” (The outcome was unresolved as this book went to press.)

Robin Camp

Kathleen Ganley

The OLD NORM

• can say pretty much whatever he wants without worrying how his words influence others.
• will allow old stereotypes to form part of his decision-making process.
• can find subtle ways to perpetuate stereotypes of women, using words like “what did she expect” or “she shouldn’t have been drinking.”
• isn’t interested in keeping up with the times.

The NEW NORM

• has a grasp of the fundamentals of Canadian laws.
• if he’s not sure about what is acceptable or not, will do his homework before rendering a decision.
• is proud to be a role model in support of women who are sexually assaulted.
• will give serious thought when he opens his mouth, especially when it’s being recorded, to never reinforce sexual stereotypes.

01

Support women. For most men, it’s difficult to grasp that someone would want to sexually assault a woman. We think about the women in our lives and realize we don’t want to be part of perpetuating outdated or negative stereotypes about women and sexuality. A culture of sexual violence against women includes comments where women are devalued.

02

Take the high road, even with humour. When men get together, there are times where “the guys” can joke around at the expense of women. The same is true when women get together and joke about men. When it’s light and everyone can laugh about gender differences, there’s likely no harm. However, we can’t let jokes or conversations cross the line.

03

Be a feminist. I was a typical guy when I was young, not exactly keeping up with the rights of women…even though I had a strong feminist mother and sister. However, in university I wrote a paper on feminism and while reading Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, I realized feminism is largely about recognizing the equality of women and men. After that I had no difficulty saying I was a feminist. More recently, I was glad to hear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying the same thing.

“Wow, your book came at a great time for me. Initially I thought I was going to learn about what I could do about other people in my life. Instead, what I found was a tonne of material to challenge myself to look at my own behaviours and interactions. The chapters are short, use contemporary examples, provide lots of food for thought and the suggestions for the new Norm are totally achievable. I plan to incorporate this book into my practice and share with my co-workers. Like your previous work, I expect the messages to resonate even years later.

My favourite was chapter 30. "The New Norm doesn’t jump to conclusions" certainly resonated for me. Sometime when we are busy it may be tempting to take a shortcut thinking we already know the outcome so why bother with details? The cost may be pretty high, not only in dollars but in our own credibility.

I read the book while sitting in the living room with my husband. The poor man is dying to read it as soon as it's available. I must have gasped a lot."

Deb Stewart

Manitoba nurse,