'We made this mistake': Yukon RCMP say sexual assault review broke federal privacy rules

Yukon RCMP had no choice but to pull the plug on a local committee reviewing sexual assault cases, according to a superintendent with the force.

"It's basically the Department of Justice, the lawyers overseeing or providing advice to the RCMP, stating that," said Supt. Chan Daktari Dara of Yukon RCMP.  

"It was direction given to us, so that we are able to remain within the federal Privacy Act," he said.

The Yukon Advocate Case Review was set up in 2018 to examine sexual assault cases police labelled unfounded or where no one was charged. The committee included RCMP and some women's groups in the territory.

This week, the Yukon Status of Women Council slammed the RCMP for dropping out of the process. The council's executive director, Aja Mason, placed the blame on RCMP brass, saying the Yukon detachment had been supportive of the initiative.

Dara said the Yukon RCMP was excited about the committee and did not anticipate the privacy concerns.

"We were one of the first ones in the country, in terms of the RCMP implementing this initiative to better our investigations. And again, we found out that we made this mistake," Dara said.

"In our haste of implementing this initiative quickly, unfortunately we weren't respecting the federal Privacy Act."

Dara would not talk about any specific breaches of privacy that resulted from the Yukon committee's work, but said there were issues.

"There was some concerns, yes. And that's the reason why everything unraveled afterwards," he said.

Since the review was halted in March 2020, Mason said Yukon women's groups have lobbied, without success, for the federal RCMP and cabinet ministers to reverse the decision.

The women's groups have filed an access to information request seeking a copy of a privacy assessment RCMP brass used to justify the decision to axe the Yukon review process. Mason said the request was filed in May 2020 and the groups have yet to receive a response.

'See if we can ... find solutions'

Dara says the RCMP has launched its own review process for sexual assault cases. He says Yukon RCMP will ask counterparts in the Northwest Territories to review Yukon case files.

He also says he'd like to have a Yukon version of the RCMP's review process, with the participation of local women's groups, but protecting the privacy of assault complainants is essential.

"When I'm told that this is outside the law, I'm not going to order my people to breach the law. But what I am saying is that I am open to continuing working with [Mason's] group and to see if we can, you know, find solutions, may move things forward." 

In a written statement on Thursday, Yukon Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee said her government supports initiatives to review sexual assault cases, but it can't make decisions for the RCMP.

"As the RCMP is our police service in the territory, we are limited in our ability to directly influence the national operational policies and procedures of the organization," her statement reads.