Military's former head of HR on trial for sexual assault
The woman who accuses Haydn Edmundson of raping her on a navy ship in 1991 was back on the stand during his trial Tuesday, where Edmundson's defence lawyer tried to find inconsistencies in her story.
The complainant, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, testified Monday that Edmundson was a senior officer and she was in a junior rank when they were deployed together on a navy ship in 1991.
She told the court she had been assigned to wake him for night watch duties and his behaviour became progressively worse until one night she found him naked and completely exposed in his bunk.
She testified that she 鈥渨ent loony鈥 that night, shouting at him and turning on the lights in hopes of attracting attention from another officer.
But she said no one followed up with her about the incident until Edmundson himself called her into his sleeping quarters to talk a few days later.
She said at the time, the ship was docked at a port and she and Edmundson were both off duty. She had planned to leave the ship with friends that evening but felt she had to stop to talk with the senior officer even though she was not comfortable entering his dark room.
She testified that she hoped to apologize for yelling at him and leave, but he told her she was 鈥渘ot dismissed.鈥
She described feeling frozen as Edmundson touched her hair, kissed her and then removed her clothes and raped her.
鈥淗e was much older than me,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e was a high-ranking officer. What would have been the consequence of me yelling, me pushing, me saying no, me not following orders?鈥
Edmundson was charged in December 2021 with sexual assault and committing indecent acts. He has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.
Defence lawyer Brian Greenspan questioned the woman about her duties and how often she had to wake Edmundson during the deployment. She was unable to recall the exact number of times, but estimated it was about 16 to 18 nights.
Greenspan had a copy of the ship's night order book, in which the captain logged the various night watches of officers on board.
He said the book showed Edmundson was on night watch much less often, and at one point during the deployment he was off night watches altogether because he had injured his shoulder.
The woman responded that officers sometimes requested an early wake-up for other reasons.
Greenspan asked about her statement to police, in which the complainant said pornography was played on board the ship. He said the captain of the ship in 1991 鈥渨ould never have permitted pornography to be played on board that ship, and people would have been disciplined for it.鈥
鈥淏y default, you think that because it wasn't allowed, it never occurred?鈥 she asked.
Greenspan also pointed to a statement she wrote as part of her application to a class-action lawsuit for military members who were subject to sexual misconduct at work.
He said she wrote in the statement that Edmundson was often naked on top of the sheets when she went to wake him. On the stand, the complainant said this had only happened once.
She did not have a chance to respond before court adjourned for the day.
The complainant's first language is French and she testified in English with the help of interpreters.
She indicated Tuesday that she wanted the interpreters to relay the defence questions to her in French before answering, but a visibly frustrated Greenspan argued that was changing the rules.
鈥淚'm beginning a cross-examination with at least one arm tied behind my back, maybe both,鈥 Greenspan told the judge.
After a discussion with Justice Matthew Webber, the complainant agreed to ask for interpretation only when needed.
Edmundson was one of a number of high-profile military leaders accused of sexual misconduct in early 2021, kicking off a crisis that led to an external investigation of the Armed Forces by retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour.
In her May 2022 report, Arbour called for sweeping changes to be made to military culture.
The trial is being held in an Ottawa court in keeping with Arbour's recommendation that crimes of a sexual nature should be handled by the civilian justice system.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca 星空传媒
Tensions flare between Poilievre and Singh in the House after NDP says it will back Trudeau Liberals
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh got into a heated exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday, just minutes after Singh announced his party would not be supporting the Conservatives' first non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn鈥檛 been seen since Wednesday morning.
B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.
PM Trudeau names Anita Anand transport minister after Pablo Rodriguez quits cabinet
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
Canadian women among those who allege Harrods boss sexually abused them
CTV News has learned there are multiple Canadian women alleging they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the late Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including machine-guns
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
Shohei Ohtani becomes the first major league player with 50 homers, 50 stolen bases in a season
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.
Local Spotlight
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.