Based on coverage from The Epoch Times, CBC, Times Colonist, and BayToday.
A federal watchdog is sharply criticizing how military police handled a sexual assault case involving an air force officer who later died by suicide, saying the investigation was rushed, incomplete, and shaped by confirmation bias.
The Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) released two reports Thursday on the case of Maj. Cristian Hiestand, a Royal Canadian Air Force flight instructor based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Moose Jaw, Sask. The findings directly clash with a separate internal review by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal’s professional standards office, which had cleared the officers involved and said complaints from Hiestand’s family were “not substantiated.”
MPCC report faults military police investigation
MPCC chair Tammy Tremblay said the investigation into Hiestand was not “impartial and thorough,” and described it as an “inadequate investigation marked by undue haste,” with tunnel vision that looked like confirmation bias.
Among the commission’s key findings: investigators lacked supervisory oversight, didn’t probe consent in a meaningful way, skipped “critical” witness interviews, and didn’t fully examine relevant digital evidence, including text messages between Hiestand and the complainant.
Tremblay also found there was undue haste in arresting and charging him. Hiestand was charged with two counts of sexual assault in Saskatchewan provincial court in 2021, days after ending what sources describe as a tumultuous relationship with a civilian woman, and within about five days of authorities receiving the complaint.
The MPCC reports do not decide whether the sexual assault allegations against Hiestand were true.
What happened at CFB Moose Jaw
Hiestand, an Afghan war veteran and career military member, died by suicide on Jan. 18, 2022, a little more than a month after his arrest, according to reporting that also notes a military board of inquiry later found he was assessed by medical staff as a “moderate” suicide risk, with little formal follow-up by superiors.
In the weeks before his death, Hiestand told family members that no one would listen to his side of the story. Tremblay’s report says investigators did offer him a chance to speak, but he declined on the advice of his lawyer.
Hiestand was removed from duty, ordered to have no contact with the complainant and several co-workers, and told to work remotely off base.
Disputed evidence and charging decisions
A major point of contention is what investigators did, or didn’t do, before charges were laid.
According to the MPCC report, investigators failed to properly review text messages that could have been relevant. Reporting also says Hiestand told investigators at the time of his arrest that he had text messages he believed would exonerate him and asked police to look at them before charging him. Military police refused to review them then, but did offer to take a statement from him, which he declined on legal advice.
Military police involved in the file have insisted their work was not done hastily. The Provost Marshal’s professional standards office also concluded in a Feb. 9, 2024 report that the family’s complaints were unsubstantiated, in part because the investigation hadn’t formally concluded when Hiestand was arrested and charged, and was expected to continue before his death ended the case.
Watchdog cites intoxicated supervisor allegation
The MPCC’s second report looked at how the military police detachment at CFB Moose Jaw handled the complaint the night it was reported. Tremblay concluded the investigation was “compromised from the outset” and that detachment leadership committed wrongdoing.
The MPCC found police failed to record the complainant’s interview. It also found that a supervisor was intoxicated while getting involved in decisions around the case. The report says the second-in-command admitted to consuming two shots of whiskey, and while he told colleagues he was intoxicated and could not assist, he still inserted himself into discussions. An internal probe didn’t lay charges related to intoxication because he’d been recalled to work and did not officially participate, though the MPCC notes he said he attended voluntarily after seeing the incident in a group chat.
The MPCC report also suggests investigators may have chosen not to record the complainant’s interview to avoid creating “a permanent record of a potentially flawed interview conducted by junior military police.”
Reform push collides with Ottawa legislation
Tremblay’s final reports include 13 recommendations tied to investigative practices and four related to conduct, aimed at improving how the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service handles sexual assault cases. Recommendations include better training on identifying and interviewing witnesses, improved handling of digital evidence, and a requirement that investigators consult with prosecutors before laying charges in sexual assault cases.
According to the MPCC, the Provost Marshal rejected all 13 recommendations related to the investigation and accepted only one of the four on conduct. Tremblay called that “deeply concerning” and said it signals a lack of accountability. She also called for an apology to Hiestand’s family.
All of this lands as the Liberal government’s proposed reforms to military sexual misconduct cases face political and public pushback. The reporting notes two policy tracks: a broader push to move sexual assault investigations and prosecutions out of the military system, and an amended Bill C-11 that would give victims a choice between court martial and civilian court for the accused’s trial.
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