Two senior female officers say they are leaving the military because the commander of Canada’s fleet in the Atlantic refused to detain three key subordinates for mismanagement and attempted cover-up of a sexual misconduct case, according to CBC News. Lieutenant-Director. Nicole Dougas said she was ending her 12-year naval career after losing all confidence in Rear Admiral Brian Santarpia and the entire institution. “It would be easier to just continue to endure sexual harassment and sexual harassment than to mention it and get over it,” Dougas said. “If you do not ask for responsibilities from people at this top level, nothing will ever change. Lieutenant-Director. Jennifer McGean, who backed Dugas and her chain of command during the case, said she was also leaving the Navy because she could no longer tolerate the military handling allegations of sexual abuse. “I can no longer, as a senior officer, continue to project what I know to be lies – that it is safe to say, that you will receive support and protection,” said McGean, who has served for more than 30 years. Dugas claims that its boss, Cmdr. Ian Bye sexually harassed her and abused his position as a senior officer in charge of the base. He was accused of making a sexual comment in the chaos on October 22, 2020, was given a written warning and fined $ 1,500. The Navy released Bye in July 2021 as “unfit for further service” following an administrative review, according to a letter sent to Dugas. However, three other senior male officers involved in handling Doug’s misdemeanor case have not been held accountable, Dougha and McGinn claim.
“I do not think it is fair to hold them accountable”
Dougas, an executive, said she was pressured by a senior officer not to report the alleged sexual harassment and shared a partial recording of that conversation with Santarpia. Despite this, Santarpia sided with his senior CFB Halifax officers. “I do not think it’s fair to hold them accountable,” Santarpia told Dugas in September 2021, according to a recording of their call shared by Dugas on CBC News. “I honestly do not think there was malicious intent in any way … I think it is important to balance intent with impact.” Santarpia rejected CBC’s request for an interview. In a written statement, he said that an administrative inquiry he had ordered into the actions of his senior male officers and the decisions in which he had taken part had persons involved “. “… despite the efforts made to provide her support, we were not able to meet her needs,” Santarpia wrote. ATTENTION: Dougas says she regrets ever mentioning her allegations of sexual harassment
“All this experience has destroyed me”
Lt-Cmdr. Nicole Dugas says she regrets reporting her sexual misconduct in the Navy. 0:57
CBC News has been following the case closely for a year and has received a number of related documents, emails and recordings.
Dougas claims that Bai was often seen drinking at lunch in Chaos in the early fall of 2020 when he was chairman of Chaos, which gave him access to a bar tab paid by members. CBC News has received monthly clutter records showing that there was excessive spending on this account between September and October 2020.
Dougas claimed that Bai made a sexually explicit comment in late September 2020 in private – that he would be surprised to learn what activities he would accept in exchange for a better performance critique – and that next month he talked about a suite he had on the basis that referred to as the “sex room”.
In a statement to CBC News, Bye acknowledged that he had made an “inappropriate” comment on the mess, but insisted that the other allegations against him were “misinterpreted, out of context or false”. He also said that the use of the bar card in the chaos was “according to the procedures and the precedent that was in force at that time”.
CBC News spoke with four other members of the Canadian Armed Forces, including McGean, who said Dougas told them about the alleged sexual harassment at the time. McGean said she got to the point where Dugas was locked in her office after Bye returned from the chaos because she felt insecure at work.
Rear Admiral Brian Santarpia acknowledged that he and the entire chain of command did not properly support a complainant of sexual misconduct. (Andrew Vaughan / Canadian Press)
Dougas claims that Commander JJ Doyle and Commander Patrick Perks – senior officers who were not in the Dugas chain at the time – drank with Bye in the chaos and were seen making inappropriate sexual remarks in front of her, which included talking for his “sex room” and calling her in his place at the weekend.
Doyle told CBC News by telephone that Doug’s allegations were false and that their investigation “returned unfounded.”
“Let me deal with it,” the commander says in the recording
Dugas claims that on two occasions after an inappropriate comment from Bye, Perks joked that it asked for it because it chose to relocate to this unit.
Dougas said that during a telephone conversation on October 27, 2020, Doyle repeatedly asked if he could speak to Byi privately to give him a chance to change his behavior.
CBC News received an audio recording of about 12 minutes from Doyle’s call with Doug, who said she began recording about 10 minutes after the conversation.
“I think we’re giving him a chance and we’re giving him a month,” Doyle was quoted as saying in a recording of Dougas’ call. “He leaves and thinks about it … Maybe he just thinks he knows you better than he does.”
Commander JJ Doyle attends Bye summary trial in April 2021. (CBC News)
Dougas then tells Doyle that he is very stressed at work and asks him why he should protect Bye. In response, Doyle says he is simply explaining her choices.
“I say I’m willing to go and hit him verbally so I can get him back on the line to understand the seriousness and how serious that is …” Doyle said on the recording.
“Let me face it. Then if you think it has not been solved, then go highlight it through your chain [of command] … Are you good with this plan? That I will go to talk to him, he will leave, but things should change … It ‘s time to wake up “.
Dougas breaks down crying on the phone and finally says she has to leave.
“I believe 100 percent that the purpose of the call was to persuade me not to report the incidents I had suffered,” Dougas told CBC News.
Lieutenant Nicole Dougas says she is ending her 12-year career in the Navy because of what she calls a lack of accountability for allegations of sexual harassment. (Submitted by Nicole Dugas)
The base commander testified that he had no concerns
Perks rejected CBC’s request for an interview. In a statement, Perks said he referred to the allegations in the management chain “as soon as I realized them” and later testified against Bye during a summary trial in April 2021. Dougas said Perks witnessed many inappropriate comments throughout during the month and failed in his duty to report until he learned that he was going to report it.
The Canadian National Bureau of Investigation (CFNIS) has investigated and charged Bai with “indecent behavior” in connection with an inappropriate sexual comment heard by witnesses other than Doyle and Peel.
Dougas said she was devastated that the Navy had failed to inform her of Bai’s summary trial and did not release a statement on the process as usual.
The commander of the base, Captain (Navy) Sean Williams, testified under oath during the April 2021 trial that Bai was a good officer overall and had no concerns. As commander of the base, Williams oversaw what was happening in the chaos. At the time, Bye had already stepped down from his role in the chaos over allegations of mismanagement of his privileges, according to an internal email.
Cmdr (retired) Ian Bye told CBC News that using his coupon for free drinks as chairman of the chaos was “according to the procedures and precedent in force at the time”. (Facebook / CFB Halifax)
Bye apologized for doing what he described as a “silly, youthful joke.”
Bye’s trial officer, Commodore Richard Feltham, commander of the Canadian Atlantic Fleet at the time, said Bye’s attempt at humor was “humiliating” and that “there was no way you did not know it was wrong.”
Santarpia later told Dugas in a call that the preliminary results of a separate investigation into Bye’s drink “would not surprise her” because they “aligned” what she said, according to a recording of the call shared by Dugas on CBC News.
In November 2020, Williams gave Dugas a new boss, Doyle.
This meant that senior Douga leader accused of pressuring her inappropriately not to mention her case was suddenly her immediate supervisor, writing reviews of her performance.
Dougas filed another complaint with the Navy, claiming that her case had been wrong. This led Santarpia to order a separate inquiry into the chain of command after it reported. Dougas said she needed to recount her experiences with Bai, which she described as “re-traumatic”.
McGean described Santarpia’s investigation as “a farce and a complete conflict of interest because he was investigating decisions that he made or partly made.”
Santarpia admits case not handled “perfectly”
On September 10, 2021, Santarpia called McGean and Dugas to inform them of the results of his investigation. Dougas shared with CBC News a recording of this call that lasted about 30 minutes, during which Santarpia apologized for not supporting …
