The former spouse of a CFB Petawawa soldier is suing him and the Canadian Armed Forces for the domestic abuse she suffered while living on the military base for two years.
Mandy Easter, 44, said she was punched in the throat, choked with a seatbelt, urinated upon, and threatened with death by her military spouse.
“I want some justice, some closure and some accountability,” Easter said in an interview, “and I want to help other women that are going through this.”
Easter contends her suffering was exacerbated by the military’s failure to protect her from the violence and aggressiveness trained into her spouse, and by its negligent investigation of her domestic assault complaint.
“The military says it’s not their duty to protect women on a base, but I think it is,” she said. “It’s their job to monitor what’s going on with the soldiers they’re training to be so violent.”
Easter will be seeking more than $12 million in damages at a three-week trial in Federal Court. The case is set to begin Dec. 2.
“The physical, sexual and psychological abuse of women in military families while living on CAF bases is a systemic and pervasive problem that has long victimized partners of military personnel,” her statement of claim alleges, adding: “The plaintiff is one of those victims.”
In a statement of the defence, justice department lawyers contend the CAF did not owe Easter a legal “duty of care” as the spouse of a soldier.
They argue the alleged abuse took place in the context of a private, common-law relationship, over which the CAF had no control.
Evening Update
“The imposition of such a private law duty would impose an unreasonable and undesirable burden on the CAF to oversee and monitor its employees’ private relationships,” government lawyers said.
Easter’s lawyer, Arie Gaertner, argued the CAF’s duty of care – its legal responsibility to protect other people from harm – should extend to military bases. Easter was living on CFB Petawawa between 2004 and 2006.
When soldiers take violence into their own homes, he said, “the Canadian Armed Forces should know about that problem.”
In May 2000, the Canadian Armed Forces received a report from University of New Brunswick Professor Deborah Harrison that identified spousal abuse as a serious issue in the military. The report made 51 recommendations to prevent, detect, report and punish spousal abuse, and those who cover it up.
“They dropped the ball, and effectively didn’t do anything,” Gaertner charged. “It’s a problem that has not yet been solved.”
He said Mandy Easter’s case highlights the military’s failings.
According to an agreed statement entered in the case, Easter met Dominic Alexander in 2000 and soon began a romantic relationship. Alexander enrolled in the CAF in 2003, and remained in the military for the next six years.
The couple lived together first in Gatineau, then Easter moved into Alexander’s apartment on CFB Petawawa. In February 2005, he was deployed to Afghanistan with his unit, the Royal Canadian Regiment 1st Battalion. Alexander returned in August.
In late November, according to the agreed statement of facts, Easter went to the military police detachment at CFB Petawawa, offered only her first name, and reported that she had been assaulted by her partner, whom she identified as “Dom.”
She said he had used his military training to hurt her, and had threatened to hunt her down and kill her if she reported his abuse.
Easter ran away from the police while waiting for paramedics to arrive, but she called the military police two days later and gave them her full name. Easter said the allegations she had made against Alexander were false. (In an interview, Easter said she was too scared to pursue the complaint against her spouse.)
Military police tried to verify the source of the call, but were unsuccessful.
Months later, on Jan. 13, 2006, Alexander was arrested by the Ontario Provincial Police on Highway 7, near Petawawa, for assaulting Easter on the roadside. (Easter said he had handcuffed her and was wrestling her into the trunk of the car when an OPP officer happened on the scene.)
Alexander was released on bail four days later.
Before Alexander returned home, Easter was removed from the military apartment she shared with him and taken to a women’s shelter in Pembroke.
According to the agreed statement of fact, Alexander subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and received a four-month conditional sentence.
He was released from the CAF almost three years later, in April 2009. The following month, he was convicted of assault and uttering threats, and received a suspended sentence.
Easter said that conviction was in connection to the assault she had suffered at Alexander’s hands in November 2005.
Alexander has not responded to the lawsuit and is not represented in court. He could not be reached for comment.
Easter said Alexander did not exhibit “one hint of violence” before he joined the military. Born and raised in Ottawa, Easter now lives on disability support payments in Sudbury; she said she still suffers back pain, depression and post-traumatic stress from her ordeal.
Arie Gaertner said he believes the case is the first that will attempt to establish that the CAF owes a duty of care to military spouses.
In 2019, the federal government paid $900 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by members of the Canadian military and defence department employees who were victims of sexual assault and harassment.
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