Bill C-66

Military Justice System Modernization Act

An Act to amend the National Defence Act and other Acts

This enactment amends provisions of the National Defence Act that relate to the military justice system in response to the Report of the Third Independent Review Authority to the Minister of National Defence and the Report of the Independent External Comprehensive Review of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.
In response to those reports, the enactment amends that Act to, among other things,
(a) modify the process for appointing the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, the Director of Military Prosecutions and the Director of Defence Counsel Services with a view to enhancing their independence;
(b) affirm the Judge Advocate General’s respect for the independence of authorities in the military justice system in the exercise of the Judge Advocate General’s superintendence of the administration of military justice;
(c) remove the court martial’s jurisdiction to try a person in relation to an offence under the Criminal Code that is alleged to have been committed in Canada and that is of a sexual nature or committed for a sexual purpose;
(d) remove the Canadian Armed Forces’ authority to investigate an offence under the Criminal Code that is alleged to have been committed in Canada and that is of a sexual nature or committed for a sexual purpose;
(e) expand the class of persons who are eligible to be appointed as a military judge;
(f) expand the class of persons who may make an interference complaint and provide that a member of the military police or person performing policing duties or functions under the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal’s supervision must make such a complaint in certain circumstances; and
(g) change the title of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal to the Provost Marshal General.
In addition, the enactment amends the National Defence Act to remove military judges from the summary hearing system and to provide that, in the context of a service offence, an individual acting on behalf of a victim may request that a victim’s liaison officer be appointed to assist them.
It further amends that Act to harmonize the sex offender information and publication ban provisions with the amendments made to the Criminal Code in An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act .
Finally, it amends the Criminal Code to, among other things, provide superior courts of criminal jurisdiction with the jurisdiction to hear applications for an exemption in respect of orders to comply with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act made under the National Defence Act and applications to vary the duration of such orders.

[Patrick White]

First, I would say I haven't actually brushed up too much on the military justice system. As you heard, “mentorship” was the response from the recommendation by the military police for charges. I haven't gotten to the trial phase.

In my corporate law practice, we deal with issues of fiduciary duties of directors. There are stockholders who can appoint directors to the board of a company, but the directors, regardless of their affiliation with the stockholders, must act in the best interests of the corporation. The appointment process doesn't necessarily mean that an individual is in a conflict of interest if there is a very strict code of ethics and there is enforcement of that code. A breach of fiduciary duties is a cause of action in a court of law.

A director who breaches those duties can be held personally liable for individual breaches. That means that if they're acting inappropriately, they can be held accountable by other stockholders or they can be held accountable by other actors who have been harmed. The same principle can apply here.

I read with interest an assessment of Bill C-66 by someone in the profession with much more expertise than I have, Rory Fowler, a well-known name, I believe. To his point, I'm not sure that changing the appointment process is truly going to fix issues of independence when you could, in fact, empower someone with either positive reinforcement or the negative reinforcement that comes with clearly laying out ethical issues. In other words, let's say they received pressure from the chief of the defence staff to act inappropriately. If they had a reporting mechanism and an ethical obligation to resist that sort of pressure, they could be supported and there would be no need to change that appointment process.

Again, I will qualify that I have not brushed up too much on that aspect of the military justice system.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Again, thank you, Mr. Walbourne, for your service to our CAF members and their families.

Lieutenant, I would like to hear a bit more from you.

I will reflect on Bill C-66, the military justice system modernization act. The government has proposed to increase the independence of military justice actors, like the provost marshal, to ensure they are not influenced by the chain of command. I would like to hear your thoughts on the importance of the independence of military justice actors, but also the role that the chain of command can play in the system at present.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Down the road, we're going to be studying Bill C-66 with changes to the military justice system. Both of you have had extensive experience, unfortunately from a negative standpoint, with military justice and the way it's been carried out.

Would you be prepared to appear as witnesses on Bill C-66 as well?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Walbourne, with the way the current system works, the deputy minister, the defence ombudsman and the judge advocate general report directly to the minister. They are order in council appointments. The government is proposing in Bill C-66 to add to that list the provost marshal general, the director of military prosecutions and the director of defence counsel services. They would become order in council appointments and would also report to the minister.

You've long advocated, as has your successor Mr. Lick, that the ombudsman's office should become a fully independent office that reports to Parliament and is properly resourced to remove political interference. Do you believe that having more people report to the minister circumvents, as Mr. White laid out, the chain of command covering up for each other with no accountability, or does it open the door for more political interference?

National Defence

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with the member for Waterloo.. Creating meaningful and lasting cultural change for the Canadian Armed Forces is imperative.

I am pleased to share that this morning I had the opportunity to table Bill C-66, the military justice system modernization act. This legislation would address nine of the recommendations from the Justice Arbour and Justice Fish reports. It will uphold our governments commitment to building a more inclusive, respectful and professional Canadian Armed Forces.

For every member of the Canadian Armed Forces, I want to advise that we have heard them. We have heard them clearly and we will do whatever is required to provide them with a safe and inclusive workplace.

Military Justice System Modernization Act

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that this morning, the Minister of National Defence introduced Bill C-66, the military justice system modernization act.

This legislation is designed to implement nine recommendations from Justice Arbour's and Justice Fish's reports. More specifically, it aims to remove the military justice system's jurisdiction over criminal sexual offences committed in Canada. This legislation also proposes to increase the independence of key players in the justice system and create the position of victim's liaison officer in order to better support victims and survivors.

This is an important step towards lasting culture change in the Canadian Armed Forces. I hope the House recognizes the importance of this bill so we can pass it as quickly as possible.

National Defence Act

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-66, An Act to amend the National Defence Act and other Acts.

(Motions deemed adopted and bill read the first time)