Oh, oh!
David McGuinty Liberal
Report stage (House), as of April 23, 2026
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This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.
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 and provide for exceptions;
(d) [ Deleted ]
(d.1) provide for the development of a plan for the establishment of an office of the inspectorgeneral for sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces;
(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 or an accused 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.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-11s:
This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bill C-11 amends the National Defence Act, transferring jurisdiction over sexual offences in Canada to civilian courts and implementing recommendations for military justice reform and victim support.
Liberal
Conservative
NDP
Bloc
Military Justice System Modernization ActGovernment Orders
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Military Justice System Modernization ActGovernment Orders
The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec
Order.
I hear lots of members suggesting things that the member for Surrey Newton could say or what others could say. I will recognize members if they are in their seats and want to be recognized.
The hon. member for Repentigny.
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Mr. Speaker, the former prime minister's entourage clearly knew that Mr. Vance was facing allegations. There was talk about serious suspicions of sexual misconduct cases. This matter is extremely serious and outrageous. I have young daughters and I feel disgusted.
The bill introduced in the previous Parliament was the same as this one and it failed to pass. Does the government truly intend to pass this bill quickly, as the gravity of the situation demands?
Sukh Dhaliwal Liberal Surrey Newton, BC
Mr. Speaker, we need to have a cultural change. I am reading the new defence policy, and on page 17, it clearly mentions all we have to do. This is the work that was complemented by the introduction of Bill C-66. That work can only be completed if we get this bill through. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we will be able to achieve what we all want to achieve, which is justice for the members who protect Canada and Canadians.
Bardish Chagger Liberal Waterloo, ON
Mr. Speaker, the member made some really interesting comments, especially when it comes to the recommendations of Justice Arbour and the fact that this Parliament could achieve advancing all 48 of them.
I find that interesting because we come here to work and to represent our constituents. The constituents of the riding of Waterloo expect me to show up to work, and it seems that the Conservatives are almost irked that the government could accomplish satisfying those recommendations.
I would like to hear from the member what his thoughts are when it comes to the men and women in uniform, the fact that this should be a non-partisan issue and the ability to call the question and get this to committee, so that the committee can spend the time it needs to do the scrutiny to ensure that we do get it right. I agree that we need to get it right.
Sukh Dhaliwal Liberal Surrey Newton, BC
Mr. Speaker, out of those recommendations from Justice Arbour's report, more than 20 have been implemented. Every recommendation will be implemented by the end of 2025, including this bill, which is the last one.
As the hon. member said, let us get this bill passed and get it to committee so that we can focus on the other bills that Conservatives want to talk about.
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-11, the military justice modernization act.
The Minister of National Defence has made it clear that Canada's new government is committed to ensuring the members of the Canadian Armed Forces have a workplace where all members feel supported, respected and included. Canadians have watched over the past few years as the Canadian Armed Forces has made significant efforts to organize—
Military Justice System Modernization ActGovernment Orders
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am not commenting on the presence or absence of anyone, but, given the numbers of us here, it seems we could listen to a speech without the heckling.
Military Justice System Modernization ActGovernment Orders
The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec
I will remind colleagues that, if they want to take separate discussions out of the House, they are welcome to do so.
The member for Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam may resume.
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have watched over the past few years as the Canadian Armed Forces has made significant efforts to modernize and evolve as a 21st century workplace. While much has been accomplished toward this goal, there is still much more to do. Proposed Bill C-11 is another critical step towards meaningful and lasting institutional reform.
Bill C-11 focuses on strengthening trust and confidence in the military justice system. This would be the next step in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' efforts to address recommendations from independent reviews from former Supreme Court justices Fish and Arbour. These reports, and the more than 100 recommendations that stem from them, remain extremely important to our larger cultural change efforts. Overall, these reviews have helped define how DND and the CAF are undertaking changes to the military justice system and cultural evolution efforts. They have allowed for an impartial evaluation process, highlighting both the efforts that have fallen short and the barriers that still exist, and have made recommendations to improve. That is why today I will provide an overview of these independent external reviews and the progress that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces have made to address their recommendations to date.
I will begin with the independent external comprehensive review, also known as the Arbour report. This review was launched in April 2021 and led by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to examine harassment and sexual misconduct in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as policies, procedures, programs, practices and culture, including in the military justice system itself. The final report was made public on May 30, 2022, and the minister at the time welcomed all 48 recommendations. When the final report was received, there were 17 recommendations for which implementation could be undertaken immediately.
This included the implementation of recommendation number 48, appointing an external monitor to oversee the implementation efforts of the Arbour report's recommendations. The minister at the time appointed Madame Jocelyne Therrien as the external monitor who provides monthly progress reports to the minister on the implementation of the recommendations. She also provides biannual progress reports that are made available publicly.
The minister also announced the implementation of recommendations 7 and 9, changes to the military grievance and harassment processes, in August 2023. With the implementation of these recommendations, any CAF member who has experienced sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or any other form of discrimination based on sex or gender while performing their duties can now choose to bring their complaint directly to the Canadian Human Rights Commission without first exhausting internal grievance and harassment processes.
The Arbour report also outlined improvements for the military college system in recommendations 28 and 29. That is why, in December 2023, the minister announced the seven people appointed to the Canadian Military Colleges Review Board to review Canada's two military colleges. In March 2025, this board released its report, which included 49 recommendations covering a range of areas, including cost, governance and quality of training.
As we see with Bill C-11, which is being debated here today, we would also address the key aspects of recommendation 5 of the Arbour report by removing the CAF's investigative and prosecutorial jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada. Since December 2021, all new Criminal Code sexual offence charges are now being laid in the civilian criminal justice system and no new Criminal Code sexual offence charges are being adjudicated in the military justice system. The Canadian Forces military police group is also leading a Criminal Code sexual offences operational framework working group with the Ontario solicitor general and Ministry of the Attorney General to develop a framework for the transfer of cases.
Bill C-11 also addresses several recommendations from Justice Fish's third independent review of the National Defence Act. Bill C-11 would address eight recommendations from this review. These amendments seek to, among other things, first, modify the process for the appointment of the Canadian Forces provost marshal, the director of military prosecutions and the director of defence counsel services; second, expand the class of persons who are eligible to be appointed as a military judge to include non-commissioned members; and third, affirm the judge advocate general's respect for the independent authorities in the military justice system while exercising its superintendence of the administration of military justice.
These amendments seek to strengthen trust in military justice authorities operating independently from the chain of command and to bolster the trust and confidence of Canadians in the military justice system.
We are taking these recommendations seriously and moving quickly. We know that members of the Canadian Armed Forces are counting on us. As our government makes a generational investment in Canada's national defence, we know that we must invest in our people. The members of the Canadian Armed Forces are the foundation of Canada's national defence. Members have told us time and time again that they want to feel safe, protected and empowered to serve in a modern 21st-century workplace.
External reviews of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces have also told us that we need to modernize the military justice system. That is precisely what we are doing in Bill C-11, the military justice system modernization act. The legislative changes proposed in Bill C-11 would play a critical role in helping us address several important recommendations regarding sexual misconduct and would enhance trust in the military justice system.
I encourage all members of this House to come together to support this important piece of legislation.
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Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am going to pose the same question to the member that I did to one of his colleagues, because I did not get an answer.
The reality is that sex assault victims, whether they be in civilian court or military court, have a complete lack of trust in the system. They call it a system; they do not call it a justice system. There is under-reporting and there are problems with investigations. Some police services believe them; some police services do not. There are difficulties in obtaining additional evidence. There are difficulties with the Crown chosen to prosecute these files. There are issues with the overcrowding in our courts to begin with. We have to apply the Jordan principle. It is no small wonder that in Ontario alone there is an abysmal record of success in prosecuting sex assaults.
With all of the deficiencies that I just presented, which I presented to one of the member's colleagues, what does Bill C-11 do to address them?
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, while I do not dispute that those deficiencies exist, I think they are problems for another time and another bill. What we are focusing on now is the military justice system modernization act and how we deal with it in the military system. Let us focus on that. As we carry on and move into other areas, let us focus on those areas when we get to them.
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Winnipeg West, MB
Mr. Speaker, there have been numerous comments about our overloaded court system, the lack of Crown attorneys and delayed bail hearings due to the lack of Crown attorneys. Would the member not agree that these things are totally under the jurisdiction of the provinces and that we have to hold our provincial governments to account to improve them so that this bill can be more workable?
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I 100% agree. We need to allow provincial governments to operate within their jurisdictions and do what they need to do. We can certainly support them to whatever extent we can, but let us focus on what we can do with this bill in the interim.