Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, gentlemen, for coming today.
Mr. Dugas, in your former role as director for defence counsel services you had mentioned that officers in the chain of command have often intervened inappropriately. You cited the case of a general who had spoken directly to the chief military judge on a particular case, etc.
This committee heard from the JAG a few weeks ago about the issue of judicial independence, specifically with reference to a section of the bill allowing the VCDS to issue instructions in reference to particular issues. He testified that he felt this power would be used sparingly and outlined several scenarios where instructions should be issued, including security and logistical concerns.
From your experience, do you see any potential dangers in this clause? If you do, how could the language be adjusted in order to account for the need for the chain of command to retain power over the JAG--for example, in logistics and security--and the need for judicial independence in terms of the respect for rule of law?