Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I would like to thank you for your invitation to join you today to discuss the proposed amendments to the National Defence Act. I am honoured to appear, and I hope my remarks are worthy of your consideration.
My name is Jean-Marie Dugas, and I was a lieutenant-colonel with the Canadian Forces up until almost three months ago, when I retired. Some of you may remember that I appeared before this committee previously, when I was the director of Defence Counsel Services. That was the last position I held.
Based on my reading of the recommendations you made in your initial report and of the bill, you appear to have been paying close attention to what my colleagues and I have to say. I stand before you today with great humility and with the utmost respect for those who hold opinions that differ from mine.
The context does not lend itself to calling into question the relevance of the court martial system in 2011, so I will confine myself to addressing the proposed amendments, or lack thereof. I will focus mainly on amendments to the court martial system, its administration and the process that leads up to a sentence being handed down, if indeed this occurs.
Intermittent sentences are one item that deserves a closer look. In such instances, the offender's family situation and place of residence should be taken into consideration.
The six-month limitation on jurisdiction for the summary trial should be considered as the rule, not the exception. Another item for consideration is Reserve Force military judges and if they are excluded from the treatment.
With respect to the rules governing practice and procedure, power should be shared with the panel and the judicial branch.
The composition of the court martial panel should be taken into consideration, along with the requirement that an officer serve in the CF for at least three years before being eligible to sit on a court martial panel.
Furthermore, not extending the delay for producing rules of evidence can—and that is how it is phrased in the bill—result in rules that today are largely no longer valid. Another issue that should be looked at is the availability of sentences in the community for offences that are similar to civil offences.
The mandate of the director of Defence Counsel Services should be automatically renewed at the director's request. With respect to the appeal committee, the decision should be left to the discretion of the director—by this, I mean the director of Defence Counsel Services—according to recognized established criteria, as is done for the determination of legal action. Lastly, regarding the maximum fine of $500, few fines are below this amount, which makes this provision obsolete. The amount should be adjusted to at least $1,000, or perhaps to a figure that corresponds to a percentage of the member's pay.
I would like to draw your attention also to the following items, which were not addressed in the bill. There is the matter of the significant discretion given to the court martial administrator when selecting members of the court martial panel, the lack of transparency in the selection process for panel members, the lack of indication that there is a choice as to where a court martial must be held, the fact that the court martial administrator reports to the chief judge and the issuance of a subpoena.
Once again, thank you for your attention.