This one doesn't require too much introduction, because we heard about it in previous Parliaments. We heard about it from the minister on the floor of the House of Commons.
With this amendment we're making good on a commitment of the government to change the range of service offences that would result in a record under the Criminal Records Act for convictions that are at the lower end of the scale of punishments, such as a minor punishment, a relatively small fine, a reprimand, or a severe reprimand.
As well, where the person is convicted of an offence that would be a contravention under the Contraventions Act, this provision will allow that there no longer be a record generated within the meaning of the Criminal Records Act. That would free the person who is convicted of this offence of having to apply for a record suspension, what we used to refer to as a pardon.
This would increase the number of service offences for which, if the offender is sentenced to one or more of the specified punishments, the offence would be deemed not to constitute an offence for the purposes of the Criminal Records Act.
Let's be very clear that there are still service offences at the higher end of the scale, such as assault, or assault causing bodily harm. I think members are aware of the full panoply of those violent offences that would still result in a record for the purposes of the Criminal Records Act. That mirrors the situation in the civilian system much more closely, and therefore represents an important modernization update of the military justice system.
It would literally remove up to 95% of the service offences in recent years that have generated criminal records for the purposes of the Criminal Records Act from that category. That's quite a dramatic change. It's a welcome change in our view. It was something we were prepared to do in the last Parliament and didn't manage it, for reasons that are well known around this table. It's time to do it now.