Mr. Chair, I move that Bill C-77, in clause 37, be amended by replacing line 3 on page 48 with the following:
“37 Section 230 of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a): (a.01) if the sanction imposed on a person found to have committed a service infraction is detention, reduction in rank or a fine exceeding 25% of basic pay and that finding has been reviewed in accordance with section 163.6, the legality of that finding and the severity of the sanction; (2) Section 230 of the Act is amended by striking”
We've been discussing quite a bit here that certain punishments can be penal in nature but there's no real avenue for appeal to a higher authority. This amendment would allow that appeal to a judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court in the case of a sentence arising from a summary hearing that is penal in nature.
The Quebec bar association had a similar concern. They said that even though there are minor sanctions, which are not defined in the bill, as we discussed, but will come out in future regulations, they wondered whether these minor sanctions will simply continue the minor punishments under the current system, and if so, this could pose a problem. They said that in addition, these minor punishments could include confinement to ship or barracks—we've already talked about that—and that confinement could be for up to 21 days. They said that in certain cases, the deprivation of freedom is very restrictive, similar to a suspended prison sentence under section 742.1 of the Criminal Code.
Essentially what we're saying is that these appeals would only be available to the Court Martial Appeal Court where the service member has received a penal sentence. We're talking about detention. We're talking about huge fines, 25% of their basic pay. We're talking about reduction in rank. Therefore, some of these are penal in nature. If they're penal in nature, they should have the right of appeal to the Court Martial Appeal Court. This provides that opportunity.