As you know, this amendment is very simple. If you look at the summary of Bill C-77 at the beginning of the bill, it notes the amendments:
(l) provide for the creation, in regulations, of service infractions that can be dealt with by summary hearing;
(m) provide for a scale of sanctions in respect of service infractions and for the principles applicable to those sanctions;
(n) provide for a six-month limitation period in respect of summary hearings; and
(o) provide superior commanders, commanding officers and delegated officers with jurisdiction to conduct a summary hearing in respect of a person charged with having committed a service infraction if the person is at least one rank below the officer conducting the summary hearing.
Since we're dealing with service infractions and the issues surrounding summary hearings, the amendment is very simple. This is about making sure that criminal records that occur for members of the military do not become part of their civilian criminal records going forward.
Specifically, we are dealing with a few minor offences here that we want to make sure are dealt with. Section 85 deals with insubordinate behaviour; section 86 is about quarrels and disturbances; section 90 is about absence without leave; section 97 deals with drunkenness; and section 129 is about conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.
All of those infractions would not form a criminal record for civilians, but they do for military members. When they leave the forces, that will haunt them as they apply for jobs and move on with their lives. It's not just for their work lives, either. If one of them wants to volunteer as a hockey coach and someone does a criminal records check, these things will pop up.
What we're trying to do is make sure that these minor offences do not become anything more than just an issue of disciplinary action within the military and do not travel with members down the road as they transition into veterans.