Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, committee members, for your time.
I come to you today as a lawyer with a keen interest in matters of military justice. My interest stems from my own service as a reservist and from my family's service. I'm a proud military spouse, sister, cousin and soldier. This means that I am also a woman, a lawyer and a soldier. I contend that this provides me with a unique perspective.
I have the benefit of appearing at the third iteration of witness committees—or fourth, perhaps—for this bill. I also have the benefit of several comprehensive reviews of various aspects of the military justice system.
I welcome the bill's efforts to implement important recommendations from independent reviewers, but I urge this committee to treat it as one step in a much broader program of reform required to restore trust, protect victims, safeguard the accused and change culture across the CAF.
Bill C-11 effectively nullifies the code of service discipline's jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences that occur in Canada, rather than transferring jurisdiction. That decision risks passing responsibility to the civilian system without resolving the systemic causes that produce a loss of confidence in military justice in the first place. Culture change and leadership accountability must accompany any legislative change, because courts martial are only the apex of a system in which most matters are handled by unit-level processes.
I will share the key recommendations I make in my written submissions for the benefit of Canadians listening in on this committee. You'll quickly see that I'm not reinventing the wheel. I'm merely reiterating recommendations made by some very intelligent and legally astute Canadians before me.
One, make it clear that authority is not being transferred. Instead, the bill removes the military justice system's power to deal with sexual offences that happen in Canada under the Criminal Code. I further recommend including a sunset clause in this particular amendment.
Two, to echo recommendations made by Madam Justice Arbour, mental health supports must be expanded and made independent of the chain of command for serving members and veterans in order to aid in prevention and early intervention and to reduce recidivism. I also strongly recommend that this government follow through with the commitments it made to explore alternative care for veterans, including research into psychedelic-assisted therapy. CAF leadership needs to be given the tools to guide their subordinates in the right direction. They do not need another 1-800 number.
Three, I agree with my fellow witnesses that there should be a limit on the time taken to fill Governor in Council appointments for key military justice roles. This must be paired with meaningful consequences for prolonged vacancies.
Four, I recommend that this committee strengthen judicial independence by removing military judges from the application of the code of service discipline. I also recommend expanding military judge eligibility to include serving and former members with at least 10 years of service at the bar and bar membership. I strongly support the creation of a permanent court martial to reduce ad hoc inefficiencies and independence issues.
Five, prohibit commanders and statutory decision makers from imposing administrative measures on accused, thereby effectively adjudicating criminal matters before the courts complete the processes.
Six, remember that both victims and accused are entitled to fundamental rights and safeguards. I recommend ensuring that access to justice is maintained for accused members by providing defence counsel for service members charged in civilian courts. I further recommend that this committee amend the bill to also guarantee the right to counsel in summary hearings.
Seven, appoint an accused liaison officer, akin to a victim liaison officer, to coordinate between the accused, the chain of command and civilian processes.
Bill C-11 contains important and constructive reforms. I appreciate the legislature's and this committee's careful work to implement recommendations from independent reviews.
I offer these additional observations with humility. The bill will be most effective only if paired with sustained culture change, timely and accountable appointments, protections for judicial independence, independent mental health supports, and concrete measures to safeguard both the victim and the accused, including access to counsel and fair process for the accused by virtue of our fair and democratic society.
I recognize that some recommendations will require time, resources and careful drafting. I respectfully urge the committee to consider them as efficiencies, because legislative and regulatory fixes now will certainly be more cost-effective than relying on litigation to correct gaps later.
Thank you for your time.