Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure, and I thank the hon. member for Shefford for his question.
However, I have to put into perspective some of his concerns. When discussing the military justice system it is important to recognize that the system is there to support the stringent and often unique requirements of military discipline during peacetime, but more particularly wartime.
This does not mean that the military justice system exists in isolation. This is not the case, nor should it be.
Indeed the military justice system seeks to parallel the civil judicial system. As a result, the military justice system has and continues to evolve alongside the civil judicial system.
For example, Canadians can rest assured that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has applied to the military justice system from the moment the charter came into force and effect. Citizen soldier are treated no differently than other Canadian citizens under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
There should be no misconception, however, that the military justice system as it currently exists is somehow less rigorous and holds military members to some lesser standards of justice. In fact, recent judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada have endorsed the independence of the court martial system but indeed the integrity and validity of the system as well.
We do recognize, however, that all justice systems are complex and must evolve in order to keep pace with the changing needs of the society they serve.
As I have already stated, recent Supreme Court rulings support the overall validity of the military justice system. Yet there is always a need for the legal system to be examined vis-à-vis a changing society.
We must seek to allay concerns that the military justice system may somehow be less than rigorous and unable to withstand public scrutiny. Toward this end I can assure this House that the prudent and measured examination of the military justice system will continue.
Of course, the work of the Somalia commission of inquiry concerning the military justice system will be an important element of any examination. It is therefore with anticipation that we look forward to receiving the recommendations of the commission upon the conclusion of its work on March 25, 1997.