Question Period Note: Military Justice Modernization

Why does National Defence refuse to put victims at the center of efforts to address a broken military justice system?

• I believe that continued reform of the military justice system is essential to better protect and support victims of misconduct.
• That is why National Defence has taken steps towards durable reforms that put victims first.
• We have accepted Justice Arbour’s interim recommendations to transfer sexual assaults and other criminal offences of a sexual nature under the Criminal Code to civilian authorities.
• The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and the Director of Military Prosecutions are engaged with federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts to implement Madame Arbour’s interim recommendation.
• We are now requiring Military Police to take trauma-informed training to ensure those who come forward feel safe, heard, and protected.
• Additionally, we are working to implement the Declaration of Victims’ Rights in 2022, to provide victims of service offences the rights to information, participation, protection, and restitution.
• This will include establishing a Victim Liaison Officer who will assist survivors in accessing their rights and will provide clarity on how offences are processed.
• We will also continue to work to implement Justice Fish’s recommendations to continue modernizing our justice system, policing, and grievance process.

Quick Facts

• Fish Report: 107 recommendations to support the ongoing modernization of the military justice system, military policing, and grievance process. The current focus is on 36 recommendations which call on National Defence to:
  • Stand-up working groups with other government departments and launch consultations with external stakeholders to discuss modernizing the military justice system;
  • Improve data collection and management related to military justice; and,
  • Improve member awareness of the military grievance process.
• Analysis is ongoing to determine a path forward to implement the remaining 71 recommendations.
• Justice Arbour: Currently conducting a review of National Defence to identify the causes for the continued presence of harassment and sexual misconduct within the organization.
  • Justice Arbour provided interim recommendations to National Defence on October 20, 2021.
  • Interim recommendations build on recommendation number 68 of the Justice Fish report which calls on National Defence to transfer all sexual assaults and other criminal offences of a sexual nature under the Criminal Code, including historical sexual offences, alleged to have been perpetrated by a Canadian Armed Forces member past or present, to civilian authorities. Justice Arbour noted these include allegations currently under investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigations Service, unless such investigation is near completion.
  • The final Arbour report is expected to be delivered to National Defence in the spring or summer of 2022.

Background

Independent External Comprehensive Review (2021-2022)

• In April 2021, the Department of National Defence launched an Independent External Comprehensive Review led by former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour on current policies, procedures, programs, practices and culture within the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence, including the policies, procedures, and practices to respond to allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct.
• The aim of the review is to shed light on the causes for the continued presence of harassment and sexual misconduct within the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence despite efforts to eradicate it, and to provide an assessment and recommendations on how National Defence can establish external oversight and/or review mechanisms related to harassment and sexual misconduct.
• On October 20, 2021, Justice Arbour provided the Minister of National Defence with her interim recommendations. These call on National Defence to transfer of all sexual assault cases and other criminal offences of a sexual nature under the Criminal Code, including historical sexual offences, alleged to have been perpetrated by a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, to civilian authorities.
• On November 3, 2021, the Minister of National Defence accepted Justice Arbour's interim recommendations and instructed the Defence Team to begin the implementation work.
• National Defence is currently working to develop the mechanisms and processes that will be required to implement the recommendations, as well as engaging with our federal, provincial and territorial counterparts on the matter.

Justice Fish report (2021)

• On November 5, 2020, the Minister of National Defence appointed the Honourable Morris J. Fish, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, as the Independent Review Authority to conduct an independent review of specified provisions of the National Defence Act and their operation, as is required by the Act.
• The report, tabled on June 1, 2021, contains 107 wide-ranging recommendations with a majority of them dealing with the military justice system, including how issues of sexual misconduct are addressed, military policing and police oversight. The remainder of the recommendations concern military grievances, the external review of grievances, and the independent review process.
• Justice Fish recommends strengthening the independence of military justice actors, including the judges, the prosecutors, the defence counsel, and the military police. To achieve this, Justice Fish recommends that military judges cease to be members of the Canadian Armed Forces and renounce their military rank at the time of their appointment, therefore removing them from the military chain of command.
• National Defence is currently standing up an organisation to develop a plan to implement the recommendations from Justice Fish and other external reviews.
• Implementing Justice Fish’s recommendations, as well as the recommendations from other external reviews, requires a whole-of-Government approach. Many of the recommendations will require significant legislative and regulatory amendments, which will take time to complete.

Responsible Principals: Judge Advocate General, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff"

Judge Advocate General, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff