ARCHIVED - QR&O: Volume II - Chapter 104 Punishments and Sentences (Historical version: 28 June 2019 to 19 June 2022) 

“139. (1) The following punishments may be imposed in respect of service offences and each of those punishments is a punishment less than every punishment preceding it:

(a) imprisonment for life;

(b) imprisonment for two years or more;

(c) dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty's service;

(d) imprisonment for less than two years;

(e) dismissal from Her Majesty's service;

(f) detention;

(g) reduction in rank;

(h) forfeiture of seniority;

(i) severe reprimand;

(j) reprimand;

(k) fine; and

(l) minor punishments.”

“139. (2) Where a punishment for an offence is specified by the Code of Service Discipline and it is further provided in the alternative that on conviction the offender is liable to less punishment, the expression “less punishment” means any one or more of the punishments lower in the scale of punishments than the specified punishment.”

“140. Every person who, on conviction of a service offence, is liable to imprisonment for life, other than as a minimum punishment, or for a term of years or other term may be sentenced to imprisonment for a shorter term.”

“140.1 (1) Where a court martial imposes a punishment of imprisonment for life or for two years or more on an officer or a non-commissioned member, the court martial may in addition, notwithstanding any other provision of this Division, impose a punishment of dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty's service or a punishment of dismissal from Her Majesty's service.

(2) Where a court martial imposes a punishment of imprisonment for less than two years on an officer or a non-commissioned member, the court martial may in addition, notwithstanding any other provision of this Division, impose a punishment of dismissal from Her Majesty's service.

140.2 Where a court martial imposes a punishment of imprisonment on an officer or a non-commissioned member, the court martial may in addition, notwithstanding any other provision of this Division, impose a punishment of reduction in rank, that may be

(a) in the case of an officer, to the lowest commissioned rank; and

(b) in the case of a non-commissioned member, to the lowest rank to which under the regulations the non-commissioned member can be reduced.”

“226.1 (1) A court martial that imposes a punishment of imprisonment for life shall pronounce the following sentence:

(a) in the case of a person who has been convicted of having committed traitorously an offence of misconduct in the presence of an enemy (section 73 or 74), an offence related to security (section 75) or an offence in relation to prisoners of war (section 76), imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served 25 years of the sentence;

(b) in the case of a person who has been convicted of an offence of high treason or an offence of first degree murder, imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served 25 years of the sentence;

(c) in the case of a person who has been convicted of an offence of second degree murder and has previously been convicted of culpable homicide that is murder, imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served 25 years of the sentence;

(d) in the case of a person who has been convicted of an offence of second degree murder, imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served at least 10 years of the sentence or any greater number of years, not being more than 25, that has been substituted under subsection (2); or

(e) in the case of a person who has been convicted of any other offence, imprisonment for life with normal eligibility for parole.

(2) Sections 745.1 to 746.1 of the Criminal Code apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, to a sentence of imprisonment for life that is imposed under this Act, and for that purpose

(a) a reference in sections 745.2 to 745.3 of the Criminal Code to a jury shall be read as a reference to the panel of a General Court Martial; and

(b) in the case of a conviction that took place outside Canada, a reference in section 745.6 of the Criminal Code to the province in which a conviction took place shall be read as a reference to the province in which the offender is incarcerated when they make an application under that section.”

“226.2 (1) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, if a person receives a sentence of imprisonment for life that is imposed otherwise than as a minimum punishment or a sentence of imprisonment for two years or more on conviction for an offence set out in Schedule I or II to that Act that is punishable under section 130 of this Act, a court martial may order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the person may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less.

(2) The court martial may only make the order if it is satisfied, having regard to the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the person’s character and circumstances, that the expression of society’s denunciation of the offence or the objective of specific or general deterrence requires that the order be made.

(3) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, if a person receives a sentence of imprisonment for life that is imposed otherwise than as a minimum punishment or a sentence of imprisonment for two years or more on conviction under this Act for a criminal organization offence, the court martial may order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the person may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less.

(4) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, if a person receives a sentence of imprisonment of two years or more, including a sentence of imprisonment for life, on conviction under this Act for a terrorism offence, the court martial shall order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the person may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less, unless the court martial is satisfied, having regard to the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the person’s character and circumstances, that the expression of society’s denunciation of the offence and the objectives of specific or general deterrence would be adequately served by a period of parole ineligibility determined in accordance with the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

(5) The paramount objectives that are to guide the court martial under this section are denunciation and specific or general deterrence, with the rehabilitation of the person, in all cases, being subordinate to those paramount objectives.”

“141. (1) Where a service tribunal imposes a punishment of dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty's service on an officer or non-commissioned member, the service tribunal may in addition, notwithstanding any other provision of this Part, impose a punishment of imprisonment for less than two years.

(1.1) A punishment of dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty's service or dismissal from Her Majesty's service is deemed to be carried out as of the date on which the release of an officer or a non-commissioned member from the Canadian Forces is effected.

(2) A person on whom a punishment of dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty's service has been carried out is not, except in an emergency or unless that punishment is subsequently set aside or altered, eligible to serve Her Majesty again in any military or civil capacity.”

“142. (1) The punishment of detention is subject to the following conditions:

(a) detention may not exceed ninety days and a person sentenced to detention may not be subject to detention for more than ninety days consecutively by reason of more than one conviction; and

(b) no officer may be sentenced to detention.

(2) A non-commissioned member above the rank of private who is sentenced to detention is deemed to be reduced to the rank of private until the sentence of detention is completed.”

“143. (1) The punishment of reduction in rank applies to officers above the rank of second lieutenant and to non-commissioned members above the rank of private.

(2) The punishment of reduction in rank does not

(a) involve reduction to a rank lower than that to which under regulations the offender can be reduced; and

(b) in the case of a commissioned officer, involve reduction to a rank lower than commissioned rank.”

(2) The lowest rank to which a non-commissioned member above the rank of private may be reduced is the rank of private.

(3) In the case of a punishment of reduction to the rank of private, the offender shall hold the highest classification in that rank.

(4) Where a punishment of reduction in rank is imposed, the service tribunal shall specify the rank to which the offender is reduced.

“144. Where a court martial imposes a punishment of forfeiture of seniority on an officer or non-commissioned member, the court martial shall in passing sentence specify the period for which seniority is to be forfeited.”

“145. (1) A fine must be imposed in a stated amount.

(2) The terms of payment of a fine are in the discretion of the service tribunal that imposes the fine.

(3) The terms of payment of a fine may be varied, in the case of a summary trial, by the officer who conducted the trial, and in the case of a court martial, by the military judge who imposed the fine or a military judge designated by the Chief Military Judge.”

“203.1 (1) The fundamental purposes of sentencing are

(a) to promote the operational effectiveness of the Canadian Forces by contributing to the maintenance of discipline, efficiency and morale; and

(b) to contribute to respect for the law and the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society.

(2) The fundamental purposes shall be achieved by imposing just sanctions that have one or more of the following objectives:

(a) to promote a habit of obedience to lawful commands and orders;

(b) to maintain public trust in the Canadian Forces as a disciplined armed force; 

(c) to denounce unlawful conduct;

(d) to deter offenders and other persons from committing offences;

(e) to assist in rehabilitating offenders;

(f) to assist in reintegrating offenders into military service;

(g) to separate offenders, if necessary, from other officers or non-commissioned members or from society generally;

(h) to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and

(i) to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and an acknowledgment of the harm done to victims and to the community.

203.2 A sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender.

203.3 A service tribunal that imposes a sentence shall also take into consideration the following principles:

(a) a sentence should be increased or reduced to account for any relevant aggravating or mitigating circumstances relating to the offence or the offender, and aggravating circumstances include, but are not restricted to, evidence establishing that

(i) the offender, in committing the offence, abused their rank or other position of trust or authority,

(ii) the offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, or on any other similar factor,

(iii) the offender, in committing the offence, abused their spouse or common-law partner,

(iv) the offender, in committing the offence, abused a person under the age of 18 years,

(v) the commission of the offence resulted in substantial harm to the conduct of a military operation,

(vi) the offence was committed in a theatre of hostilities,

(vii) the offence was committed for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization, or

(viii) the offence was a terrorism offence;

(b) a sentence should be similar to sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offences committed in similar circumstances;

(c) an offender should not be deprived of liberty by imprisonment or detention if less restrictive punishments may be appropriate in the circumstances;

(c.1) all available punishments, other than imprisonment and detention, that are reasonable in the circumstances and consistent with the harm done to victims or to the community should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders;

(d) a sentence should be the least severe sentence required to maintain the discipline, efficiency and morale of the Canadian Forces; and

(e) any indirect consequences of the finding of guilty or the sentence should be taken into consideration.

203.4 When a service tribunal imposes a sentence for an offence that involved the abuse of a person under the age of 18 years, it shall give primary consideration to the objectives of denunciation and deterrence of such conduct.”

“203.8 (1) If an accused person pleads guilty to or is found guilty of an offence — other than an offence for which a minimum punishment is prescribed by law or an offence punishable by imprisonment for 14 years or for life the service tribunal before which the accused appears may, if it considers it to be in the accused person’s best interests and not contrary to the public interest, instead of convicting the accused person, direct that they be discharged absolutely.

(2) If a service tribunal directs that an offender be discharged absolutely of an offence, the offender is deemed not to have been convicted of the offence, except that

(a) they may appeal from the determination of guilt as if it were a conviction in respect of the offence;

(b) in the case of a direction to discharge made by a court martial, the Minister may appeal from the decision not to convict the offender of the offence as if that decision were a finding of not guilty in respect of the offence; and

(c) the offender may plead autrefois convict in respect of any subsequent charge relating to the offence.

(3) A reference in any Act of Parliament to a discharge under section 730 of the Criminal Code is deemed to include an absolute discharge under subsection (1).”

“203.95 Only one sentence shall be passed on an offender at a trial under the Code of Service Discipline and, if the offender is convicted of more than one offence, the sentence is good if any one of the offences would have justified it.”

“149. Where a person is under a sentence imposed by a service tribunal that includes a punishment involving incarceration and another service tribunal subsequently passes a new sentence that also includes a punishment involving incarceration, both punishments of incarceration shall, subject to section 745.51 of the Criminal Code, after the date of the pronouncement of the new sentence, run concurrently but the punishment higher in the scale of punishments shall be served first.”

“204. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and 148(1) and sections 215 to 217, the term of a punishment of imprisonment or detention shall commence on the day on which the service tribunal pronounces sentence on the offender.

(2) The only time that shall be reckoned toward the completion of a term of a punishment of imprisonment or detention shall be the time that the offender spends in civil custody or service custody while under the sentence in which that punishment is included.

(3) Where a punishment referred to in subsection (2) cannot lawfully be carried out by reason of a vessel being at sea or in a port at which there is no suitable place of incarceration, the offender shall as soon as practicable, having regard to the exigencies of the service, be sent to a place where the punishment can lawfully be carried out, and the period of time prior to the date of arrival of the offender at that place shall not be reckoned toward the completion of the term of the punishment.”

“249.27 (1) A person who is convicted of any of the following offences, or who has been convicted of any of them before the coming into force of this section, has not been convicted of a criminal offence:

(a) an offence described in section 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 95, 96, 97, 99, 101, 101.1, 102, 103, 108, 109, 112, 116, 117, 118, 118.1, 120, 121, 122, 123, 126 or 129 for which the offender is sentenced to one or more of the following punishments:

(i) a severe reprimand,

(ii) a reprimand,

(iii) a fine not exceeding basic pay for one month, or

(iv) a minor punishment;

(b) an offence under section 130 that constitutes a contravention within the meaning of the Contraventions Act.

(2) An offence referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) does not constitute an offence for the purposes of the Criminal Records Act.”