Message from the Director of Military Prosecutions

I am pleased to present the Director of Military Prosecutions Annual Report for the 2019/20 reporting period, my sixth since being appointed by the Minister of National Defence on 20 October 2014.

As a Commanding Officer, it gives me great pride to lead an organization such as the Canadian Military Prosecution Service and those talented individuals who work within it. Despite this reporting period starting with uncertainty regarding the jurisdiction of the military justice system due to the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada’s decision in R v Beaudry in September 2018, our prosecution team pressed forward and made positive strides in ensuring that military justice continued in an open, transparent and principled manner that remains consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadians, especially those in uniform, should expect no less from their military prosecutors.

On 26 July 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered its decision in R v Stillman, 2019 SCC 40. This decision was the latest in a series of decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada which recognize the vital importance of the military justice system as a parallel system of justice which stands side-by-side with the criminal justice system. The Supreme Court of Canada has been resoundingly clear that the military justice system is necessary for the maintenance of discipline, efficiency and morale of the Canadian Armed Forces, and that the fundamentals of our system are constitutionally sound. No system is perfect – we can and will continue to evolve to meet the expectations of the Canadian Armed Forces and all Canadians. But, I am very proud of the role that our military prosecutors continue to fulfil each and every day within the military justice system.

This past reporting period, I have continued to engage in strategic outreach with members of the Canadian Armed Forces as well as with civilian and military prosecutors both nationally and internationally through the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Heads of Prosecution Committee and the International Association of Prosecutors. These organizations are designed to promote good relations between prosecution agencies and facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information, expertise and experience in those areas that touch upon criminal law and practice management. Through these relationships, not only do we improve the conduct of prosecutions within the Canadian Military Prosecution Service through the sharing of best practices but we also continue to strengthen the legitimacy of Canada’s military justice system.

Finally, this year saw further development of and improvement to our electronic case management system. This system tracks all court martial cases throughout the court martial process, improving transparency and efficiency by increasing accountability and reducing overall delays in the court martial system. In response to the 2018 recommendation by the Auditor General that a case management system be put in place to monitor and manage the progress and completion of military justice cases, the case management system was operationalized on 1 June 2018. The next version of our case management system, which would have been compatible with the Justice Administration and Information Management System, was scheduled to be released at the end of this reporting period. Due to the Canadian Armed Forces’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this release has been postponed until summer of 2020.

In closing, it has been another very busy and challenging year for the Canadian Military Prosecution Service and I would like to thank my entire team for their dedication, tenacity and professionalism in successfully meeting each and every one of these challenges as we continue to support the rule of law and promote the maintenance of discipline, efficiency and morale of those women and men who proudly serve Canada with distinction, both at home and abroad.

ORDO PER JUSTITIA

Colonel Bruce MacGregor, CD, Q.C.
Director of Military Prosecutions