Chapter 1: Organization and Personnel
1.1. Structure of the Canadian Military Prosecution Service
1. The CMPS structure changed during the reporting period. Previously, Regional Military Prosecutors (RMPs) were assigned to one of five Regional Offices. As of July 2023, RMPs are now titled Military Prosecutors, and the Regional Office structure has been removed. All Military Prosecutors are now divided into two teams (Team One and Team Two). Prosecutors and administrative legal assistants were divided between the two teams and a prosecutor has been identified in each team to act as the team lead. The organisational chart is now as follows:
Organisational chart description
- Director of Military Prosecutions
- Assistant Director of Military Prosecutions
- CFNIS LA (Canadian Forces National Investigation Service Legal Advisor)
- Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Operations
- Assistant Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Operations
- Team 1
- Team 2
- Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Strategic
- Appellate Counsel
- Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Reserve
- Reserve Force Prosecutors
- Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – SMART
- Assistant Director of Military Prosecutions
DMP
2. The Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) is the senior military prosecutor in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). He is appointed by the Minister of National Defence (MND) for a fixed term, pursuant to subsection 165.1(1) of the National Defence Act (NDA).Footnote 1 Under the NDA, the DMP is responsible for preferring all charges to be tried by court martial and for the conduct of all prosecutions at courts martial. The DMP acts as counsel to the MND, when instructed, with respect to appeals to the Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC) and the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). The DMP is also responsible to provide advice in support of investigations conducted by the Military Police. The DMP represents the CAF at custody review hearings before military judges and the CMAC.
3. In accordance with section 165.15 of the NDA, the DMP may be assisted and represented, to the extent determined by the DMP, by officers who are barristers or advocates with standing at the bar of a province. In this regard, the DMP is assisted by Regular and Reserve Force legal officers appointed to act as Military Prosecutors, along with a civilian paralegal and support staff. This organization, known as the CMPS, is headquartered in Ottawa.
ADMP
4. The Assistant Director of Military Prosecutions (ADMP) is responsible to assist the DMP in the corporate governance of the CMPS. The ADMP also fulfils the responsibilities of the DMP in his absence and supervises the CFNIS Legal Advisor.
DDMPs
5. The roles of the Deputy Directors of Military Prosecutions (DDMPs) are:
- The DDMP Operations (DDMP Ops) is responsible for the management of the court martial calendar and file assignments. DDMP Ops supervises and mentors the Military Prosecutors;
- The DDMP Strategic (DDMP Strat) supervises the Appellate Counsel. DDMP Strat tracks all matters of national interest occurring at the trial level and develops standardized legal positions on key areas of law. DDMP Strat may also appear as counsel on behalf of the MND for matters at the CMAC and SCC;
- The DDMP Reserves (DDMP Res) is responsible for the overall supervision and management of Reserve Force prosecutors; and
- The DDMP for the Sexual Misconduct Action Response Team (DDMP SMART) is an experienced Reserve Force prosecutor and is primarily responsible for mentoring Military Prosecutors in the performance of their duties related to serious sexual misconduct prosecutions.
ADDMP Ops
6. The Assistant DDMP Ops (ADDMP Ops) supports the DDMP Ops in supervising and mentoring the Military Prosecutors. The ADDMP Ops acts as DDMP Ops during absences.
Appellate Counsel
7. The Appellate Counsel prepares and files written materials and appears as counsel on behalf of the MND for all matters at the CMAC and the SCC.
CFNIS Legal Advisor
8. The CFNIS Legal Advisor is a Military Prosecutor embedded with the CFNIS and responsible to provide legal advice to members of the CFNIS HQ. The CFNIS Legal Advisor also provides advice to investigators throughout all stages of investigations, as well as updates on developments in the criminal law.
Military Prosecutors
9. Military Prosecutors are divided between Team 1 and Team 2. Each team has one prosecutor acting as the Team Lead. Team Leads are responsible to manage the day-to-day operations of their group and to supervise the civilian administrative support staff assigned to their team. The CMPS establishment provides for 9 Regular Force Military Prosecutors.
10. Military Prosecutors are responsible for the conduct of courts martial, for representing the CAF at custody review hearings, and for the provision of legal advice and training to the military police. From time to time, they may participate in appellate work.
Reserve Force Prosecutors
11. The CMPS relies on 9 experienced civilian prosecutors who are members of the Reserve Force. These members consist of the DDMP Reserves, the DDMP SMART, and seven prosecutors who assist their Regular Force counterparts in the prosecution of cases at courts martial.
1.2 CMPS Personnel Update
Regular Force
12. The CMPS integrated two new Regular Force legal officers as Military Prosecutors this reporting period, both posted in the National Capital Region. One Military Prosecutor retired and released from the CAF.
13. For a significant portion of the year, the CMPS operated with seven Military Prosecutors due to two prosecutors being on extended leave.
Reserve Force
14. One new prosecutor joined the Reserve Force team this reporting period.
Civilian Personnel
15. CMPS continued to rely on a term contract to fill one long term vacancy that commenced during the last reporting period and lasted for most of this year. As a result, the CMPS operated with a full complement of civilian staff during this reporting period.
1.3 Training and Continuing Legal Education
16. As in previous years, the DMP maintained the training of members of the CMPS as one of the top priorities. Aside from the annual JAG Continuing Legal Education (CLE) workshop, the CMPS continues to rely heavily on external organizations to fulfill most of its training requirements.
17. During this reporting period, CMPS legal officers participated in legal education programs delivered by several organizations. The table provides an overview of the training received this year:
| Course title | Provider | Number of Attendees |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence (online) | The Advocates’ Society | 1 |
| Dealing with Difficult Counsel (online) | The Advocates’ Society | 1 |
| Objection! (online) | The Advocates’ Society | 2 |
| Pozner on Cross (online) | The Advocates’ Society | 3 |
| Taking the Surprise Out of Trial (online) | Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (Quebec) | 1 |
| Assises criminelles (22e édition de l'École des poursuivants) | International Association of Prosecutors | 1 |
| 28th Annual Conference | Federation of Law Societies of Canada | 2 |
| National Criminal Law Program | Law Society of Ontario | 9 |
| Plaidoyer en français (online) | Le Barreau du Québec | 1 |
| C-46 and Drug Impairment (online) | Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association | 1 |
| Search and Seizure | Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association | 1 |
| Sentencing | Osgoode Hall Law School | 2 |
| 27th Annual Course on Written Advocacy | Osgoode Hall Law School | 2 |
| Drafting and Reviewing Search Warrants (online) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 1 |
| Evidence Law Update (online) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 4 |
| Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop | Osgoode Hall Law School | 1 |
| The Civil Litigator’s Guide to Evidence (online) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 1 |
| Seach and Seizure Law in Canada (online) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 1 |
| Tech Crime and Electronic Evidence (online) | Osgoode Hall Law School | 2 |
| Strangulation Education/Prevention | Ottawa Police Service | 2 |
| Technological Evidence: Its Use and Developments (online) | Quebec Legal Information Society | 1 |
| Thinking, Fast and Slow (online) | University of Zurich | 2 |
18. The CMPS also provides training to the Military Police, the OJAG and other CAF entities. During the reporting period, this included the mentoring and supervision by Military Prosecutors of junior legal officers from the OJAG who completed a portion of their “on the job training” by assisting at courts martial. The CMPS also provided support to military justice briefings given to OJAG legal officers and to other members of the CAF. Finally, the CMPS provided an instructor to teach on the Military Police Investigator Course at the Military Police Academy.
1.4. Temporary Duty (TD)
19. Military Prosecutors are called upon to travel for significant periods of time to conduct courts martial and appeals, or to attend training events. This year, members of the CMPS were on TD for a total of 651 days. Here is a breakdown of the types of TD:Footnote 2
| Court Martial Related TD | Appeal Related TD | Training Related TD | Other TD | Total TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HQ (8 officers) | 10 | 4 | 69 | 54 | 137 |
| Reg F Prosecutors (10 officers) | 379 | 14 | 72 | 0 | 465 |
| Res F Prosecutors (7 officers) | 38 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 49 |
| Total | 427 | 18 | 152 | 54 | 651 |