Chapter 1: Organization and Personnel

1.1. Structure of the Canadian Military Prosecution Service

1. As noted in last year’s Annual Report, the CMPS transitioned from a regional structure to two national teams of Military Prosecutors, each with designated team leads and supported by two legal assistants.  During this reporting period, the new structure has demonstrated its value.  It has allowed for greater flexibility in resource allocation, strengthened our operational depth, and improved our ability to respond to national priorities.  The centralized model has also enhanced consistency across prosecutions and encouraged stronger collaboration across the organization. This structure has broadened the ability of our legal assistants to support a wider range of Military Prosecutors across both teams, fostering integration and improving continuity of support.  The organizational chart is as follows:

Director of Military Prosecutions

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 (MP).  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.

Assistant Director of Military Prosecutions

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 Legal Advisor to the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS).

Deputy Directors of Military Prosecutions

5. The Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Operations (DDMP Ops) oversees the conduct of prosecutions within the military justice system.  The DDMP Ops supervises and mentors Military Prosecutors and ensures the effective delivery of prosecution services across the CMPS.

6. The Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Strategic (DDMP Strat) supervises the Appellate Counsel, monitors matters of national interest arising 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 before the CMAC and the SCC.

7. The Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Reserves (DDMP Res) is responsible for the overall management and supervision of Reserve Force Military Prosecutors.

8. The Deputy Director of Military Prosecutions – Sexual Misconduct Action Response Team (DDMP SMART) is an experienced Reserve Force Military Prosecutor. DDMP SMART plays a key mentoring role by supporting Military Prosecutors in the conduct of prosecutions involving serious sexual offences.

Assistant Deputy Director Military Prosecutions - Operations

9. The Assistant Deputy Director Military Prosecutions - Operations (ADDMP Ops) supports the DDMP Ops in supervising and mentoring the Military Prosecutors.  The ADDMP Ops acts as the DDMP Ops during absences.

Appellate Counsel

10. 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. 

Canadian Forces National Investigation Service Legal Advisor

11. The CFNIS Legal Advisor (CFNIS LA) is a Military Prosecutor embedded with the CFNIS and is responsible for providing legal advice to the command team of the CFNIS. The Legal Advisor also supports ongoing investigations by advising CFNIS investigators and delivering updates on developments in criminal law relevant to their work.

Military Prosecutors

12. Military Prosecutors are responsible for conducting courts martial, representing the CAF at custody review hearings, and providing legal advice and training to the Canadian Forces Military Police Group (CF MP Gp). They may also, on occasion, contribute to appellate matters.

13. Military Prosecutors are assigned to either Team 1 or Team 2, each led by a designated Team Lead. Team Leads are also responsible for supervising the legal assistants supporting their respective teams. The CMPS establishment currently includes nine (9) Regular Force Military Prosecutors.

Reserve Force Military Prosecutors

14. The CMPS relies on experienced civilian prosecutors who are members of the Reserve Force.  They include the DDMP Res, the DDMP SMART, and six (6) Reserve Force Military Prosecutors who assist their Regular Force colleagues in the conduct of courts martial.

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1.2 Personnel Update

Regular Force

15. During the reporting period, the CMPS welcomed one new Regular Force Legal Officer. One Military Prosecutor was posted out of the organization, and another Military Prosecutor began an extended leave in November 2024, resulting in a reduced complement for approximately half the fiscal year. In February 2025, one Military Prosecutor was seconded to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) for a four-month assignment working as a Crown Attorney with their Yukon Regional Prosecution Office, based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Reserve Force

16. During this reporting period, the DDMP Res departed the organization following their appointment as the Assistant Deputy Judge Advocate General – Reserves within the Office of the Judge Advocate General (OJAG). The position was subsequently filled by the Reserve Force Military Prosecutor previously assigned as the DDMP SMART, who performed the functions of both positions throughout the remainder of the reporting period.

Civilian Personnel

17. During the reporting period, one indeterminate legal assistant departed the organization. CMPS promptly staffed the position on a casual basis, enabling the organization to continue operating with a full complement of civilian personnel for the remainder of the fiscal year.

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1.3 Training and Continuing Legal Education

18. Training and professional development remained a top priority for the CMPS during this reporting period. In addition to the annual JAG Continuing Legal Education (CLE) workshop, the CMPS continued to rely on external organizations to meet the majority of its training needs. This approach allows the CMPS to benefit from diverse perspectives, remain current with best practices across various specialized organizations, and leverage the expertise of leading institutions in areas such as criminal law, advocacy, technology and evidence.

19. In parallel, the CMPS developed and delivered a unique, in-house course on trial planning and preparation designed specifically for Military Prosecutors. Held over four days, the course offered an immersive and hands-on learning experience where participants were required to plan and prepare a criminal trial from referral of charges through to the conduct of the court martial. Military Prosecutors worked through a comprehensive scenario including an investigation report and evidentiary materials. The course was attended by all CMPS Military Prosecutors and also welcomed two international Military Prosecutors from the Defence Forces of Ireland and Australia. The presence of our international colleagues fostered rich discussion and the exchange of best practices. Feedback from participants, particularly from our international guests, was overwhelmingly positive, underscoring the value and uniqueness of this initiative within the broader military justice community.

20. Over the course of the year, Military Prosecutors participated in a range of legal education programs delivered by various organizations. The table below provides an overview of the training activities completed during the reporting period:

Course title	Provider	Number of Attendees
Trial Planning Course	Canadian Military Prosecution Service	15
JAG CLE Symposium	Office of the Judge Advocate General	15
National Criminal Law Program	Federation of Law Societies of Canada	7
IAP 29th Annual Conference (Baku)	International Association of Prosecutors	2
Trial Advocacy	Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association	1
Nuts and Bolts	Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association	1
Sentencing	Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association	2
Search and Seizure	Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association	1
Cybercrime	Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association	1
Mental Health	Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association	1
Pozner on Cross	The Advocates’ Society	1
Litigator’s Guide to AI	The Advocates’ Society	1
Assises criminelles	Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales du Québec	1
Litigator’s Guide to Evidence	Osgoode Professional Development	1
Tech Crime	Osgoode Professional Development	1
Search and Seizure	Osgoode Symposium	1
Drafting Warrants	Osgoode Symposium	1
Sexual Assaults	Osgoode Symposium	1
Criminal Law Conference	Le Barreau du Québec	1
AI Tutorial	LexisNexis	2
Current Issues in Sentencing	Osgoode Hall Law School	1
Current Issues in the Law of Evidence	Osgoode Hall Law School	1
Science of Advocacy	Advocacy Hour	1
Written Advocacy Course	Public Prosecution Service of Canada	1

21. The CMPS also provides training to the CF MP Gp, the OJAG, and other CAF entities. During the reporting period, this included 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 supported military justice briefings delivered to OJAG Legal Officers and other CAF personnel. In addition, several Military Prosecutors, including the ADMP and the ADDMP Ops, provided training during several Military Police Investigator Course (MPIC) serials taught at the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA), strengthening investigators’ understanding of legal concepts and reinforcing interagency collaboration.

This year also marked the start of the CMPS's participation in the training of CAF members seeking to be designated as Victim Liaison Officers (VLOs) – a role created by the implementation of Bill C-77. This training is coordinated and delivered under the leadership of the Chief Professional Conduct and Culture (CPCC). Military Prosecutors now contribute to every VLO training serial by providing instruction on the military justice system and court-martial proceedings, ensuring that prospective VLOs are well informed of the roles and responsibilities of military justice system actors and the legal context. This training is delivered in both official languages.

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1.4. Temporary Duty

23. Military Prosecutors are regularly required to travel for extended periods to conduct courts martial and appeals, or to participate in training activities. During this reporting period, members of the CMPS were on temporary duty (TD) for a cumulative total of 532 days. The breakdown of TD days by activity type is as follows:^{Footnote 2}

	Court Martial Related TD	Appeal Related TD	Training Related TD	Other TD	Total TD
HQ (8 officers)	17	6	79	18	120
Reg F Prosecutors (10 officers)	172	0	104	11	287
Res F Prosecutors (7 officers)	24	0	101	0	125
Total	213	6	284	29	532