ARCHIVED - Chapter 5: Legislative, Regulatory and Policy Initiatives

The following legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives have a direct impact on the military justice system. These initiatives reflect the sophisticated nature of the military justice system, which continually evolves in concert with societal standards and Government priorities in order to promote the rule of law and the maintenance of discipline.

5.1 Interdepartmental Collaboration

The OJAG worked with officials from the Departments of Justice and Public Safety on a variety of matters during the 2009-2010 reporting period. This interdepartmental cooperation saw the OJAG contribute to the advancement of several justice-related initiatives of the Government of Canada.

As one important example, the OJAG worked with Justice Canada and Public Safety Canada to develop legislative amendments to strengthen the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR). Within the military justice context, courts martial may order offenders to comply with the federal Sex Offender Information Registration Act⁴³ upon conviction for a designated offence.

Bill S-2, the Protecting Victims from Sex Offenders Act, was introduced on 17 March 2010.⁴⁴ Among its provisions, the Bill provides that an offender convicted of a designated sexual offence will automatically be required to register in the NSOR. The Bill will also enable police to access the NSOR for the purpose of preventing a crime of a sexual nature, instead of restricting access to circumstances where police are investigating a crime that has occurred. Bill S-2 is expected to continue to proceed through Parliament in the next reporting period.

5.2 Initiatives Specific to Military Justice

Lamer and Senate Committee recommendations

In recent years, the military justice system has been the subject of wide-ranging recommendations by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the late Right Honourable Antonio Lamer,⁴⁵ and by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (SCOLCA). The Senate Committee Report⁴⁶ contained nine recommendations, many directly related to matters addressed in legislation previously introduced by the Government. The Government reviewed and considered the Committee's recommendations, and either agreed to - or agreed to further study - all nine recommendations. The Government's response to the Senate report was tabled in the Senate on 22 October 2009.

External reviews of the Canadian Military Prosecution Service (CMPS) and Defence Counsel Services (DCS)

External reviews of the CMPS and the DCS have been completed and discussed in previous Annual Reports. The impact of the review of the CMPS is described in the DMP report at Annex C. With regard to the review of the DCS, which was delivered subsequently, the OJAG is currently reviewing the recommendations with a view to improving delivery of defence counsel services to accused persons under the CSD.

Delay

The OJAG continued to develop QR&O amendments intended to reduce delay in the military justice system. Another initiative that is expected to alleviate some of the delay in the military justice system is electronic disclosure. As all police reports are now prepared electronically, this initiative involves coordination with the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM).⁴⁷

The DMP report at Annex C discusses further efforts to alleviate delay within the court martial system.

Footnotes

⁴³ R.S.C. 2004, c. 10

⁴⁴ Bill S-2 the reintroduction of former Bill C-34 was tabled on 1 June 2009 but died on the Order Paper when Parliament was prorogued on 30 December 2009.

⁴⁵ Supra note 19

⁴⁶ Equal Justice: Reforming Canada's System of Courts Martial was tabled on 5 May 2009.

⁴⁷ The CF Provost Marshal is the senior military police officer in the CF.