# 2020-054 Careers, Remedial measures

Case summary

F&R Date: 2021-06-29

The grievor, a Military Police (MP) member, disputed the remedial measure (RM) he received for acting outside of his jurisdictional authority. He argued that the Canadian Forces MP Group Order 2-110 (the Order), and the Defence Controlled Access Area Regulations (DCAAR), provided the authority to act as he did. The grievor contended that the Order is “confusing and contradictory”, lacks clear objectives and does not allow MP patrols to solve problems or make timely decisions. In support of his argument, the grievor submitted a Military Prosecutor's Report detailing the jurisdictional misconceptions. As redress, the grievor sought the removal and destruction of the RM.

The Initial Authority (IA), the Canadian Armed Forces Provost Marshall (CFPM), denied redress finding that the grievor had no jurisdiction under the DCAAR to intervene as a peace officer since the individual was not subject to the Code of Service Discipline (CSD) and there were no grounds indicating there was a threat to the defence establishment. The IA concluded that the RM correctly identified the grievor's actions as a conduct deficiency for failing to follow the Order.

The Committee found that the individual in question was not subject to the CSD but concluded that the DCAAR permits authorized personnel such as MPs to enforce and protect the safety and security of a defence establishment where there are reasonable grounds for that CFPM to believe that there was an obvious or potential threat, not only to the defence establishment, but also to the persons on that establishment. The grievor explained that the individual was travelling at 169 km/h approaching one of the main intersections of the base and that he viewed this very dangerous driving as posing a threat of harm to the people on the establishment.

The Committee reviewed and accepted the grievor's reasoning that the speeding motorist presented a threat to the safety of the personnel of the base, finding that he acted in good faith and for the purpose of ensuring public safety.

Despite spending a considerable amount of time reviewing the Order and its application to this grievance, the Committee could not determine with certainty how the policy should apply to the grievor's circumstances. Noting that others have expressed the same misgivings about the lack of clarity, the Committee found that the issue of MP jurisdiction was not well enough explained in the Order, contrary to the claims of the CFPM. As such, the Committee found that the determination by the grievor's chain of command that he deliberately ignored the policy by his actions was not supported by reliable evidence.

The Committee concluded that the RM issued to the grievor was not justified and recommended that it be quashed and removed from his records.

FA decision summary

The Acting Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that the Initial Counselling and Personnel Development Review be deleted from the grievor personnel file. The Acting CDS found that there was no reliable evidence that the grievor's actions were the result of a conduct deficiency to justify a remedial measure. The Acting CDS also agreed that the Personnel Development Review Section 5(b) that the grievor received highlighting the events was neither fair nor effective given the circumstances. The motorcyclist was travelling at 169 km/h and approaching one of the major intersections of the Base and indeed posed a threat of harm to the people on the establishment. The grievor acted in good faith for the purpose of ensuring public safety, and the Acting CDS accepted his explanation as to why not contacting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police right away in the circumstances. The Acting CDS also found that the applicable excerpts of MP Group Order 2-110 and DCAAR are not clear with respect to MP jurisdiction and that a review and update as well as further training is warranted. Therefore, he directed the CFPM to conduct a review of DCAAR and MP Group Order 2-110 with a view to updating and clarifying MP Group orders as required to ensure a common understanding among the Canadian Armed Forces and the military police as to the scope of their jurisdiction.