March 6, 2015
OTTAWA – Colonel Delaney, the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and Commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police, today issued the following statement:
“I feel it is important to clarify the concerns of secrecy surrounding the Notice of Action (NoA) I have submitted to the Chairperson of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC).
“There has never been an attempt to prevent the inclusion of the content of the NoA in the MPCC Final Report regarding the Fynes Public Interest Hearing. That was communicated to the Chair of the MPCC on February 11, 2015 when I offered to remove the “Protected B” designation so that the MPCC could freely use and reference that information contained therein in its final report. The Chair declined that offer.
“My request to incorporate the contents of the NoA into the MPCC’s Final Report rather than simply appending it stems from my concern over the possible impact of having the NoA attached to the report without the benefit of the contextual references, and in particular, the impact on the openness of communications between our respective organizations during the period between the issuance of interim and final reports.
“My intent was to continue to safeguard the MPCC’s Interim Report, subsequent discussions on its content and our formal response to it via the NoA. I feel this is in line with the decision of the Chair of the MPCC to not release the Interim Report while still allowing the Chair to include any and all information it chooses within its Final Report.
“While I could wait on a judicial ruling on the issue of procedure, I don't feel it would be in line with our principles of openness and transparency. To resolve the apparent impasse in the current case, please be advised that I am approving the removal of the designation from the NoA effective the date of the release of the Final Report.
“I hope this better clarifies the situation and reassures the Fynes family that they will have complete access to our response to the Final Report.
“I remain committed to working with the MPCC to safeguard the world-class reputation Canada's Military Police have established over the past 75 years.”
- 30 -
