David McGuinty, national defence minister speaking on Parliament Hill Friday, announced details about legislation that died in the last Parliament that would remove the military's ability to investigate and prosecute sexual offences under the Criminal Code and turn it over to civilian authorities.
The Liberal government is taking another shot at modernizing the military justice system in an effort to stamp out sexual misconduct in the ranks.
Defence Minister David McGuinty introduced the bill, which will amend the National Defence Act with changes that will — among other things — remove the military's jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual offences.
The previous Liberal government had planned to make the changes, but the proposed legislation was scuttled when former prime minister Justin Trudeau asked the governor general to prorogue Parliament in January.
On Friday, McGuinty told reporters that the new legislation is largely identical to the bill that was lost when the legislative agenda was wiped clean.
He said the proposed legislation would provide exclusive jurisdiction to civilian authorities to investigate and prosecute sexual offences committed in Canada by members of the military, even if they're on Defence Department property.
That was one of the major recommendations of Justice Louise Arbour's review of the sexual misconduct crisis that rocked the military for several years and led to the prosecution — and the attempted prosecution — of a handful of former senior leaders.
The Liberal government is taking another shot at modernizing the military justice system in an effort to stamp out sexual misconduct in the ranks by amending the National Defence Act to remove the military's jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual offences. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Ontario framework can serve as example: McGuinty
Handing jurisdiction over investigating and prosecuting sexual offences to the civilian justice system was the subject of intense negotiations between the federal government and the provinces.
McGuinty said there's been important progress in that regard, and a memorandum that sets the framework for the transfers to the civilian justice system has been signed with Ontario.
"I think so far the progress has been quite encouraging, certainly with Ontario, and I think we can use Ontario as a wonderful demonstration project for the rest of the country," McGuinty said.
Prior to prorogation, some critics of the earlier version of the legislation had said it didn't go far enough and argued that the original bill focused too narrowly on sexual misconduct rather than the root cause of the problem, which was said to be a failure of leadership and accountability at the highest levels of the military.
Minister of National Defence David McGuinty, seen speaking with media on Parliament Hill earlier this month, said there was wide support for the changes under the previous Liberal government, but the proposed legislation was scuttled when Parliament was prorogued in January. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
McGuinty said the previous version of the bill had received wide political backing.
"Bill C-66 had all-party support," McGuinty said Friday.
"We intend to build on that base, we intend to cultivate that support, and we intend to have it debated openly and widely and transparently at committee. We think this takes us a huge distance down the road."
The amendments also address recommendations made by former supreme court justice Morris J. Fish.
In his independent review of the overall military justice system, Fish recommended modifying the process for the appointment of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, the Director of Military Prosecutions, and the Director of Defence Counsel Services.
Instead of being appointed by the military's top commander, the positions will be Governor-in-Council appointments, which McGuinty said will insulate them from real or perceived influence from the chain of command.
[SRC] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/military-sexual-misconduct-1.7645045
