The BCCLA is releasing a report that raises serious questions about the reworking of Canada’s military justice system through proposed amendments to the National Defence Act. The Association says the amendments do not go far enough to protect soldiers from being wrongfully convicted of criminal offences.
“When soldiers are accused of crimes or of failing to adhere to policy or procedure, they are as entitled as any other Canadians to due process protections,” said BCCLA Vice-President Jason Gratl who presented in Ottawa to the House of Commons committee investigating the bill on Monday. “We have some grave concerns that if this bill is introduced as it stands our soldiers will not get fair hearings.”
The BCCLA’s report raises a number of issues with the proposed bill, including the fact that significant criminal penalties, including criminal records and jail, can result from a process that could deny a soldier the right to legal representation, the right to only be found guilty if the evidence establishes such a fact beyond a reasonable doubt, the right to be presumed innocent, and the right to impartial adjudication of one’s case.
“We are concerned about many technical issues that add up to the distinct possibility of a miscarriage of justice that is anything but technical,” said Gratl. “When you combine the shortcuts this bill proposes, the end result may be a deprivation of liberty without anything approaching minimum Canadian due process standards.”
Bill C-41 is titled An Act to amend the National Defence Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. While the BCCLA has registered serious concerns with the government through the presentation of this report, the Association does recognizes that Bill C-41 does increase some procedural protections which will help minimize the risk of wrongful convictions.
To read the BCCLA report (PDF), click here
MEDIA CONTACTS: Jason Gratl, Vice-President, (604) 317-1919 / OTTAWA Robert Holmes, President, (604) 681-1310 / VANCOUVER David Eby, Executive Director, (778)865-7997 / VANCOUVER
