Sitting 109 — April 23, 2026

The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-11, the military justice system modernization act, with the central political argument turning on whether victims of military sexual misconduct should have the choice to have their case heard in the military justice system or must have it transferred exclusively to civilian courts. The government also moved to change the composition of House committees to give the Liberal Party a majority on every committee, a move the opposition parties denounced as an undemocratic power grab.

Bill C-11, the military justice system modernization act, would remove Canadian Armed Forces jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada, transferring investigation and prosecution exclusively to civilian authorities. The government, led by Parliamentary Secretary Sherry Romanado and other Liberal members, argued this implements the core recommendation of former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who consulted thousands of military members and found that victims did not trust the military system. The Conservatives, led by James Bezan and supported by the Bloc Québécois, argued that the committee had heard directly from victims who wanted the option to choose between systems, and that the government’s last-minute amendments at report stage overturned amendments adopted in good faith at committee. The Bloc’s Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay said the government’s approach showed “utter contempt for the victims.” The government’s amendments were moved by Minister Maninder Sidhu and would delete or replace clauses that would have preserved concurrent jurisdiction. The Conservatives moved amendments to delete the short title and clauses 7 and 8, which would have removed the exclusive civilian jurisdiction. No vote was recorded on the amendments during this sitting.

Government Motion No. 9, moved by Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon, would increase the size of most standing committees from 10 to 12 members, giving the Liberal Party seven seats, the Conservatives four and the Bloc Québécois one, and would give the government a majority on all committees. MacKinnon argued it is a “long-standing tradition” that a party with a majority in the House has a majority on committees. The Conservatives, led by Andrew Scheer and John Brassard, argued the government obtained its majority through floor crossings and backroom deals, not through the ballot box, and that the motion would destroy the opposition’s ability to hold the government to account on oversight committees. Brassard moved an amendment to keep the ethics, government operations and public accounts committees at nine members with four Liberals, four Conservatives and one Bloc member, preserving opposition parity on those oversight bodies. The Bloc’s Yves Perron said the government gave itself a “supermajority” of 58% on committees when it holds only 50.7% of House seats, and that the government had not consulted the opposition before moving the motion.