This House of Commons National Defence committee meeting studied Bill C-11, which proposes transferring the investigation and prosecution of Criminal Code sexual offences involving Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members to civilian authorities. Witnesses included retired Corporal Elvira Jaszberenyi, Master of Social Work Paula MacDonald, Heather Vanderveer, Rachelle Smith, Chief Constable Fiona Wilson of the Victoria Police Department, Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan (Canadian Forces Provost Marshal), Colonel Nooral Ahmed (Director of Defence Counsel Services), and Colonel Dylan Kerr (Director of Military Prosecutions).
Elvira Jaszberenyi testified that her sexual assault case was botched by the National Investigation Service (NIS), which tampered with evidence and ignored the accused's admission, and that the chain of command (COC) retaliated against her, pressured her to accept a redacted file, and ultimately released her wrongfully while the perpetrator remained employed on base. She recommended implementing previous justice recommendations, ensuring victims have rights equal to the accused, and removing gatekeepers who silence victims, arguing that the military justice system and police should not overlap.
Paula MacDonald described how the CAF used its powers to control, minimize, and bury her reports of sexual harassment and assault, reframing her complaints as a mental health problem and threatening her with discharge. She argued that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies and that the CAF's misuse of state power is exactly why reforms like Bill C-11 and a shift to independent civilian jurisdiction over sexual offences are urgently needed.
Heather Vanderveer stated that Bill C-11 as drafted does not protect survivors and risks harming them further by creating more steps, hand-offs, and opportunities for avoidance without assigning clear responsibility. She argued that civilian courts are unprepared for the complexities of military cases and that the bill reorganizes the cracks rather than fixing them, recommending that true modernization requires accountability, clarity, and survivor-centred outcomes.
Rachelle Smith, a former U.S. Air Force officer, described how the system's response to her assault shaped her service and life, noting that retaliation followed even without a full report. She stated that Bill C-11's measures for independent investigative authority, external judicial oversight, and protected support mechanisms create conditions for survivors to report without fear, and that accountability requires clear processes, credible oversight, and reliable support.
Chief Constable Fiona Wilson supported the direction of Bill C-11 but stated unequivocally that the Victoria Police Department cannot absorb the additional workload from CFB Esquimalt without dedicated federal funding, a coordinated national framework, national reporting, and federal support for historical and complex files. She noted that the earlier 2021 transfer occurred with little notice and no additional resources, and that a single sexual offence investigation can require hundreds of hours.
Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan argued that the military police operate under statutory independence from the chain of command, are highly trained, and are uniquely positioned to conduct multi-jurisdictional investigations. She stated that removing concurrent jurisdiction removes victim choice and a trauma-informed approach, noting that since 2021, 270 of 735 reported incidents were retained by military police at the victim's request, indicating renewed confidence.
Colonel Nooral Ahmed stated that Bill C-11 enhances the independence of the Director of Defence Counsel Services but does not provide meaningful structural safeguards, as the JAG retains broad authority over the director and the lawyers. He recommended repealing section 249.2 of the National Defence Act and placing defence counsel lawyers under the sole command of the director, and noted that transferring cases to civilian courts would leave CAF members without access to free legal representation.
Colonel Dylan Kerr stated that significant improvements have been made to the military justice system since 2021 and that victims are better served by retaining concurrent jurisdiction, recommending that clauses 7 and 8 of the bill be struck. He supported strengthening the Director of Military Prosecutions position but recommended that the disciplinary framework be amended to provide for removal as the only remedy, and expressed concern that the acting director provisions are too restrictive.
The committee then moved to committee business, where a motion was passed to invite the Minister of National Defence to appear for one hour on the Supplementary Estimates (B) prior to December 5, 2025, and for one hour on the implications of Budget 2025 on defence and NATO-related spending at a later date. A motion to invite the Parliamentary Budget Officer for two hours on a capital spending report was defeated. The committee discussed scheduling for remaining Bill C-11 witnesses and clause-by-clause consideration, noting that the Minister of Justice declined an invitation to appear.
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