NDDN meeting 16 · 2025-12-02 — Committee Evidence — LegisWatch

Summary

The committee was studying Bill C-11, which addresses the transfer of sexual misconduct cases from the military justice system to the civilian justice system. The sole witness was the Honourable Marie Deschamps, a former Supreme Court of Canada justice who authored a 2015 report on sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Justice Deschamps testified that she has had limited contact with the CAF since her report and could not comment on current culture or processes. She expressed significant reservations about transferring low-severity sexual misconduct cases to the civilian justice system, arguing that such cases are unlikely to be prosecuted due to court backlogs and that failing to address minor misconduct risks fostering a culture of impunity. She recommended a cautious approach, including a sunset clause on the transfer obligation combined with robust data collection, rather than a simple periodic legislative review, to allow evidence-based evaluation and limit risks if the new system produces negative outcomes. She supported giving victims a choice of jurisdiction for low-severity cases but agreed with Justice Arbour that serious cases should go to civilian courts.

On other matters, Justice Deschamps stated that the sexual misconduct support and resource centre should be completely independent and responsible for data collection, which she said remains a point of tension. She supported making key military justice roles more independent from the chain of command to build trust. She noted that a liaison officer position already existed but stressed that implementation is critical, as victims were sometimes summoned without notice. She declined to comment on why Bill C-11 would remove denunciation as a guiding principle from the National Defence Act, deferring to the legislative drafter. She also said that specialized courts for sexual offences, like Quebec's model, are beneficial but may be impractical in rural areas with limited resources.

Following the witness's testimony, the committee debated a motion from Mr. Savard-Tremblay stating that victims should have access to a specialized tribunal and deploring that Bill C-11 does not provide for one. Several members expressed concern about insufficient information on the Quebec model and proposed an amendment to instead study the model further. The debate was ongoing when the meeting concluded.

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Witnesses · 1

Hon. Marie Deschamps

Lawyer, As an Individual

Opening remarks

Good afternoon, members of the Standing Committee on National Defence. Thank you for inviting me to participate in your committee's work. As you know, more than 10 years have passed since I submitted my report. During these 10 years, I've had limited contact with the Canadian Armed Forces, or CAF. I therefore have no new information to share with you on the current situation, either in terms of culture, which was one important aspect of my review, or processes, which was another. In any case, that's not the main focus of your work. The bill that you're considering relates more specifically to various aspects of military justice. I assume that you want to ask me about transferring all cases involving sexual misconduct, or having sexual connotations, from the military justice system to the civilian justice system. Two reports, each of them more recent than mine, have addressed the topic of military justice to an extent that was largely beyond my mandate. Those reports were submitted by Justice Fish, who could possibly make it here to join you, and Justice Arbour, whom I believe has testified before other committees already. The legislative changes that you're considering now are…

Full testimony ↗

National Defence

Summary

Witnesses · 1

Bills mentioned