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Bill C-25

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RECOMMENDATION

His Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled ``An Act to amend the National Defence Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts''.

SUMMARY

This enactment reforms and modernizes the National Defence Act and, in particular, the Code of Service Discipline. Key components of the enactment include:

    - clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the principal actors in the military justice system, including the Minister of National Defence and the Judge Advocate General, and the establishment of clear standards of institutional separation between the investigative, prosecutorial, defence and judicial functions;

    - establishment of a Director of Military Prosecutions who prefers all charges to be tried by court martial and has conduct of all prosecutions at court martial;

    - establishment of a Canadian Forces Grievance Board to make findings and provide recommendations to the Chief of the Defence Staff on grievances by members of the Canadian Forces;

    - establishment of a Military Police Complaints Commission to investigate complaints as to military police conduct and interfer ence with military police investigations;

    - abolition of the death penalty and substitution of the punishment of life imprisonment; and

    - increased reporting through the release of annual reports by the Canadian Forces Grievance Board, the Military Police Com plaints Commission and the Judge Advocate General.