Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Bill to Reform Military Justice

The Library of Parliament recently made public its Legislative Summary of Bill C-41: An Act to amend the National Defence Act:

"The bill largely reproduces the provisions in the former Bill C-45, which received first reading on 3 March 2008 during the 2nd Session of the 39th Parliament."

"In addition, Bill C-41 takes into account the amendments to the National Defence Act (NDA) made by the former Bill S-3, which was passed into law in March 2007 and provides for a national databank for information about persons found guilty of military offences of a sexual nature."

(...)

"Overall, Bill C-41 responds to most of the recommendations made by the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, former Chief Justice of Canada, in his 2003 report (Lamer Report). Essentially, the amendments set out in the bill clarify the amendments introduced in 1998 by Bill C-25 and make substantial improvements to the military justice system. While that system is made more consistent with the system established in the Criminal Code (the Code), Bill C-41 also recognizes the unique nature of the military system, in order to provide the degree of flexibility that is needed for maintaining discipline. As well, the bill enhances the effectiveness of the military justice system and provides for the key players in that system, in particular military judges and the Director of Defence Counsel Services, to be more independent and impartial."

It is possible to follow the progress of the bill via the LEGISinfo website.