Library of Parliament Article on Canadian and Global Military Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

HillNotes, a publication of the Library of Parliament in Ottawa, has published an article on Canadian and Global Military Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic:

"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in Canada and other countries have mobilized and deployed their military to assist civilian authorities. Each country has used its military resources differently."

"To date, the military in Canada has responded to local requests for assistance in addressing the pandemic, such as supporting long-term care facilities, deploying the Canadian Rangers in Northern communities and providing logistics support. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) stands ready to mobilize some 24,000 personnel – including reservists – under Operation LASER."

"This HillNote outlines the basis for the Canadian military’s assistance to civilian authorities in emergency situations. It then provides an overview of ways in which Canada’s military, and those in allied and like-minded countries, are assisting those authorities in dealing with the pandemic."

Updated International Law Research Guides From GlobaLex

GlobaLex, the electronic collection created by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law, recently updated some of its research guides.

These include:

• Cyberwarfare and Collateral Damages: "The purpose of this paper is to offer an introductory overview on the collateral damages and victims of cyberwarfare. Cyberwarfare is a new type of warfare that poses numerous challenges. The article illustrates some basic definitions of cyberwarfare and cyber weapons proposed so far, as well as the international legal framework. Furthermore, the article addresses collateral damages and the role of the victims including illustrations of two paradigmatic cases of widely known cyberattacks."
• Researching Indigenous Peoples International Law: "This article is designed to provide a foundation for researching indigenous international law by covering the definition of 'indigenous peoples', a brief history, key terms and issues, regional and international organizations including the United Nations, international documentation such as treaties, selected books and articles, online sources, and other secondary sources."

Recent Research Publications from Canada's Library of Parliament

The Library of Parliament has published a number of research publications recently:

• The New Veterans Charter: Developments Since Its Adoption in 2006 : "On 1 April 2006, the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act1 came into force. Commonly known as the New Veterans Charter (NVC), it became the legislative framework for the programs, services and benefits provided to Canadian veterans through Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) (...) Since the NVC was adopted, various stakeholders have reviewed the regime it established. They noted its positive aspects, but also identified significant shortcomings. Many recommendations to improve the new programs have been put forward by, among others, the Veterans Ombudsman, the parliamentary committees on veterans' affairs, the New Veterans Charter Advisory Group, and various veterans' rights groups. Changes have been made to address some of these shortcomings. For example, the budget implementation bills of June 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 brought in changes and added new provisions to the NVC.This document summarizes the purpose and content of the NVC, the changes made to date, and some ongoing issues."
• Cybersecurity: Technical and Policy Challenges : "Starting with a quick overview of some of the types of cyberthreats confronting Canada and its allies, this paper examines how Canada defines cybersecurity and considers the many human, technical, economic and political factors that make achieving cybersecurity so difficult. Finally, it touches on some of the international initiatives that have been undertaken to enhance cybersecurity."
• Carbon Pricing Policy in Canada : "Policies that put a price on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are in place in a number of jurisdictions. Commonly referred to as “carbon pricing systems,” they are meant to help reduce the GHG emissions that are contributing to climate change. In Canada, carbon pricing policy is in development. On 15 January 2018, the federal government published for public comment a document on draft legislation aimed at codifying its proposed national carbon pricing system. The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is expected to be introduced in the House of Commons during the 1st Session of the 42nd Parliament. The proposed legislation would require provinces and territories to implement carbon pricing systems by 1 January 2019, or adopt a federally administered carbon pricing system that the federal government calls the 'backstop.' Jurisdictions where no carbon pricing system is adopted, or where the pricing system fails to meet federal standards, will have the backstop imposed on them, in whole or in part, on the same date. Several Canadian provinces have already implemented some form of carbon pricing, and other provinces and territories have either announced pricing systems or are studying the question. The federal government has asked provinces and territories to detail their carbon pricing approach by 1 September 2018. After a discussion of what carbon pricing is and how it works, this document presents the federal, provincial and territorial pricing systems. "

Statistics Canada Report on Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces

Stratistics Canada released a report earlier this week on Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, 2016:

"From April to June, 2016, active Regular Force and Primary Reserve members were invited to complete an electronic questionnaire asking about their experiences and perceptions of inappropriate sexualized behaviour, discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and sexual assault within the Canadian Armed Forces. This included seeing, hearing or experiencing these types of behaviours within the military workplace, or outside the military workplace but involving other military members or Department of Defence employees or contractors. Responses were received from over 43,000 active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, including members of the Regular Force and Primary Reserve."

Among the highlights:

• In the past 12 months, just under 1,000 Regular Force members of the Canadian Armed Forces, or 1.7%, were victims of sexual assault (i.e., sexual attacks, unwanted sexual touching, or sexual activity to which the victim is unable to consent, which occurred in the military workplace or involving military members, Department of National Defence employees, or contractors). Unwanted sexual touching was the most common form of sexual assault, reported by 1.5% of Regular Force members.
• Women in the Regular Force were more likely than men to be sexually assaulted (4.8% versus 1.2%) in the past 12 months.
• Half (49%) of women who were victims of sexual assault in the past 12 months identified their supervisor or someone of a higher rank as the perpetrator. For male victims, a peer was most commonly the perpetrator (56%).
• Among Regular Force members, 27.3% of women and 3.8% of men have been victims of sexual assault at least once since joining the Canadian Armed Forces. More specifically, 24.0% of women and 3.4% of men in the Regular Force have been victims of unwanted sexual touching, the most common type of sexual assault.
• Four in five (79%) members of the Regular Force saw, heard, or were personally targeted by sexualized behaviour in the military workplace or involving other military members, Department of National Defence employees, or contractors, within the past 12 months.
•  Sexual jokes were the most common type of sexualized behaviour in the workplace, seen, heard, or experienced by 76% of Regular Force members. Of those who reported sexual jokes in the workplace, almost half (46%) stated that they occurred ten or more times in the past 12 months.
• One-third (34%) of Regular Force members saw, heard, or experienced discriminatory behaviour in the workplace in the past 12 months. This discrimination most typically took the form of suggestions that people do not act like men or women are supposed to act (22%).
• Close to one in five (17%) Regular Force members were personally targeted by sexualized or discriminatory behaviour in the past 12 months. Women were twice as likely as men to report being personally targeted by sexualized or discriminatory behaviour in the workplace or involving military members (31% versus 15%).

New International Law Research Guides From Globalex

GlobaLex, the electronic collection created by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law, recently added two new research guides:

• Cyberwarfare and Collateral Damages: "The purpose of this paper is to offer an introductory overview on the collateral damages of cyberwarfare. This paper offers an overview on cyberwarfare with focus on collateral damages and the role of victims. Cyberwarfare is a new type of warfare that poses numerous challenges. First, the article outlines basic definitions of cyberwarfare and cyber weapons proposed so far, and it outlines the international legal framework. Second, the article addresses collateral damages and the role of victims including illustrations of two paradigmatic cases of widely known cyberattacks."
• A Review of the Progressive Development of International Human Rights Framework on Capital Punishment:"It has been widely recognized that the restriction of the death penalty has found its way into positive international human rights law. Although historically the death penalty was essentially a state's own choice of a suitable punishment for the most heinous criminal wrongdoings, it is no more restricted by transnational norms as well as domestic policies today. In some states, the death penalty has become primarily a human rights issue, in lieu of an exclusive criminal justice topic. As a general trend, the historical arch of the administration of the death penalty has bent towards human rights worldwide. The human rights standard-setting, as guarantee to protect the rights of those facing the death penalty, has become a now well-established area of international law. Human rights standards, guidelines and principles serve as principal forces which influence, curtail, and limit retentionists’ practices on the death penalty. The normative framework of the international human rights limiting capital punishment includes, among others, the UN-based human rights instruments, notably the International Bill of Human Rights, and the three regional human rights legal regimes. Important developments during the past few decades concerning capital punishment took place within intergovernmental organizations, international courts and human rights monitoring bodies. Excluding vulnerable groups of persons from the death penalty, restricting capital punishment to an ever-shrinking death-eligible offence list of “the most serious crimes”, enhancing due process safeguards for the administration of the death penalty, and securing the right to petition on clemency, commutation and pardon, inter alia, are the thematic constituents of this body of international human rights law. "

University of Windsor Custom Search Engine of Open Access Law Jounals

University of Windsor law librarian Annette Demers wrote earlier this week on Slaw.ca about a new custom search engine for finding open source law journals from Canada, the US and Europe.

The search engine covers the following collections:

• BePress Law Commons Network
• BePress Law School Institutional Repositories
• Centre d’accès a l’information juridique (CAIJ)
• Cornell Law School Working Papers Series
• Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies
• Directory of Open Access Journals - Law
• Duke Law Scholarship Repository
• European Integration Online Papers
• European Journal of International Law
• European Research Papers Archive
• International Review of the Red Cross
• JurisBistro
• Law Review Commons
• Manitoba Law Journal
• McGill Law Journal/Revue de droit de McGill
• New England Law Library Consortium (NELLCO) Legal Scholarship Repository, including Harvard (DASH), Columbia (Academic Commons) and New York University (Faculty Digital Archive
• Osgoode Digital Commons
• Ottawa Law Review/Revue de droit d’Ottawa
• Queen’s Law Journal (current issue embargoed)
• Revue du Barreau
• Revue de droit de l’Université de Sherbrooke (RDUS)
• University of Alberta’s Constitutional Forum and Review of Constitutional Studies
• Western University’s Journal of Legal Studies
• Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice
• WorldLII - International Legal Scholarship Library 

Demers had already created the following custom search engines at her library:

• Policing Journals and Magazines
• Police Review Board Decisions
• Military Law Journals and Magazines

Recent Legislative Summaries from Library of Parliament

The Library of Parliament has recently published a number of legislative summaries describing federal bills:

• Bill C-17: An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act: "Bill C - 17, an Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act ( alternative title: Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act [ Vanessa’s Law ]), was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Health on 6 December 2013. According to its summary, the bill amends the Food and Drugs Act in order to strengthen oversight of pharmaceuticals and medical devices as well as improve repor ting of adverse reactions associated with these products. The bill addresses patient safety issues that were referred to in the Speech from the Throne at the opening of the 2nd Session of the 41 st Parliament in October 2013 , including the need to ensure that (1) drug side effects are clearly indicated and (2) unsafe drugs are recalled quickly."
• Bill C-27: an Act to amend the Public Service Employment Act (enhancing hiring opportunities for certain serving and former members of the Canadian Forces): "It amends the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) : by mirroring the provisions in Bill C - 11, 2 introduced on 7 November 2013, to grant priority for appointment in the federal public service to mem bers of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who are released from military service for medical reasons attributable to service; by adding new provisions to allow : active members of the CAF who accumulate at least three years of service to apply for positions reserved for members of the public service ( 'advertised internal appointment process'); veterans who have been honourably released from the CAF after having accumulated at least three years of service to have this same right during a period of five years af ter their release; and by amending the definition of 'veteran' to allow all members who have been honourably released from the CAF and who have accumulated at least three years of service to benefit from a 'preference' in any external appointment to a posi tion in the public service if they meet the essential qualifications and once priority rights have been exercised (the definition of a 'survivor of a veteran' nevertheless continues to be restricted to the surviving spouse or common - law partner of a vetera n who served in the Second World War)."
• Bill S-4: an Act to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act : "Bill S - 4 ... (short title : Digital Privacy Act) was introduced in the Senate and received first reading on 8 April 2014. Bill S - 4 amends the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act , the federal private sector privacy law . It does this in several notable ways, including by : permitting the disclosure of an individual’s personal information without their knowledge or consent in certain circumstances; requiring organizations to take various measures in cases of data security breaches; creating offences for failure to comply with obligations related to data security breaches; and enabling the Privacy Commissioner, in certain circumstances, to enter into compliance agreements with organizations."

It is possible to follow the progress of federal bills, find links to related parliamentary debates and other background information on the LEGISinfo website.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of the Priority Hiring for Injured Veterans Act

The Library of Parliament recently published a legislative summary of of Bill C-11 known as the Priority Hiring for Injured Veterans Act:

"Under the PSEA [Public Service Employment Act] and the Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER), certain categories of individuals who meet specific criteria are given priority to appointments in the federal public service over all other persons. Provided that the eligible candidates meet the essential qualifications of the position and that preference is given to Canadian citizens, the priority levels set out in the PSEA follow this order:

1. An employee who is surplus within his or her organization - who has been informed that he or she will be laid off but has not yet been laid off - because the employee’s services are no longer required by reason of lack of work, the discontinuance of a function or the transfer of work or a function outside of the public service...
2. Both an employee on leave of absence whose position was staffed for an indeterminate period and a person who replaced an employee on leave of absence, if that replacement was appointed for an indeterminate period, a priority over all others for up to one year following the return of the employee who had been on leave of absence...
3. A person already laid off because his or her services are no longer necessary for the reasons listed in point 1 ...
4. The following persons or classes of persons designated by the PSER pursuant to section 22(2)(a) of the PSEA, who are given fourth level priority over all others, in no particular order:
   • before a layoff becomes effective, a surplus employee from another federal organization whose services are no longer required but before any layoff becomes effective ...;
   • an employee who becomes disabled and is no longer able to carry out the duties of his or her position ...;
   • a member of the CF [Canadian military] or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who is released or discharged for medical reasons ...;
   • the surviving spouse or common-law partner of an employee or of a member of the CF or the RCMP whose death is attributable to the performance of duties ...;
   • an employee on a leave of absence as a result of the relocation of his or her spouse or common-law partner ... ; and
   • a priority employee who was appointed or deployed to a lower level position in the public service..."

"Currently, priority consideration given to members of the CF released for medical reasons - attributable to service or not - has the same standing as other fourth-level priority categories provided by the PSEA."

"Bill C-11 adds a priority right that will take precedence over all others. This right will be given to members of the CF released for medical reasons, provided that these reasons are attributable to their military service. In other words, this creates a distinction between members of the CF released for medical reasons that are attributable to service and those released for medical reasons that are not attributable to service. This second group will continue to receive priority under the PSER (now for a longer period), while the priority for those released for medical reasons that are attributable to service will take precedence over any other group designated in the PSEA or the PSER."

Law Library of Congress Report on Adjudication of Sexual Offenses in Military Justice Systems

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has published a new comparative report on the handling and adjudication of sexual offenses in the military. The report examines how the military justice systems of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom deal with alleged sexual offending by service members.

The Library occasionally publishes reports that compare the laws on a given theme in a number of countries.

Earlier comparative law reports from the Law Library of Congress have covered topics such as:

• Bioethics
• Campaign Finance
• Children's Rights
• Constitutional Provisions on Women's Equality
• Education of Non-Native Language Speaking Children
• Foreign Aid Regulation
• Guest Worker Programs
• Habeas Corpus Rights
• Online Privacy Law
• Repatriation of Historic Human Remains (return of indigenous remains and cultural items)
• Sex Selection & Abortion

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of the Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act

The Library of Parliament has published its legislative summary of Bill S-10: An Act to Implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions:

"The purpose of the bill is to implement Canada’s international obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in order that Canada may ratify the treaty. Under Canada’s constitutional system, obligations contained in international treaties must be implemented in legislation passed by Parliament in order to have direct effect under domestic law. Although Canada has not yet ratified the convention, Canada participated in its negotiation and signed it in December of 2008. Canada was also the first state to submit voluntary reports to the United Nations (UN) under the convention"

"Cluster munitions are weapons designed to disperse explosive submunitions (or explosive bomblets) that cause casualties and damage through blast, incendiary effects and fragmentation. Air-delivered or surface-launched, the number of submunitions released can range from the dozens to thousands, and are usually spread over a large area for use against armour and other materiel as well as personnel. Cluster munitions rely on simple mechanical fuses that arm the submunition based on its rate of spin; submunitions explode on impact or after a time of delay."

"In its 2012 voluntary report, Canada stated that it possesses a stockpile of approximately 12,600 cluster munitions, but that these were withdrawn from active service in 2007. A process to destroy remaining stockpiles reportedly is underway and is expected to be complete by sometime in 2014 (...)"

"This legislative summary discusses the humanitarian concerns raised by the use of cluster munitions during armed conflicts and set out the relationship between the Convention and certain related treaties dealing with prohibited weapons. The provisions of the bill are then summarized, followed by a review of comment on the bill"

"Internationally, there is considerable debate about the meaning and implementation of the CCM. One point in particular that is being contested is the nature and scope of the ban on cluster munitions in respect of activities by the military forces of states that have ratified the CCM (“states parties”) when they operate jointly with states that have not ratified the CCM. This is known as the interoperability exception."

It is possible to follow the progress of the bill through Parliament on the LEGISinfo website.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Bill C-15 on Military Justice

The Library of Parliament recently made available its legislative summary of Bill C-15, the Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act:

"Bill C-15, An Act to amend the National Defence Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (short title: Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act), was introduced in the House of Commons on 7 October 2011 by the Minister of National Defence (...)"

"Overall, Bill C-15 responds to many of the recommendations made by the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, former Chief Justice of Canada, in his 2003 report on the first independent review of amendments made to the NDA in 1998 under the former Bill C-25 (Lamer Report)."

"The amendments set out in Bill C-15 clarify the amendments introduced by the former Bill C-25. While Bill C-15 makes the military justice system more consistent with the justice system established in the Criminal Code, it also takes into account the unique nature of the military justice system, and therefore aims to provide a degree of flexibility, needed for maintaining discipline. The bill aims to enhance the effectiveness of the military justice system and provides greater independence and impartiality for the key players in that system, in particular military judges and the Director of Defence Counsel Services."

"Bill C-15 was introduced into the House of Commons on the same day as Bill C-16, the Security of Tenure of Military Judges Act, which provides security of tenure for military judges until a fixed age of 60 years, subject only to removal for cause on the recommendation of an Inquiry Committee. Bill C-16 received Royal Assent on 29 November 2011."

 It is possible to follow the progress of the bill through Parliament on the LEGISinfo website.

 On Library Boy, there is a post from February 8, 2012 on the related Bill C-16, the Security of Tenure of Military Judges Act.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of the Security of Tenure of Military Judges Act

The Library of Parliament has recently published its legislative summary of Bill C-16: An Act to amend the National Defence Act (military judges). The short title of the bill is the Security of Tenure of Military Judges Act:

"Prior to the passage of Bill C-16, military judges were appointed by the Governor in Council with security of tenure for a term of five years. Military judges could be removed during their tenure only by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of an Inquiry Committee created under the National Defence Act. Terms were renewable on the recommendation of a Renewal Committee until judges reached the age of retirement set out in articles 101.15, 101.16 and 101.17 of the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces (QR&Os). In making a recommendation regarding reappointment, the Renewal Committee was prohibited from considering a judge’s record of judicial decisions."

"On 2 June 2011, in the case of R. v. Leblanc, the Court Martial Appeal Court declared sections 165.21(2) to 165.21(4) of the National Defence Act and articles 101.15, 101.16 and 101.17 of the QR&Os to be invalid and of no force and effect. The Court suspended the declaration of invalidity for six months to give Parliament an opportunity to amend the legislation."

"Bill C-16 responds to the Leblanc decision, and aims to remove any impression of outside influence on the decisions of military judges. The bill provides security of tenure for military judges until a fixed age of 60 years, subject only to removal for cause on the recommendation of an Inquiry Committee. The bill repeals current provisions of the National Defence Act relating to the tenure and reappointment of military judges..."

The bill received Royal Assent on November 29, 2011 and is now chapter 22 of the Statutes of Canada, 2011.

New Custom Search Engine for Canadian Military Information

Annette Demers, reference librarian at the Paul Martin Law Library at the University of Windsor, has created a custom search engine of Canadian military law journal articles, publications, reports and news.

It allows for one-stop searching of the following:

• Canadian Army Journal
• Army Lessons Learned Bulletin
• Army Lessons Learned Dispatches
• Canadian Forces College Papers
• Canadian Forces College Review
• Canadian Military Journal
• Canadian Naval Review
• Jane’s Information Group
• Canadian Army News
• Canadian Defence Academy Publications
• Chief Military Judge Documents
• Chief of Defence Staff Publications
• National Defence Key Documents
• Judge Advocate General Publications
• The Maple Leaf
• Military Police Complaints Commission Documents
• National Defence News Archives

[Source: Slaw.ca]

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.

2007-2008 Annual Report of the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner

The most recent annual report of the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner of Canada has been made available.

The Establishment, or CSE, is Canada's national cryptologic agency working under the control of the Department of National Defence.

CSE code-breakers protect the Government of Canada's IT infrastructure from hostile attacks and provide foreign signals intelligence services (electronic espionage). It also provides technical and operational assistance to federal law enforcement and security agencies.

The Commissioner, the Honourable Charles D. Gonthier, Q.C., is the official watchdog over the agency's activities, which include intercepting, decoding, and analyzing phone calls, e-mails and other electronic communications of Canada's international adversaries.

Gonthier is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

2006-2007 Annual Report of the Judge Advocate General

The 2006-2007 Annual Report of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) on the administration of military justice in the Canadian Forces was tabled late last week in the House of Commons.

The National Defence Act requires the JAG to report annually to the Minister of National Defence. This report covers the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007:

"From all the information examined it is evident that the military justice system is functioning very well, and that both the chain of command and the individuals who participate in the system have confidence in it as an effective tool for maintaining discipline amongst CF [Canadian Forces] members. In my view, the Canadian military justice system is second to none in the world, yet with its many strengths, three areas have been identified where enhancements can be made to improve the overall health and effectiveness of the military justice system".

The annual report provides an overview of court martial tribunal activity, statistics, military justice training activities, and legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives.

2006 Annual Report of the Military Police Complaints Commission

In the latest Weekly Checklist of Canadian government publications is the most recent annual report of the Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada.

The Weekly Checklist is a listing of book and serial titles which have been released each week by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada. It is produced each week by the Depository Services Program.

The Military Police Complaints Commission was established on December 1, 1999 to provide independent, civilian oversight of Canada’s military police service. It is similar to the civilian agencies or police boards that oversee police services across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other countries.

The Commission’s mandate is found in Part IV of Canada’s National Defence Act,which sets out how complaints about the conduct of military police and complaints of interference with military police investigations are to be handled.

"By way of highlights of 2006, the number of complaints under review or investigation by the Military Police Complaints Commission was double the number from 2005. Of the investigations completed by the Commission during 2006, several will have signifi cant, long-term impact on military police practices".

"As an example, the Commission’s investigations of interference complaints in 2006 have led the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal to revise the Military Police Policies and Technical Procedures to clarify the proper role and responsibilities of military police supervisors in respect of supervisory interventions. These investigations have also added clarity to the proper relations between the military police and the chain of command. In bringing a clearer defi nition to what does and does not constitute prohibited interference, it is hoped that both command staff and military police personnel will benefi t in their relationships and the performance of their duties".

"In 2006, the Commission undertook the first public hearing in its seven-year history which will be reported on early in 2007 – and launched three new public interest investigations into especially serious or broadly publicized complaints about military police conduct. One of these cases – involving a complaint by a former sniper with the Canadian Forces who was honoured by the U.S. military for his outstanding service in Afghanistan – was the subject of national media attention in 2006, including the cover of Maclean’s magazine".

Recent Library of Parliament Publications

This is an update to the Library Boy post of July 18, 2006 entitled Updates to Library of Parliament Summaries.

Here are some recent studies and legislative summaries prepared by the Library of Parliament's Research Service. I may have missed some back in July.

• Civilian Oversight of the RCMP's National Security Functions (11 January 2006) : "Following (the September 11, 2001 attacks), Parliament passed the Anti-terrorism Act. This statute enacted the Charities Registration (Security Information) Act and amended 20 other laws. By defining terrorist support as a criminal offence, it changed the RCMP’s role and provided an opportunity for the organization to be more involved in matters of national security. Further, the RCMP is to receive $576 million in funding over six years under the Public Security and Anti-terrorism funding package. Although Parliament expanded the role of the RCMP, it did not subject its national security functions to comprehensive civilian oversight. This has created a disparity between the review mechanisms for CSIS and the RCMP, whereby the RCMP is subject to less rigorous scrutiny"
• Substance Abuse Issues and Public Policy in Canada: I. Canada's Federal Drug Strategy (13 April 2006): "Canada’s Drug Strategy (CDS) is a key initiative coordinated by the federal government which addresses the harmful effects (including health, social, safety and economic consequences) of substance use and abuse on individuals, families, and communities. Numerous partners including federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, non-governmental organizations, professional associations and international agencies are collaborating on the CDS. This paper will briefly outline the history of the CDS, provide information on its four key pillars and present the highlights of recent federal activities in support of the strategy".
• Substance Abuse Issues and Public Policy in Canada: II. Parliamentary Action (1987-2005) (13 April 2006): "This brief paper will outline key parliamentary actions undertaken since the creation of Canada’s first drug strategy in 1987. The focus is on committee activities and government legislation rather than on numerous private Members’ bills and initiatives".
• Substance Abuse Issues and Public Policy in Canada: III. What, When, Who and Why? (20 April 2006): "Given the range of perspectives and the multidisciplinary group of people involved, there are as many definitions of substance abuse as there are theories on the origins of this phenomenon and how best to address it. The very choice of words used to define or describe a particular behaviour or human condition is often influenced by sociocultural considerations and may be based on ethical and moral judgments. In order to discuss policies and issues related to the use and abuse of psychoactive substances, it is first necessary to understand the concepts. As part of a series of short papers on substance abuse issues and public policy in Canada, this paper aims to provide a better understanding by defining what psychoactive substances are and what substance abuse is, as well as clarifying the terms dependence and misuse. In addition, the paper identifies particular population groups at risk of using and abusing psychoactive substances and briefly discusses the question of why some people become dependent on psychoactive substances".
• The Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (4 May 2006): "This document deals with Parliament’s attempt to strike a balance between effective protection of pharmaceutical inventions, in order to stimulate research and development (R&D), and keeping the cost of medicines down. Specifically, it examines the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations), which, along with the Patent Act, attempt to achieve that balance by allowing the generic version of a medicine to be marketed once the patent for the original medicine expires. However, the Regulations have been interpreted literally, and such stalling tactics as evergreening – which lead to delays in the marketing of certain generic medicines – have jeopardized the effectiveness of this system".
• Bill C-7: An Act to amend the National Defence Act (13 June 2006): "In general, the bill is a response to the recommendations made by the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, the 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 bill, overall, 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 major players in that system, in particular military judges and the Director of Defence Counsel Services, to be more independent and impartial".
• Bill C-16: An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (29 June 2006): "The bill amends the Canada Elections Act to bring in fixed election dates at the federal level in Canada. It provides that, subject to an earlier dissolution of Parliament, a general election must be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election, with the first general election after the bill comes into force to be held on Monday, 19 October 2009".
• Official Languages in the Public Service: From 1973 to the Present (10 August 2006): "In 1969, following through on recommendations made in the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Canada’s Parliament passed the first Official Languages Act. The Act recognized French and English as the official languages of all federal institutions in Canada, but it did not explicitly grant public servants the right, under certain conditions, to work in the official language of their choice. A number of measures have been adopted since 1973 to foster respect for the official languages within the public service. This report summarizes the evolving status of official languages in the public service over the past 30 years, with an emphasis on the change in culture that is required for true bilingualism within the Government of Canada".
• Bill C-2: The Federal Accountability Act (28 August 2006): "Bill C-2, An Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability (the Federal Accountability Act) was given first reading in the House of Commons on 11 April 2006. The bill makes a series of amendments to existing legislation and proposes two new Acts, in diverse areas that are generally linked to political accountability. The bill’s short title, the Federal Accountability Act, is the name under which it became known as part of the Conservative Party of Canada’s platform in the January 2006 election campaign" - this is a revised edition of a research paper produced in April 2006

Peacekeeping Resources

Since the topic of an international peacekeeping mission to Southern Lebanon is on the table, it may be useful to look at some of the major peacekeeping resources out there, especially those that include a legal dimension.

I have not included government resources from Canada (there are numerous National Defence handbooks, peacekeeping training materials, and military and international humanitarian law guides developed for Canadian Forces personnel) because Canada has announced it will not provide any troops for any eventual Lebanon intervention force.

• Legal periodical databases: in LegalTrac, use the subject heading "peacekeeping forces"; in Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, use the subject "United Nations peacekeeping forces"; in Index to Legal Periodicals (Wilson) use the descriptor "United Nations peacekeeping forces"
• United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations: provides an overview of past and current UN peacekeeping missions, as well as information on how UN missions are set up under international law and how they are managed (financing, reporting mechanisms etc.)
• Handbook on United Nations Multidimensional Peacekeeping Operations: "As peacekeeping has evolved, particularly since the late 1980s, a growing number of United Nations peacekeeping operations have become multidimensional in nature, composed of a range of components, including military, civilian police, political affairs, rule of law, human rights, humanitarian, reconstruction, public information and gender. There are also a number of areas, such as mission support and security and safety of personnel, that remain essential to peacekeeping regardless of a particular mission’s mandate. This Handbook (...) is intended to serve as an introduction to the different components of multidimensional peacekeeping operations (...) it is intended to provide field personnel who are new to the United Nations, or who are being deployed to one of our multidimensional peacekeeping operations for the first time, with general background on the responsibilities of each component of our operations and how these fit together to form the whole"
• United Nations Peacekeeping Best Practices Section: the Section assists in the planning, conduct, management and support of peacekeeping operations by learning from experience through a range of activities such as knowledge management and the development of best practices. The Library is a collection of documents published by the Section, other UN bodies and external organizations relating to peacekeeping operations. The Library serves as a centralized repository for literature relating to all aspects of peacekeeping operations
• Peace-keeping Operations : a bibliography: This bibliography, prepared by the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, contains only English-language monographs published between 1945 and 2002. French language resources on this topic may be found in the section "Maintien de la paix", Les Nations Unies : une bibliographie des ressources en français
• United Nations Documentation: Research Guide - Peacekeeping: UN Research Guide prepared by the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library to help track down Security Council and UN General Assembly documents setting up peacekeeping operations
• Responsibility to Protect Bibliography: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his report to the 2000 General Assembly, challenged the international community to try to forge consensus, once and for all around the questions of when armed intervention is justified to protect civilians, under whose authority, and how. The independent International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty was established by the Government of Canada in September 2000 to respond to that challenge. The Commission's report, The Responsibility to Protect, was formally presented to Secretary-General and the United Nations community in 2001. The report contains an extensive bibliography on issues such as humanitarian intervention, conflict prevention, the legal aspects of the use of force, the operational aspects of peace-keeping, peace support and peace enforcement actions, as well as country cases
• Peacekeeping and Related Operations - University of New Brunswick: this is an extensive resource guide that points to bibliographies, reference sources, organizations and government documents from many different countries
• Peacekeeping Web Links - United States Institute of Peace: it is an independent U.S. federal institution devoted to stuyding peace issues. The site links to many organizations, official UN mission sites, official reports on how to strengthen peacekeeping efforts, peace agreements, truth and reconciliation commissions, electronic journals, online reports, policy briefs, occasional papers, working papers and other research papers pertaining to conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacekeeping operations
• ReliefWeb - Policy & Issues by Keyword - Peace-Keeping: ReliefWeb describes itself as the world’s leading on-line gateway to information on humanitarian emergencies and disasters. ReliefWeb is administered by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
• International Humanitarian Law Research Initiative: the Initiative is a research and information project founded in 2002 at the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at the Harvard School of Public Health. Its focus is the protection of civilians in conflict situations, particularly in view of the increasing targeting of civilians, the evolution of current methods of warfare, and the fragmentation of states in conflict areas
• UN Peacekeeping - Global Policy Forum: this New York-based website includes an overview of international peacekeeping trends, news on current operations, commentary and analysis, lessons from past experience, and discussion of proposed reforms to peacekeeping missions
• Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping - Peacekeeping Information Center: a non-partisan policy group that brings together the humanitarian, human rights, peace and security, think tank, and academic communities, the site links to issue briefs, reports, op-eds and other documents from a wide ideological range of contributors (everything from the conservative Heritage Foundation to Oxfam to the left-leaning Foreign Policy in Focus)
• International Peace Academy Publications: the Academy is an independent, international institution dedicated to promoting the prevention and settlement of armed conflicts between and within states. It works closely with the United Nations, regional and other international organizations, governments, and nongovernmental organizations, as well as with parties to conflicts in selected cases
• Peacekeeping - A Selected Bibliography: this bibliography was created by the U.S. Army War College Library. It is now in the fourth revised edition, and includes books, documents, periodical articles and Internet sites dated 2000 to the present
• Peacekeeping Operations: this is a basic but extensive bibliography from the Swiss association UN Jobs (links go to the online book retailer Amazon)