Conduct Case MPCC‑2019‑042 Summary

In October 2019, the complainant, a sergeant and military police (MP) member in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), filed a complaint with the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) regarding the actions of the subject, also a sergeant and MP member in the CAF.

The incident that led to the complaint happened in January 2016. The complainant spoke with his Warrant Officer (WO) about what he believed was an unfair performance review given by the subject, the complainant’s supervisor. The WO in turn discussed the matter with the subject of the complaint. The complainant alleges that, after this, the subject started using psychological manipulation on him. The complainant states that he was targeted by the subject and that the latter was able to turn people against the complainant in order to “get him” because, in the subject’s eyes, the complainant was a “problem” and the subject made it very clear that he did not like the complainant.

After reviewing substantial documentation provided by the complainant and the disclosure provided by the Canadian Forces Military Police Group office of Professional Standards, the MPCC noted that the incidents stated in this complaint occurred outside the one year time limit for making an MP conduct complaint as set out in section 250.2 of the National Defence Act (NDA). However, in this case, no extension of time could be considered, because the MP conduct to which the complainant objected did not relate to the performance of "policing duties or functions", as required by NDA subsection 250.18(1), and as defined in section 2 of the Complaints Against the Conduct of Members of the Military Police Regulations, which reads:

2.(1) For the purpose of subsection 250.18(1) of the Act, any of the following, if performed by a member of the military police, are policing duties or functions:

(a) The conduct of an investigation;

(b) The rendering of assistance to the public;

(c) The execution of a warrant or another judicial process;

(d) The handling of evidence;

(e) The laying of a charge;

(f) Attendance at a judicial proceeding;

(g) The enforcement of laws;

(h) Responding to a complaint; and

(i) The arrest or custody of a person.

“(2) For greater certainty, a duty or function performed by a member of the military police that relates to administration, training, or military operations that result from established military custom or practice, is not a policing duty or function.”

The matters described in this complaint related to internal MP administrative matters. The alleged mistreatment by the subject involves issues of harassment and is a matter for the subject's chain of command to address, as they are not matters which engage either the mandate of the MPCC or the NDA Part IV MP complaints process, which are limited to the scrutiny of MPs specifically in their operational police work.

Date modified:

2020-04-08