Conduct Case MPCC‑2019-037 Summary
The Complainant, a former Canadian ranger, filed a complaint on October 4, 2019, alleging that the military police failed to thoroughly investigate his allegations of fraud and harassment by his patrol chain of command and failed to report Code of Service Discipline, constitutional, and human rights violations.
The Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) received his complaint on October 4, 2019, and the same day referred it to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal’s (CFPM) Office of Professional Standards (PS) for review in the first instance.
In their decision of December 19, 2019, PS declined to initiate an investigation citing insufficient evidence of military police misconduct. Their decision was made under section 250.28 (2) (b) and (c) of the National Defence Act, which allows the CFPM to direct that no investigation of a complaint be started or that an investigation be ended if the matter is better addressed under another process or if further investigation is unnecessary or impracticable. PS noted that the military police had investigated the fraud allegations but found no suspects or evidence of fraud. They also observed that the military police are prohibited from investigating personal harassment.
On December 11, 2024, the Complainant referred the matter to the MPCC for review. After thoroughly examining all relevant materials and providing both the Complainant and the Subjects of the complaint with opportunities to submit additional evidence and representations, the MPCC issued its Interim Report on September 2, 2025.
The MPCC determined that the military police conducted a reasonable investigation of the fraud allegations and reasonably considered and responded to the Complainant’s allegations of threats, harassment, Code of Service Discipline, and human rights violations. The military police took several investigative steps, including questioning potential witnesses and collecting relevant documentation from the Complainant and other sources. The investigation was concluded due to a lack of evidence supporting the allegations.
The MPCC also noted that the military police informed the Complainant that their investigation would focus on the fraud allegations, given their mandate. The Complainant was already pursuing other avenues to address the other issues.
For these reasons, the MPCC concluded that the investigative discretion was reasonably applied and appropriately documented.
The MPCC nevertheless observed that no follow-up occurred when the military police requested assistance from the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) for this case. Therefore, the MPCC recommended that the CFPM remind the military police members involved to follow up on any assistance requests submitted to the CFNIS and document the outcome or note on the file their reasons for not doing so.
The CFPM sent the Notice of Action on October 14, 2025, and accepted the recommendation.
The MPCC Final Report was issued on October 30, 2025.
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