Conduct Case MPCC 2024‑031 Summary
Failure to Investigate Allegations of Racist Behaviour
On June 4, 2024, the complainant alleged that the military police and the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) failed to investigate racist and hateful conduct within the Canadian Forces (CF) that allegedly occurred in 2012.
On June 14, 2024, the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) referred the complaint to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal’s (CFPM) Office of Professional Standards (PS) for review in the first instance. In their decision letter dated November 8, 2024, PS concluded that the allegation against the military police members and CFNIS was not substantiated given that the decision to close the investigation was based on the complainant’s requests.
On January 13, 2025, the complainant referred the complaint to the MPCC for review, arguing that the allegations should have been investigated, despite his request not to pursue the matter further. The MPCC had to determine whether the CFNIS and military police members exercised their investigative discretion reasonably in terminating the investigation.
The evidence on file indicates that, in September 2020, the military police received information arising from a CF summary investigation in which the complainant stated that he had witnessed racist and hate‑motivated incidents within the CF during his deployment in 2012.
Subsequently, the CFNIS contacted the complainant, who refused to participate in the investigation. However, in June 2023, he contacted the military police to provide a statement. Immediately after his interview with the CFNIS, he requested that his complaint not be pursued further. The CFNIS informed him that they remained available to him should he decide to resume the matter. The file was closed on August 10, 2023.
After its review, the MPCC concluded that the military police members and the CFNIS reasonably responded to the complainant’s allegations of racist and hateful conduct by conducting a preliminary investigation, including interviewing the complainant, who later withdrew his complaint. While the CFNIS could have continued the investigation despite the withdrawal, the absence of corroborating evidence, additional investigative avenues, and participation from the only eyewitness compromised its viability. In these circumstances, the decision not to pursue the investigation further constituted a reasonable exercise of investigative discretion by the military police and the CFNIS.
The MPCC nevertheless observed that, in recent years, the CF has adopted new directives, policies, tools, and institutional initiatives to prevent, identify, and counter behaviour motivated by hatred or bias and promote an inclusive culture. These measures are not reflected in the military police order relating to hate/bias motivated crimes, CF MP Order 2‑340.10, which has not been updated since 2016.
The Order focused primarily on the investigation and documentation of alleged crimes, including the applicable provisions of the Criminal Code, as well as the required investigative measures. It acknowledges that certain hate‑motivated incidents do not constitute criminal offences, but does not provide specific guidance on how such incidents should be assessed, classified, documented, and addressed.
The MPCC recommended revising the Order to provide clear directions regarding the assessment and documentation of hate‑based bias incidents, the recording of decisions involving investigative discretion, the review of potential service offences, and appropriate referrals to the chain of command or to other authorities.
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