Letter from the MPCC Chairperson – Legislative Proposal

VIA EMAIL

July 9, 2025

The Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., M.P.
Minister of National Defence
National Defence Headquarters
101 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K2

RE: Letter from the MPCC Chairperson – Legislative Proposal

Minister McGuinty:

Congratulations again on your appointment as Minister of National Defence. I look forward to working with you to advance our shared commitment to transparency, accountability, and public trust in the military police.

In that spirit, I am writing to bring to your attention to the legislative proposal developed by the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) to modernize and strengthen the independent civilian oversight of the military police. This proposal, submitted to your predecessor in December 2024, seeks to address long-standing structural barriers to effective oversight and recent challenges arising from narrow interpretations of the National Defence Act.

Background

The Honourable Morris J. Fish’s report on the review of the National Defence Act was released in April 2021 and included several key recommendations to enhance the MPCC’s mandate and strengthen the oversight of the military police. In June 2021, more than four years ago, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces accepted the Honourable Morris J. Fish’s recommendations pertaining to the MPCC’s mandate in principle; however, they have not yet been implemented.

Since the creation of the MPCC in 1999, there have been no substantial legislative reforms to improve independent civilian oversight of the military police, despite two previous Independent Reviews of the Act. As a result, the MPCC now lags far behind other police oversight mechanisms in Canada and in particular the federal police oversight body on which it was originally modelled, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP Commission). The most concerning gaps between the two federal civilian oversight regimes is the MPCC’s lack of authority to access information required to investigate complaints.

The RCMP Commission’s oversight regime was significantly modernized in 2013 and further reinforced with a more robust framework for transparency and accountability when Bill C-20 received Royal Assent in October 2024. Given the parallel mandates and similar complaint processes of the MPCC and the RCMP Commission, there is no policy or operational rationale for maintaining a weaker accountability framework for the military police.

Since 2023, we advocated for legislative reform by reaching out to both of your predecessors. We provided a comprehensive matrix of proposals, incorporating recommendations from the Honourable Morris J. Fish’s report, and later, a proposed Bill.

Bill C-66, An Act to amend the National Defence Act and other Acts tabled in the last Parliament, excludes the long-overdue reforms needed to modernize military police oversight. Moreover, the Comprehensive Implementation Plan 2023-2028, developed by the Department of National Defence in response to the Honourable Morris J. Fish’s recommendations, places civilian oversight reform at the very end of its timeline, potentially delaying change for up to 10 more years.

We cannot afford to wait that long for several reasons, notably:

• No Significant Changes in over 25 years: Since 1999, there have been no meaningful updates to strengthen civilian oversight of the military police. This prolonged stagnation has left the regime outdated and increasingly unable to respond to current challenges.
• Inadequate Investigative Powers: The MPCC lacks essential powers, such as subpoena power, except in public interest hearings. Some of these limitations severely hamper the MPCC’s ability to conduct thorough, efficient, meaningful, but also cost-effective investigations.
• Lapse in legislative Compliance: Even the limited obligations currently outlined in the National Defence Act are, at times, not respected, thus diminishing the oversight system’s impact and credibility.
• Erosion of Public Trust: Further delays in implementing necessary reform risks eroding public confidence in Government institutions and Canada’s civilian oversight regime of the military police.

The need for legislative reform is urgent. As outlined in our 2024 Annual Report, the MPCC continues to encounter mounting obstacles in carrying out its oversight mandate, most of which could be effectively addressed through targeted legislative amendments.

Legislative Proposal

The MPCC’s proposed legislative amendments incorporate recommendations from the Honourable Morris J. Fish, as well as additional reforms based on 25 years of oversight experience and addresses challenges identified in our recent annual reports.

These proposed enhancements to the oversight regime of the military police would implement the 2020 Speech from the Throne priority of strengthening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies. They are also in line with the priorities set out by Prime Minister Carney’s recent Mandate Letter, recognizing that robust civilian oversight of military policing is essential to reinforcing law enforcement, upholding institutional trust, and sustaining the operational readiness of the Canadian Forces.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and/or your officials to discuss this proposal in greater detail. Our proposed Bill, and a clause-by-clause summary of the proposed legislative amendments, explaining the rationale for each amendment, are enclosed for your consideration.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to your leadership in advancing meaningful reform to strengthen independent civilian oversight of the military police.

Sincerely,

Original document signed by:

Me Tammy Tremblay, MSM, CD, LL.M
Chairperson

Encl.:

c.c.:

Date modified:

2026-01-13