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Military Police Complaints Commission releases Final Report in Public Interest Investigation into Anonymous Complaint (Treatment of Detainees)

Ottawa September 2, 2021 – Following a comprehensive Public Interest Investigation (PII), the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC or Commission) has made 13 recommendations to improve military police investigations after receiving a complaint into the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.

The Commission’s report is in response to an anonymous complaint received in 2015 alleging that military police members had abused Afghan detainees at Kandahar Airfield (KAF) in Afghanistan during a training exercise in 2011. The complaint also alleged that the Canadian commander at KAF ignored the charges that were submitted to him following an investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS).

In the initial phase of its investigation, the Commission reviewed more than 3,000 pages of documents and numerous audio and video recordings that were disclosed by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal. This led to a determination that the scope of the PII would be limited to making findings and recommendations about the allegations related to the CFNIS investigation and decision not to lay charges.

“Following a comprehensive investigation and the analysis of the investigation report, the documentary evidence and other relevant documents, the Commission found that the two allegations were not substantiated,” said the Chairperson of the Commission, Hilary C. McCormack. The Commission uncovered no evidence that detainees were abused during the training exercise.

While the allegations in the complaint were found to be unsubstantiated, the Commission did identify a number of deficiencies in the investigation into the 2011 training exercise conducted by the Military Police. “These deficiencies, or errors, show a lack of rigour by the investigators, and on some occasions, lack of competence or experience,” said Ms. McCormack in releasing the report.

The deficiencies included the selection and lack of supervision of the lead investigator and the lack of adequate support for him; the lack of investigation planning, the selection of witnesses, poor interview planning and a failure to identify conflicts of interest.

“None of the deficiencies or errors had an impact on the final result of the investigation and the conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to lay charges, as recommended by the investigators, but they show that the investigators did not always use best practices during this investigation,” said Ms. McCormack.

The Commission’s 13 recommendations relate to identified deficiencies, including note-taking practices during investigations, preparations for witness interviews, the need for a better system for the repatriation and storage of military police files following the end of an overseas operation, and improvements in communications between military police investigators and regional military prosecutors.

The Commission also recommended that the Department of National Defence take steps to have the National Defence Act amended to include provisions regarding information similar to those found in Part VI (Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act. This recommendation is consistent with submissions made by the MPCC to retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Morris Fish in his recent review of the military justice system.

The MPCC had to overcome difficulties in completing its investigation. Because the complaint was submitted anonymously, the MPCC could not contact the complainant for clarifications on various issues related to the complaint, nor could it assess the complainant’s credibility. In order to ensure that it reconciled differing accounts of the events that occurred, the MPCC conducted interviews with more than 70 witnesses across Canada, as well as with the six military police members who were identified as subjects of the complaint.

On March 14, 2024, an addendum was added to the Final Report following receipt of the response of the then-Minister of National Defence to one of the recommendations made by MPCC’s in this matter, namely, that the Department of National Defence take steps to have the National Defence Act amended to include provisions regarding information similar to those found in Part VI (Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act. Read the addendum here.

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Date modified:

2024-03-14