C-362 – The Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombud Act – establishes the Office of the Ombud for the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces.
Now the important thing to note here is that this office already exists. Put simply the Ombudsman is the one in charge of investigating complaints against the conduct of the military. Their office is a branch of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces and they answer to the Minister of National Defence. C-362 makes that office a separate entity that answers to the House of Commons instead, allowing it to operate independently of the Department it’s responsible for overseeing.
I’m going to skip a decent bit of this Bill as it’s mostly just outlining the duties of the Ombud, and a lot of it is what you would expect from someone who’s supposed to investigate claims of misconduct. (Especially considering the position has existed for 15 years, so most of this is stuff that’s already been happening for a while now). Instead I’m going to highlight a few bits that are a more interesting.
Appointment
So first up we’ve got the actual appointment of the Ombud. The Governor General issues the appointment, but must first consult the leaders of each of the parties in the House and each of the recognized groups in the Senate before doing so. Their appointment must then pass a resolution in both the House and the Senate. The Ombud will serve for 7 years unless dismissed with cause, and nobody who’s served as Ombud before can serve again when their appointment ends.
Duties
The duties of the Ombud are:
- Reviewing and investigating any complaints they receive
- Reviewing and investigating systemic issues with the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Forces
- Helping people filing complaints access any assistance that might be needed
Complaints
The Ombud’s office will handle complaints regarding the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Forces from:
- Members or former members
- Someone who is or was a member of a cadet program (Defined by the National Defence Act)
- A current or former employee of the Department of National Defence
- Someone who has applied to be a member
- Current or former employees of the Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces
- The immediate family of any of the above
On receiving a complaint the Ombud will decide if it’s something that can be dealt with informally (with the consent of the complainant) or through something like mediation. If that can’t be done they’ll find the lowest level of authority the complaint can be resolved at and try to do so there. (So a complaint against a coworker would be resolved with your supervisor, complaint against your supervisor would be resolved with their boss, etc. No reason to bring the complaint to the Minister if the Minister doesn’t need to get involved)
Investigations
The Ombud can start an investigation whenever they feel it’s necessary, if the Minister asks them to, or if one’s needed to settle a complaint. When they start one everyone involved needs to be notified in writing unless doing so could impact the investigation.
The Ombud can refuse or cancel an investigation if:
- They decide the complaint is frivolous or made in bad faith
- The complainant hasn’t used all resources reasonably available to resolve the complaint
- The issue could be better dealt with through another Act of Parliament or has already been dealt with to the Ombud’s satisfaction (So, for example, they wouldn’t investigate a workplace injury if they think existing legislation around workplace injuries cover the problem well enough)
- There’s already an investigation into the subject
- Too much time has passed since the event that caused the complaint
- Further investigation is deemed unnecessary
The Ombud will be required to refuse or cease investigations into:
- Decisions made by a military judge
- Charges laid under the National Defence Act
- Matters related to the Military Police
- Matters under the jurisdiction of the employer as defined by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (the feds)
- The standards or professional conduct of a provincial organization
The Ombud must also stop any investigation if they decide the subject falls under the Criminal Code. If the Ombud stops or refuses an investigation they need to provide a written explanation to the complainant.
General
That’s about it for the more interesting parts of C-362. The rest is all things you would expect to be here. The Ombud is allowed to summon people as part of an investigation, they’re able to set up an advisory committee to help them, they still need to meet any relevant security requirements to access confidential information, etc. One last interesting note is that you aren’t allowed to obstruct an investigation or lie to the Ombud, and these are punishable with an initial fine of $1,000 and $5,000 for each additional offence.
The Ombud will need to provide an annual report of all complaints sent to them, as well as the outcome of each complaint. Every five years C-362 will be reviewed for its effectiveness.
Progress
C-362 is currently outside of the Order of Precedence.