THE MILITARY POLICE COMPLAINTS COMMISSION OF CANADA

WATCHING THE WATCHERS

Abstract

The Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada has been in existence for a quarter century, and it is an opportune time to review Part IV of the National Defence Act, which created the Commission and set out its jurisdiction and powers. The Commission was created following the ‘debacle’ of the Canadian military deployment in Somalia in 1992–93. Reviews of that deployment identified as a problem the lack of independent authority of the Military Police. In granting Military Police greater autonomy, Parliament considered it important to also have civilian oversight of this police service, as has become common with civilian police services in Canada. The issue explored in this article is whether the Commission’s governing legislation furnishes it with the legal tools it needs to carry out its oversight mandate, in light of changes to civilian oversight over the last 25 years. In examining the legislation, comparisons are made with the legislation governing the Commission’s sister oversight body, the Public Complaints and Review Commission, which deals with complaints concerning the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.