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OTTAWA — Starting today, military police will no longer accept Criminal Code sexual offence complaints, in anticipation of passage of the Liberal government’s military justice system reform bill.
Bill C-11 will strip the military of its jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute sexual offences involving Canadian Armed Forces members committed within the country, and hand those cases over to the civilian justice system.
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The legislation follows on past recommendations from former Supreme Court justices Morris Fish and Louise Arbour, the current Governor General.
Arbour concluded in a 2022 report that Canadian Armed Forces members do not trust their own military justice system to handle these cases.
But some survivors of military sexual misconduct told Parliament they want victims to be able to choose which justice system will take on their cases, and feel the government did not listen to their pleas.
Opposition MPs modified the legislation to allow them the choice between either system — but the Liberals removed those amendments after gaining a majority in the House of Commons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2026.
Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press
