On June 1, 2021, the Honourable Morris J. Fish, former Supreme Court of Canada Justice and Jurist in Residence at Davies, and his team delivered to the Minister of National Defence their highly anticipated report on Canada’s military justice system. The Department of National Defence described the report as “the most comprehensive independent review and far-reaching examination of the military justice system since the reviews led by the former Chief Justice of Canada, Brian Dickson, in the late 1990s.”

The 400-page report includes 107 wide-ranging recommendations, a majority of which address the military justice system, including the independence of its actors, the handling of sexual misconduct allegations, military policing and police oversight. The remainder of the recommendations relate to military grievances and the independent review process.

In November 2020, the Minister of National Defence appointed Justice Fish to conduct an independent review of the military justice system. Justice Fish was assisted throughout his review by Davies partner Jean-Philippe Groleau, who acted as his Senior Counsel, and Davies associate Guillaume Charlebois, who acted as his Associate Counsel. Morris Rosenberg, C.M., who has served as Deputy Minister of Justice, Health and Foreign Affairs, acted as a consultant on the review.

Davies is proud to have participated in the preparation of this historic report, which, in the words of the Department of National Defence, “will assist in ushering the military justice system into a new era.”

Read the Department of National Defence’s backgrounder.