An Act to amend the National Defence Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2019, c. 15)

Pleas

Marginal note:Pleas permitted

• 189.1 (1) An accused person who makes an application under subsection (2) or who, after the commencement of the trial, is called on to plead may plead guilty or not guilty, or any other plea authorized by regulations made by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Plea of guilty

  (2) At any time after a court martial is convened but before the commencement of the trial, the military judge assigned to preside at the court martial may, on application, receive the accused person’s plea of guilty in respect of any charge and, if there are no other charges remaining before the court martial to which pleas of not guilty have been recorded, determine the sentence.

• Marginal note:Conditions for accepting guilty plea

  (3) The military judge may accept a plea of guilty only if he or she is satisfied that

  • (a) the accused person is making the plea voluntarily; and

  • (b) the accused person

    • (i) understands that the plea is an admission of the essential elements of the service offence,

    • (ii) understands the nature and consequences of the plea, and

    • (iii) understands that the military judge is not bound by any agreement made between the accused person and the prosecutor.

• Marginal note:Validity of plea

  (4) The failure of the military judge to fully inquire whether the conditions set out in subsection (3) are met does not affect the validity of the plea.

• Marginal note:Refusal to plead

  (5) If an accused person refuses to plead or does not answer directly, he or she is deemed to have made a plea of not guilty.

• Marginal note:Allowing time

  (6) An accused person is not entitled as of right to have their trial postponed, but the military judge may, if the military judge considers that the accused person should be allowed further time to plead or prepare for their defence or for any other reason, adjourn the trial to a later time, on any terms that the military judge considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Included or other offence

  (7) Despite any other provision of this Act, if an accused person pleads not guilty of the service offence charged but guilty of any other service offence arising out of the same transaction, whether or not it is an included offence, the military judge may, with the consent of the prosecutor, accept that plea of guilty and, if the plea is accepted, the military judge shall find the accused person not guilty of the offence charged and find him or her guilty of the offence in respect of which the plea of guilty was accepted and enter those findings in the record of the court martial.

• Marginal note:Inquiry of court — serious personal injury offence

  (8) If the accused person is charged with a service offence that is a serious personal injury offence and the accused person and the prosecutor have entered into an agreement under which the accused person will enter a plea of guilty of the service offence charged — or a plea of not guilty of the service offence charged but guilty of any other service offence arising out of the same transaction, whether or not it is an included offence — the military judge shall, after accepting the plea of guilty, inquire of the prosecutor whether reasonable steps were taken to inform the victims of the agreement.

• Marginal note:Inquiry of court — certain offences

  (9) If the accused person is charged with a serious offence that is not a serious personal injury offence and the accused person and the prosecutor have entered into an agreement referred to in subsection (8), the military judge shall, after accepting the plea of guilty, inquire of the prosecutor whether any of the victims had advised the prosecutor of their desire to be informed if such an agreement were entered into and, if so, whether reasonable steps were taken to inform that victim of the agreement.

• Marginal note:Duty to inform

  (10) If subsection (8) or (9) applies, and any victim was not informed of the agreement before the plea of guilty was accepted, the prosecutor shall, as soon as feasible, take reasonable steps to inform the victim of the agreement and the acceptance of the plea.

• Marginal note:Validity of plea

  (11) Neither the failure of the military judge to inquire of the prosecutor as required under subsection (8) or (9) nor the failure of the prosecutor to take reasonable steps to inform the victims of the agreement affects the validity of the plea.

• Marginal note:Definition of serious personal injury offence

  (12) In this section, serious personal injury offence means

  • (a) a serious offence, or an offence referred to in section 77, 86, 87, 92, 95, 113, 120, 124 or 127, involving

    • (i) the use or attempted use of violence against another person, or

    • (ii) conduct endangering or likely to endanger the life or safety of another person or inflicting or likely to inflict severe psychological damage upon another person; or

  • (b) an offence punishable under section 130 that is an offence under section 151, 152, 153, 153.1, 155, 160, 170, 171, 172, 271, 272 or 273 of the Criminal Code, or an attempt to commit such an offence.

In deciding whether to make the order, the court martial shall consider the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, any previous convictions, any previous finding of not responsible on account of mental disorder for a designated offence and the impact that such an order would have on the person’s privacy and security and shall give reasons for the decision.

Marginal note:Destruction of fingerprints, photographs, etc.

196.29 Fingerprints, photographs and other measurements that are taken under subsection 196.27(1) from a person who is charged with a designated offence shall be destroyed without delay, on application by the person, if the charge has not been proceeded with in the three years after the charge is laid.

Marginal note:Court martial may suspend

• 215 (1) If an offender has been sentenced to imprisonment or detention, the carrying into effect of the punishment may be suspended by the court martial that imposed the punishment.

• Marginal note:Consideration of victim’s safety and security

  (2) If the court martial makes a decision that the carrying into effect of the punishment be suspended, it shall include in the decision a statement that it has considered the safety and security of every victim of the offence.

• Marginal note:Copy to victim

  (3) The court martial shall, on request by a victim of the offence, cause a copy of the decision to be given to the victim.

• Marginal note:Jurisdiction and discretion of Parole Board of Canada

  (2) If the punishment of a service convict undergoing punishment in a penitentiary or of a service prisoner undergoing punishment in a civil prison is not suspended under this Act within six months after the date of the committal of that convict or prisoner to that penitentiary or civil prison, the Parole Board of Canada has, subject to Part II of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, exclusive jurisdiction and absolute discretion to grant, refuse to grant, or revoke the parole of that convict or prisoner.