Vol. 148, No. 12 — June 4, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-120 May 16, 2014

NATIONAL DEFENCE ACT

Regulations Amending the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces)

P.C. 2014-576 May 15, 2014

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defence, pursuant to section 227.2 (see footnote a) of the National Defence Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces).

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION REGISTRATION REGULATIONS (CANADIAN FORCES)

AMENDMENTS

1. The expression “(bureau du prévôt)” at the end of the definition “Office of the Provost Marshal” in section 1 of the English version of the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces) (see footnote 1) is replaced by the expression “(bureau du grand prévôt)”.

2. The French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing “prévôt” with “grand prévôt” in the following provisions:

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations come into force on June 1, 2014.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues and objectives

Bill S-3, An Act to amend the National Defence Act, the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the Criminal Records Act was given Royal Assent on March 29, 2007 (Statutes of Canada, 2007, chapter 5). The amendments to the National Defence Act (NDA) brought the military justice system into harmony with the civilian criminal justice system regarding the registration of offenders who have been convicted of designated sexual offences at court martial. The Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces) made pursuant to section 227.2 of the NDA establish mechanisms by which sex offenders who are subject to the Code of Service Discipline or are officers or non-commissioned members of the primary reserve are registered and required to report and provide notification of absence, as the case may be, using Canadian Forces registration centres located both in and outside of Canada.

Bill C-15, the Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act (Statutes of Canada, 2013, chapter 24) [Bill C-15], which received Royal Assent on June 19, 2013, amends the NDA by implementing the majority of the recommendations related to military justice, the grievance process, military police and the Military Police Complaints Commission of the First Independent Review Authority, the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, the late former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, in his report tabled in Parliament in September 2003, and responding to a number of recommendations made by the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in its report of May 2009.

The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal is the Commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group and an advisor to the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and the Chief of the Defence Staff on policing matters. The French equivalent of the expression “Provost Marshal,” as found in the NDA before the amendments introduced by Bill C-15, was “prévôt.” Amendments introduced in Bill C-15 replaced “prévôt” with “grand prévôt” in the French version of the NDA as the equivalent of “Provost Marshal”, to provide consistency between the French and English versions. As the same terminology was used in the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces), amendments were therefore required to align the terminology with the NDA.

Description and rationale

This regulatory initiative is designed to harmonize the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces) with the amendments of Bill C-15 related to the change of terminology concerning the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal.

Amendments to the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces) have replaced “prévôt” with “grand prévôt” in the expression “(bureau du prévôt)” at the end of the definition “Office of the Provost Marshal” in section 1 of the English version. In the French version, the same amendments have been made to the definition “bureau du prévôt” in section 1, and to subparagraph 3(1)(a)(i) and paragraph 7(b).

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs on small business.

Consultation

As the Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations (Canadian Forces) are specific to the Canadian Forces, the Office of the Judge Advocate General and the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal were consulted during the development of this regulatory initiative.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The provisions of Bill C-15 related to these amendments came into force concurrently with this regulatory initiative on June 1, 2014. No further action is required to implement or enforce these amendments.

Contact

Colonel R.F. Holman
Deputy Judge Advocate General — Military Justice
Office of the Judge Advocate General
National Defence Headquarters
Constitution Building, 11th Floor
305 Rideau Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K2
Telephone: 613-995-2478
Email: Robin.Holman@forces.gc.ca