Watchdog agency accuses chief of military police of blocking investigations

The country's military police watchdog has accused the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM) of obstructing its independent reviews of complaints.

In the agency's annual report, tabled in Parliament this week, chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission Tammy Tremblay unloaded a series of complaints. She said the panel had to go to Federal Court in some cases to force disclosure of information it needed to complete its investigations and reviews.

Tremblay described the situation as unacceptable and called it «an erosion of the MPCC's ability to exercise civilian oversight of the military police.»

«The CFPM has, at times, refused to disclose information to which the MPCC is legally entitled and that it requires to fulfill its legislative mandate,» Tremblay wrote in the annual report.

She called on the federal government to amend the National Defence Act to compel disclosure.

«Independent oversight of law enforcement is crucial to police legitimacy and effectiveness; one cannot exist without the other,» Tremblay wrote.

Her scathing assessment comes as the House of Commons defence committee reviews transparency at the Department of National Defence.

The committee has held a series of hearings on the issue of secrecy and the perceived lack of public disclosure by the defence department. It has heard testimony from whistleblowers and senior members of government and the military, including the military's judge advocate general.

In his testimony before the committee on Feb. 12, 2024, Defence Minister Bill Blair singled out the watchdog agency, among others, as crucial to institutional accountability.

«The commission reviews and investigates complaints concerning military police conduct and investigates allegations of