Canada's military grievance system plagued by backlog, needs urgent reform: retired judge

A retired Supreme Court justice, following a review of Canada's military justice system ordered by Parliament, saved some of his sharpest criticisms for that very grievance system, calling it 'broken' and asserting that Canadian troops deserve better.

The comment was a reference to the military's grievance process, the only legal recourse Canada's rank and file have to raise concerns about everything from their work environment or a performance evaluation to disciplinary action taken against them -- including being kicked out of uniform.

"That's exactly what this process is intended to deal with," Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Richards said of Fortin's demand during the two-day Federal Court hearing, in which the senior military officer was asking Justice Ann Marie McDonald to quash his removal from the vaccine effort in May.

Edwards later warned that if the judge agreed to Fortin's request, other troops would try to sidestep the very process that Parliament set out for Canada's military to address complaints from the troops.

Yet only four months ago, a retired Supreme Court justice, following a review of Canada's military justice system ordered by Parliament, had saved some of his sharpest criticisms for that very grievance system, calling it "broken" and asserting that Canadian troops deserve better.