A special prosecutor has decided to proceed with previously announced charges against Canadian Armed Forces’ Chief Military Judge Col. Mario Dutil and has added new charges to the list for court martial.
Independent Special Prosecutor Lt.-Col. Mark Poland said Monday that he had completed a review of charges laid earlier this year and determined that additional charges were warranted.
Poland said the charges now include:
- One count of wilfully making a false entry in a document signed by him that was required for an official purpose or required for an official purpose
- One count of wilfully making a false statement in a document signed by him that was required for an official purpose
- One count of fraud under $5,000 contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada
- One count of an act of a fraudulent nature
- One count of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline
- Three counts of neglect to the prejudice of good order and discipline
Most of the charges relate to violations of the National Defence Act. None of the allegations against Col. Dutil have been proven in court.
“I am confident that there is a reasonable prospect of conviction, based on all of the evidence and the law, and that pursing this prosecution is in the public interest,” Lt.-Col. Poland said in a news release.
“As in the civilian justice system, no one is above the law,” he added.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance told CTV News that the case is now being managed by the Judge Advocate General Genevieve Bernatchez “and she’s going to do a terrific job at managing it.”
“Like anybody that’s charged, they get due process, presumption of innocence and we’ll see how it goes,” he added.
Col. Dutil was first charged with three offences in January. The Department of National Defence said at the time that the alleged offences occurred between Nov. 2014 and Oct. 2015.
Col. Dutil has held the role of chief military judge since 2006. Col. Dutil joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1984, one year after he was called to the Quebec Bar.
