Forces top judge faces more charges

An independent prosecutor has added more charges against the Canadian Forces top judge and has recommended the case proceed to a court martial.

In January, in an unprecedented situation, Col. Mario Dutil, the Chief Military Judge was charged after an investigation into one of his travel claims and his alleged relationship with a female subordinate.

At the time, Dutil had been charged with one count of an act of a fraudulent nature under the National Defence Act; one count of wilfully making a false entry in a document signed by him that was required for an official purpose, and one count of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

A special prosecutor was brought in to examine the case and make a recommendation on how it should proceed. That prosecutor, Lt.Col. Mark Poland, has completed a post-charge review of the charges laid earlier this year against Col. Dutil, and has forwarded eight charges to the office of the court martial administrator to initiate the court martial process, the Canadian Forces noted in a statement Monday.

The charges under the National Defence Act now include one count of wilfully making a false entry in a document signed by him that was 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, and three counts of neglect to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

The charges have not been tested in a court. The matter will now continue through the court martial process.

Special prosecutors may be appointed in certain circumstances where there may be an actual or perceived conflict of interest in the conduct of military prosecution duties, according to the Canadian Forces.

Poland is an officer in the reserves. In his civilian career he is the Crown Attorney of the Waterloo Region in Ontario.poland said in a statement that he conducted a thorough review of the charges laid against Dutil.

Military police spokesman Navy Lt. Blake Patterson said earlier this year the investigation started in November 2015 when a complaint was received about Dutil’s relationship with a female subordinate. During the course of that investigation, evidence came to light about allegations regarding the act of a fraudulent nature, he added. That issue is linked to one of Dutil’s travel claims.

Dutil is still serving as chief military judge but he is not hearing cases and has not heard any cases since the original charges were laid, a Department of National Defence official said Monday.

Dutil can only be removed by a government order-incouncil after an examination of the situation by an independent judicial committee.