Military Police Complaints Commission to Start Hearing Testimony in the Stopford Investigation

OTTAWA, 14 August 2000– Louise Cobetto, Chairperson of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC), has decided to conduct an investigation and along with Thomas Flanagan, MPCC Member, will constitute the Commission that will start receiving testimony into two cases that were recently brought to the attention of the Commission. On June 20, 2000, Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), Brigadier- General Patricia Samson requested that the MPCC conduct an investigation. Nine days later, ex-Warrant Officer Matthew Stopford also submitted a related complaint. After five weeks of collecting and reviewing the available documentation, Ms. Cobetto and Mr. Flanagan are now in a position to start interviewing witnesses on the following main issues:

• Did the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) provide inaccurate and misleading advice to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Canadian public, among other occasions, during the press conference held on May 30, 2000, with regard to the possibility of laying charges pursuant to the Criminal Code and the National Defence Act?
• Did the CFNIS provide misleading information to ex-Warrant Officer Matthew Stopford with respect to the "confessions" collected during the conduct of the CFNIS investigation?
• When did the military police and the chain of command become aware of the allegations that ex-Warrant Officer Stopford was poisoned in Croatia in 1993?

Assisting Ms. Cobetto and Mr. Flanagan in this phase of the investigation are Carole Bonhomme, Senior-Counsel to the Commission, and Simon Noël, Q.C.

On June 20, 2000 the Minister of National Defence said, "… the Military Police Complaints Commission has been asked by the Provost Marshal herself in fact to investigate the matter and determine whether the National Investigation Service acted in an appropriate fashion. That will get us to the truth."

Louise Cobetto said today that, "in accordance with my mandate, I shall deal with this matter, as I would with all matters before the Commission, as thoroughly and as expeditiously as the circumstances and the considerations of fairness permit."

The MPCC came into force December 1, 1999 and has the sole jurisdiction over:

• monitoring and reviewing conduct complaints, lodged with the CFPM, about the military police in the conduct of their policing duties or functions; and
• examining complaints of interference in any military police investigation.

Under powers granted by Parliament, the MPCC Chairperson has the exclusive authority to conduct an investigation of this sort. The MPCC has a duty to investigate the allegations both in depth and expeditiously. At the conclusion of the investigation stage, and if circumstances warrant, the Chairperson may convene a public hearing.

The Military Police Complaints Commission, a quasi-judicial civilian oversight authority, is external, autonomous and independent of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces. The creation of the MPCC was intended to make the handling of complaints involving the military police more transparent and accessible. As an agent of Parliament, the MPCC acts as an autonomous organization, shielded from political and bureaucratic interference.

For more information contact
Michael O'Shaughnessy,
Executive Asst to the Chairperson and Communications Manager, MPCC
Telephone: (613) 947-5704; Fax: (613) 947-5705;
e-mail: oshaughnessym@mpcc-cppm.gc.ca