Director of Military Prosecutions Withdraws All Charges Against Chief Military Judge

The Director of Military Prosecutions announced that he has withdrawn all charges filed against the Chief Military Judge, Colonel Mario Dutil.

Colonel Mario Dutil was originally charged under the National Defence Act by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service on January 25, 2018 with one count each of an act of a fraudulent nature, willfully making a false entry in a document signed by him that was required for an official purpose, and conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

Colonel Mario Dutil was facing four charges: wilfully making a false statement in a document signed by him, fraud, committing an act of a fraudulent nature and conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

The withdrawal of charges comes after careful consideration of the decision from the Federal Court dismissing the Director of Military Prosecutions’ application for judicial review. The Director of Military Prosecutions will not be appealing the Federal Court decision and has decided that it is in the best interest of the public and the administration of military justice to withdraw the charges and bring the court-martial to an end.

“All members of the Canadian Armed Forces, regardless of rank or appointment, are held to the same, highest standard of conduct. In this specific case, alleged wrongdoing was reported and investigated by proper authorities, charges were laid and moved forward in accordance with the law. However, after conducting a detailed review of the Federal Court’s decision to dismiss my application for judicial review, and carefully considering all circumstances surrounding this case, I believe that it is no longer in the public interest to proceed with this trial.”

Colonel Bruce MacGregor, Director of Military Prosecutions