National Defence Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. N-5)

258 and 259 [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 22 (4th Supp.), s. 74]

Marginal note:Compensation

260 Any person who suffers loss, damage or injury by reason of the exercise of any of the powers conferred by section 257 shall be compensated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Exemption from Tolls

Marginal note:Duties or tolls on roads, bridges, etc.

• 261 (1) No duties or tolls, otherwise payable by law in respect of the use of any pier, wharf, quay, landing-place, highway, road, right-of-way, bridge or canal, shall be paid by or demanded from any unit or other element of the Canadian Forces or any officer or non-commissioned member when on duty or any person under escort or in respect of the movement of any materiel, except that the Minister may authorize payment of duties and tolls in respect of that use.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Nothing in this section affects the liability for payment of duties or tolls lawfully demandable in respect of any vehicles or vessels other than those belonging to or in the service of Her Majesty.

Ships in Convoy

Marginal note:Master of merchant ship to obey convoying officer

262 Every master or other person in command of a merchant or other vessel under the convoy of any of Her Majesty’s Canadian ships shall obey the directions of the commanding officer of the convoy or the directions of the commanding officer of any of Her Majesty’s Canadian ships in all matters relating to the navigation or security of the convoy and shall take such precautions for avoiding the enemy as may be directed by any such commanding officer and, if the master or other person fails to obey the directions, that commanding officer may compel obedience by force of arms, without being liable for any loss of life or property that may result from the use of that force.

Salvage

Marginal note:Crown may claim for salvage services

263 Where salvage services are rendered by or with the aid of a vessel or aircraft belonging to or in the service of Her Majesty and used in the Canadian Forces, Her Majesty may claim salvage for those services and has the same rights and remedies in respect of those services as any other salvor would have had if the vessel or aircraft had belonged to that other salvor.

Marginal note:Consent of Minister to salvage claim

• 264 (1) No claim for salvage services by the commander or crew or part of the crew of a vessel or aircraft belonging to or in the service of Her Majesty and used in the Canadian Forces shall be finally adjudicated on unless the consent of the Minister to the prosecution of the claim is proved.

• Marginal note:Time for giving consent

  (2) For the purpose of this section, the consent of the Minister may be given at any time before final adjudication.

• Marginal note:Evidence of consent

  (3) Any document purporting to give the consent of the Minister for the purpose of this section is evidence of that consent.

• Marginal note:Claim dismissed if no consent

  (4) Where a claim for salvage services is prosecuted and the consent of the Minister is not proved, the claim shall be dismissed with costs.

Marginal note:Minister may accept offers of settlement

• 265 (1) The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Attorney General of Canada, accept, on behalf of Her Majesty and the commander and crew or part of the crew, offers of settlement made with respect to claims for salvage services rendered by vessels or aircraft belonging to or in the service of Her Majesty and used in the Canadian Forces.

• Marginal note:Distribution

  (2) The proceeds of any settlement made under subsection (1) shall be distributed in such manner as the Governor in Council may prescribe.

266 [Repealed, 2001, c. 26, s. 311]

Limitation or Prescription Periods, Liability and Exemptions

Marginal note:Restriction of execution against officers and non-commissioned members

267 No judgment or order given or made against an officer or non-commissioned member by any court in Canada shall be enforced by the levying of execution on any arms, ammunition, equipment, instruments or clothing used by that officer or non-commissioned member for military purposes.

Marginal note:Exemption from jury service

268 Every officer and non-commissioned member of the reserve force on active service and every officer and non-commissioned member of the regular force and special force is exempt from serving on a jury.

Marginal note:Limitation or prescription period

• 269 (1) Unless an action or other proceeding is commenced within two years after the day on which the act, neglect or default complained of occurred, no action or other proceeding lies against Her Majesty or any person for

  • (a) an act done in pursuance or execution or intended execution of this Act or any regulations or military or departmental duty or authority;

  • (b) any neglect or default in the execution of this Act or any regulations or military or departmental duty or authority; or

  • (c) an act or any neglect or default that is incidental to an act, neglect or default described in paragraph (a) or (b).

• Marginal note:Prosecutions

  (1.1) A prosecution in respect of an offence — other than an offence under this Act, the Geneva Conventions Act or the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act — relating to an act, neglect or default described in subsection (1) may not be commenced after six months from the day on which the act, neglect or default occurred.

• Marginal note:Saving provision

  (2) Nothing in subsection (1) is in bar of proceedings against any person under the Code of Service Discipline.

Marginal note:Actions barred

270 No action or other proceeding lies against any officer or non-commissioned member in respect of anything done or omitted by the officer or non-commissioned member in the execution of his duty under the Code of Service Discipline, unless the officer or non-commissioned member acted, or omitted to act, maliciously and without reasonable and probable cause.

Compensation

Marginal note:Compensation to certain public service employees

• 271 (1) Compensation may, to such extent, in such manner and to such persons as the Governor in Council may by regulation prescribe, be paid in respect of disability or death resulting from injury or disease or aggravation thereof incurred by any person while

  • (a) employed in the federal public administration,

  • (b) employed under the direction of any part of the federal public administration, or

  • (c) engaged, with or without remuneration, in an advisory, supervisory or consultative capacity in or on behalf of the federal public administration,

  and performing any function in relation to the Canadian Forces or any forces cooperating with the Canadian Forces, if the injury or disease or aggravation thereof arose out of or was directly connected with the performance of that function.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) No compensation shall be paid under subsection (1) in respect of any disability or death for which a pension is paid or payable by virtue of any of the provisions of the Pension Act.

Dependants

Marginal note:Arrest of dependants

272 The dependants, as defined by regulation, of officers and non-commissioned members on service or active service in any place out of Canada who are alleged to have committed an offence under the laws applicable in that place may be arrested by a member of the military police and may be handed over to the appropriate authorities of that place.

Jurisdiction of Civil Courts

Marginal note:Offences committed outside Canada

273 Where a person subject to the Code of Service Discipline does any act or omits to do anything while outside Canada which, if done or omitted in Canada by that person, would be an offence punishable by a civil court, that offence is within the competence of, and may be tried and punished by, a civil court having jurisdiction in respect of such an offence in the place in Canada where that person is found in the same manner as if the offence had been committed in that place, or by any other court to which jurisdiction has been lawfully transferred.

Inspections

Marginal note:Regulations

273.1 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) authorizing the inspection, in accordance with the custom or practice of the service, of any person or thing in, on or about

  • (i) any defence establishment, work for defence or materiel, or

  • (ii) any quarters under the control of the Canadian Forces or the Department; and

• (b) respecting the access to, exclusion from and safety and conduct of persons in, on or about any defence establishment, work for defence or materiel, including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, regulations

  • (i) respecting the inspection of persons and property entering, exiting or on any such place or materiel, and

  • (ii) requiring any person, as a condition of being given access to that place or materiel, to submit, on demand, to a search of the person and the person’s personal or movable property while entering or exiting that place or materiel or any restricted area within that place or materiel.

Searches

Marginal note:Searches

273.2 Except as provided for by regulations made pursuant to section 273.1, the following, namely,

• (a) quarters under the control of the Canadian Forces or the Department and occupied for residential purposes by any person subject to the Code of Service Discipline either alone or with that person’s dependants, as well as any locker or storage space located in those quarters and exclusively used by that person or those dependants for personal purposes, and

• (b) the personal or movable property of any person subject to the Code of Service Discipline located in, on or about any defence establishment, work for defence or materiel,

may be searched only if a warrant for that purpose has been issued or the search is otherwise authorized by law.

Marginal note:Warrant by commanding officer

273.3 Subject to sections 273.4 and 273.5, a commanding officer who is satisfied by information on oath that there is in any quarters, locker, storage space or personal or movable property referred to in section 273.2

• (a) anything on or in respect of which any offence against this Act has been or is believed on reasonable grounds to have been committed,

• (b) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence with respect to the commission of an offence against this Act, or

• (c) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe is intended to be used for the purpose of committing any offence against the person for which a person may be arrested without warrant,

may issue a warrant authorizing any officer or non-commissioned member named in the warrant, assisted by such other officers and non-commissioned members as are necessary, or a peace officer, to search the quarters, locker, storage space or personal or movable property for any such thing, and to seize and carry it before that commanding officer.

Marginal note:Investigating commanding officer

273.4 The commanding officer who carries out or directly supervises the investigation of any matter may issue a warrant pursuant to section 273.3 in relation to that investigation only if that commanding officer believes on reasonable grounds that

• (a) the conditions for the issuance of the warrant exist; and

• (b) no other commanding officer is readily available to determine whether the warrant should be issued.

Marginal note:Military police

273.5 Section 273.3 does not apply to a commanding officer of a military police unit.

Public Service

Marginal note:Public service

• 273.6 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Governor in Council or the Minister may authorize the Canadian Forces to perform any duty involving public service.

• Marginal note:Law enforcement assistance

  (2) The Governor in Council, or the Minister on the request of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or any other Minister, may issue directions authorizing the Canadian Forces to provide assistance in respect of any law enforcement matter if the Governor in Council or the Minister, as the case may be, considers that

  • (a) the assistance is in the national interest; and

  • (b) the matter cannot be effectively dealt with except with the assistance of the Canadian Forces.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of assistance that is of a minor nature and limited to logistical, technical or administrative support.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (4) The authority of the Minister under this section is subject to any directions issued by the Governor in Council.

Independent Review

Marginal note:Review

• 273.601 (1) The Minister shall cause an independent review of the following provisions, and their operation, to be undertaken:

  • (a) sections 18.3 to 18.6;

  • (b) sections 29 to 29.28;

  • (c) Parts III and IV; and

  • (d) sections 251, 251.2, 256, 270, 272, 273 to 273.5 and 302.

• Marginal note:Report to Parliament

  (2) The Minister shall cause a report of a review to be laid before each House of Parliament within seven years after the day on which this section comes into force, and within every seven-year period after the tabling of a report under this subsection.

• Marginal note:Amending legislation

  (3) However, if an Act of Parliament amends this Act based on an independent review, the next report shall be tabled within seven years after the day on which the amending Act is assented to.