Legal services

As part of the Independent Legal Assistance (ILA) Program, we provide confidential legal assistance through an independent legal team and reimbursements for eligible legal expenses.

On this page

• Eligibility
• Access to legal assistance
• Reimbursement of legal expenses
  • What you will need before you apply for a reimbursement
• Contact us

Eligibility

Individuals who have experienced a sexual misconduct incident(s) that occurred within a Department of National Defence (DND)/Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) context.

We acknowledge that every incident has its particular circumstances. Please connect with us if you are unsure whether your situation is eligible for reimbursement or for accessing the ILA Program Legal Team.

You are not required to:

• report the incident(s) to the chain of command or police
• participate in any investigative, administrative, or disciplinary process

Access to legal assistance

We provide legal assistance to eligible individuals who have experienced an incident of sexual misconduct in a DND/CAF context. Our legal team consists of trauma-informed DND public service employees with experience supporting people affected by sexual misconduct. We provide independent legal assistance protected by solicitor-client privilege which means communications between lawyers and clients remain confidential. The ILA service offerings include:

• Legal information: General information about the law, reporting options, investigations, rights, and both criminal and military justice systems.
• Legal advice: Personalized advice on criminal and military justice systems, and how laws apply to the individual’s circumstances. We do not provide legal advice related to any legal action or complaint against the Government of Canada such as human rights complaints, lawsuits, grievances, etc. However, if you are unsure about whether your legal questions are covered by our program, please contact us for further information.
• Legal representation: An ILA lawyer may represent a client in two possible scenarios:
  • In a criminal sexual offence trial or service offence trial, in pre-trial applications related to the use of the client’s sexual conduct or to the use of the client’s private records as evidence.
  • In matters related to the client’s participation in criminal justice processes (military or civilian), such as facilitating conversations with the Crown, preparing a victim impact statement on sentencing or applying for testimonial aids. These are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Reimbursement of legal expenses

If you sought independent legal assistance through an external lawyer licensed to practice law in a Canadian province or territory, you may be eligible for reimbursement. Your legal expenses must have been incurred on or after April 1, 2019.

What you will need before you apply for a reimbursement

You will have to submit the following documents:

• Reimbursement application form, including an attestation that the legal services pertained to sexual misconduct within a DND/CAF context and related to the military or criminal justice systems
• Invoice from a lawyer
• Proof of payment of legal invoice: 
  • please ensure hours and rate per hour are included
  • include billing for all hours of legal information/advice, even if your total hours are more than four
• Banking information

Contact us

You can call the DCSRC via the 24/7 Support Line at 1-844-750-1648 or by email Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time at dnd.dcsrc-csrcd.mdn@forces.gc.ca.

An DCSRC staff member can explain the legal services available to you, confirm if you are eligible and then refer you to the legal team. They can also guide you on how to apply for reimbursement. They may offer other forms of ongoing support and assistance, as needed.

The DCSRC protects all information in accordance with the Privacy Act.

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