Commander J.B.M. Pelletier, LL.M. CD

Commander Martin Pelletier was born in Quebec City. He obtained law degrees from Laval University and the University of Western Ontario and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1993.

Commander Pelletier joined the Royal Canadian Navy as a reservist in 1987 and obtained his commission as an officer in 1989.  He served ashore with HMCS Montcalm and Prevost and at sea as a Maritime Operations Officer on both the East and West coasts.  He practiced law in Quebec City before joining the Regular Force with the Office of the Judge Advocate General in 1995.

Commander Pelletier served as Deputy Judge Advocate at CFB Valcartier, at CFSU(E), in Geilenkirchen, Germany and at Naval Reserve Headquarters.  At National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, he worked in the Military Justice and Administrative Law fields.  In 1997, he participated in the amendment process of the National Defence Act which led to the adoption of Bill C-25.  In 1999, he deployed in Bosnia to serve as Legal Advisor of the Canadian Contingent of the Stabilization Force (SFOR).

Commander Pelletier joined the Canadian Military Prosecution Service in 2001 as military prosecutor and served as appellate counsel before the Court Martial Appeal Court until his promotion in 2004.  In his current rank, he served over three years as Assistant Judge Advocate General (Atlantic Region) in Halifax, during which time he was assigned as Legal Advisor to boards of inquiry investigating a fire in the submarine HMCS Chicoutimi and on the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.  He also obtained a Graduate Diploma in Military Law from the University of Melbourne in 2005.

Upon returning to Ottawa in 2007, Commander Pelletier served as the Director of Law for the team advising the senior Canadian Armed Forces leadership on issues of military personnel.  In 2009, he was selected to attend the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University where he obtained a Master's degree (LL.M.) in Law.

On his return from Montreal in 2010, he served once again with the Director of Military Prosecutions, initially as Deputy Director, responsible for the supervision of the prosecutors in Atlantic and Eastern Regions.  In 2012, he became Assistant Director, in charge of policy development, appeals and the supervision of the provision of legal advice to the National Investigation Service. From 2010, he represented the Minister of National Defence on numerous appeals before the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and was counsel for a rare appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada in 2011 in the case of R. v. St-Onge. 

Commander Pelletier was appointed as Military Judge by Governor in Council on 10 April 2014.  He presides at courts martial held across Canada.

He is married to Anne Julie Lalonde from Montreal and they are the proud parents of Samuel and Sarah-Maude.