Binding case - Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - Militia Orders 1934 and Department of National Defence (DND) Orders 1934 - 1937. The Department of National Defence was established by the National Defence Act, which merged the Department of Militia and Defence (which was created in 1906 when the British Army withdrew its forces stationed in Canada), the Department of Naval Services (the department responsible for the administration of the Royal Canadian Navy), and the Air Board (which oversaw aviation in Canada). The National Defence Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada on June 28, 1922. [It was never known as the Department of Defence - DOD]