An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2019, c. 25)
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Assented to 2019-06-21
An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
S.C. 2019, c. 25
Assented to 2019-06-21
An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) modernize and clarify interim release provisions to simplify the forms of release that may be imposed on an accused, incorporate a principle of restraint and require that particular attention be given to the circumstances of Aboriginal accused and accused from vulnerable populations when making interim release decisions, and provide more onerous interim release requirements for offences involving violence against an intimate partner;
(b) provide for a judicial referral hearing to deal with administration of justice offences involving a failure to comply with conditions of release or failure to appear as required;
(c) abolish peremptory challenges of jurors, modify the process of challenging a juror for cause so that a judge makes the determination of whether a ground of challenge is true, and allow a judge to direct that a juror stand by for reasons of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice;
(d) increase the maximum term of imprisonment for repeat offences involving intimate partner violence and provide that abuse of an intimate partner is an aggravating factor on sentencing;
(e) restrict the availability of a preliminary inquiry to offences punishable by imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more and strengthen the justice’s powers to limit the issues explored and witnesses to be heard at the inquiry;
(f) hybridize most indictable offences punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years or less, increase the default maximum penalty to two years less a day of imprisonment for summary conviction offences and extend the limitation period for summary conviction offences to 12 months;
(g) remove the requirement for judicial endorsement for the execution of certain out-of-province warrants and authorizations, expand judicial case management powers, allow receiving routine police evidence in writing, consolidate provisions relating to the powers of the Attorney General and allow increased use of technology to facilitate remote attendance by any person in a proceeding;
(h) re-enact the victim surcharge regime and provide the court with the discretion to waive a victim surcharge if the court is satisfied that the victim surcharge would cause the offender undue hardship or would be disproportionate to the gravity of the offence or the degree of responsibility of the offender; and
(i) remove passages and repeal provisions that have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada, repeal section 159 of the Act and provide that no person shall be convicted of any historical offence of a sexual nature unless the act that constitutes the offence would constitute an offence under the Criminal Code if it were committed on the day on which the charge was laid.
The enactment also amends the Youth Criminal Justice Act in order to reduce delays within the youth criminal justice system and enhance the effectiveness of that system with respect to administration of justice offences. For those purposes, the enactment amends that Act to, among other things,
(a) set out principles intended to encourage the use of extrajudicial measures and judicial reviews as alternatives to the laying of charges for administration of justice offences;
(b) set out requirements for imposing conditions on a young person’s release order or as part of a sentence;
(c) limit the circumstances in which a custodial sentence may be imposed for an administration of justice offence;
(d) remove the requirement for the Attorney General to determine whether to seek an adult sentence in certain circumstances; and
(e) remove the power of a youth justice court to make an order to lift the ban on publication in the case of a young person who receives a youth sentence for a violent offence, as well as the requirement to determine whether to make such an order.
Finally, the enactment amends among other Acts An Act to amend the Criminal Code (exploitation and trafficking in persons) so that certain sections of that Act can come into force on different days and also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
R.S., c. C-46Criminal Code
Amendments to the Act
Marginal note:2001, c. 41, s. 2(1); 2002, c. 7, s. 137(1); 2005, c. 40, s. 1(2) and s. 7; 2013, c. 13, s. 2(1); 2014, c. 23, s. 2; 2015, c. 3, s. 44(4)(E) and c. 20, s. 15(1)
1 (1) The definition Attorney General in section 2 of the Criminal Code is replaced by the following:
- Attorney General
Attorney General
(a) with respect to proceedings to which this Act applies, means the Attorney General or Solicitor General of the province in which those proceedings are taken and includes his or her lawful deputy or, if those proceedings are referred to in subsection 2.3(1), the Attorney General of Canada or the Attorney General or Solicitor General of the province in which those proceedings are taken and includes the lawful deputy of any of them,
(b) means the Attorney General of Canada and includes his or her lawful deputy with respect to
(i) Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, or
(ii) proceedings commenced at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by or on behalf of that Government in respect of an offence under any Act of Parliament — other than this Act or the Canada Elections Act — or any regulation made under such an Act, and
(c) means the Director of Public Prosecutions appointed under subsection 3(1) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act with respect to proceedings in relation to an offence under the Canada Elections Act; (procureur général)
(2) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
- audioconference
audioconference means any means of telecommunication that allows the judge or justice and any individual to communicate orally in a proceeding; (audioconférence)
- videoconference
videoconference means any means of telecommunication that allows the judge, justice or chairperson of a Review Board, as defined in subsection 672.1(1), and any individual to engage in simultaneous visual and oral communication in a proceeding; (vidéoconférence)
(3) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
- appearance notice
appearance notice means a notice in Form 9 issued by a peace officer; (citation à comparaître)
- intimate partner
intimate partner with respect to a person, includes their current or former spouse, common-law partner and dating partner; (partenaire intime)
- recognizance
recognizance means a recognizance in Form 32 entered into before a judge or justice; (engagement)
- release order
release order means an order in Form 11 made by a judge as defined in section 493 or a justice; (ordonnance de mise en liberté)
- summons
summons means a summons in Form 6 issued by a judge or justice or by the chairperson of a Review Board as defined in subsection 672.1(1); (sommation)
- undertaking
undertaking means, unless a contrary intention appears, an undertaking in Form 10 given to a peace officer; (promesse)
2 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 2.2:
Marginal note:Concurrent jurisdiction
2.3 (1) The proceedings for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition Attorney General in section 2 are
(a) proceedings in relation to an offence under subsection 7(2.01), (2.3) or (2.31) or section 57, 58, 83.12, 103, 104, 121.1, 380, 382, 382.1, 400, 424.1, 431.1, 467.11 or 467.111 or in relation to any terrorism offence;
(b) proceedings in relation to an offence against a member of United Nations personnel or associated personnel under section 235, 236, 266 to 269, 269.1, 271 to 273, 279 or 279.1;
(c) proceedings in relation to an offence referred to in subsection 7(3.71) or in relation to an offence referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition terrorist activity in subsection 83.01(1) if the act or omission constituting the offence was committed outside Canada and is deemed under any of subsections 7(2), (2.1) to (2.21), (3), (3.1), (3.72) and (3.73) to have been committed in Canada;
(d) proceedings in relation to an offence if the act or omission constituting the offence is a terrorist activity referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition terrorist activity in subsection 83.01(1) and was committed outside Canada and is deemed by virtue of subsection 7(3.74) or (3.75) to have been committed in Canada;
(e) a proceeding in relation to an offence under section 811 that arises out of a breach of a recognizance made under section 810.01 or 810.011, if he or she has given consent to the information referred to in those sections; and
(f) proceedings under section 83.13, 83.14, 83.222, 83.223, 83.28, 83.29 or 83.3.
Marginal note:For greater certainty — Attorney General of Canada
(2) For greater certainty, the Attorney General of Canada or his or her lawful deputy may, in respect of an offence referred to in subsection (1) or an offence under any Act of Parliament — other than this Act or the Canada Elections Act — or any regulation made under such an Act, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties and functions assigned to the Attorney General by or under this Act, and those powers include the power to commence and to conduct
(a) a proceeding for conspiring or attempting to commit such an offence or for being an accessory after the fact or counselling a person to be a party to such an offence;
(b) a proceeding in relation to a criminal organization offence that arises out of conduct that relates, in whole or in part, to any offence for which he or she has the power to commence and to conduct a proceeding;
(c) a proceeding in relation to an offence referred to in section 354, 355.2, 355.4 or 462.31 that arises out of conduct that relates, in whole or in part, to any offence for which he or she has the power to commence and to conduct a proceeding or out of any act or omission that, if it had occurred in Canada, would have constituted such an offence;
(d) a proceeding for the breach of any court order made in the course of a proceeding commenced or conducted by him or her;
(e) a proceeding for the failure to comply with any condition associated with the release of a person by a peace officer or other competent authority — including a condition to appear at a specified time and place — in relation to any offence for which he or she has the power to commence and to conduct a proceeding; and
(f) any ancillary proceedings in relation to any offence for which he or she has the power to commence and to conduct a proceeding.
Marginal note:For greater certainty — Director of Public Prosecutions
(3) For greater certainty, in respect of an offence under the Canada Elections Act, the Director of Public Prosecutions, subject to the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, exercises the powers and performs the duties and functions of the Attorney General of Canada referred to in subsection (2).
Marginal note:2002, c. 13, s. 2
3 Section 3.1 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 3.1(1) and is amended by adding the following:
Marginal note:Clerk of the court
(2) Unless otherwise provided or ordered, if anything is done from the bench by a court, justice or judge and it is reduced to writing, the clerk of the court may sign the writing.
Marginal note:1999, c. 35, s. 11
Marginal note:2001, c. 27, s. 244; 2012, c. 1, s. 10; 2014, c. 25, s. 3
(2) Subsection 7(4.1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Offence in relation to sexual offences against children
(4.1) Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other Act, every one who, outside Canada, commits an act or omission that if committed in Canada would be an offence against section 151, 152, 153 or 155, subsection 160(2) or (3), section 163.1, 170, 171, 171.1, 172.1, 172.2 or 173 or subsection 286.1(2) shall be deemed to commit that act or omission in Canada if the person who commits the act or omission is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
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