Corrections and Conditional Release Act (S.C. 1992, c. 20)

Marginal note:Warrant for apprehension and recommitment

136 A member of the Board or a person designated, by name or position, by the Chairperson of the Board or the Commissioner may, by warrant, authorize an offender’s apprehension and recommitment to custody if

• (a) their parole is terminated or revoked or becomes inoperative under subsection 135(9.2); or

• (b) their statutory release is terminated or revoked or they are no longer entitled to be released on statutory release as a result of a change to their statutory release date under subsection 127(5.1).

Marginal note:Execution of warrant

• 137 (1) A warrant of apprehension issued under section 11.1, 18, 118, 135, 135.1 or 136 or by a provincial parole board, or an electronically transmitted copy of such a warrant, shall be executed by any peace officer to whom it is given in any place in Canada as if it had been originally issued or subsequently endorsed by a justice or other lawful authority having jurisdiction in that place.

• Marginal note:Arrest without warrant

  (2) A peace officer who believes on reasonable grounds that a warrant is in force under this Part or under the authority of a provincial parole board for the apprehension of a person may arrest the person without warrant and remand the person in custody.

• Marginal note:Where arrest made

  (3) Where a person has been arrested pursuant to subsection (2), the warrant of apprehension, or an electronically transmitted copy thereof, shall be executed within forty-eight hours after the arrest is made, failing which the person shall be released.

Marginal note:Arrest without warrant — breach of conditions

137.1 A peace officer may arrest without warrant an offender who has committed a breach of a condition of their parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence, or whom the peace officer finds committing such a breach, unless the peace officer

• (a) believes on reasonable grounds that the public interest may be satisfied without arresting the person, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to

  • (i) establish the identity of the person, or

  • (ii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the breach; and

• (b) does not believe on reasonable grounds that the person will fail to report to their parole supervisor in order to be dealt with according to law if the peace officer does not arrest the person.

Marginal note:Serving balance of sentence

• 138 (1) Where the parole or statutory release of an offender is terminated or revoked, the offender shall be recommitted to custody and shall serve the portion of the sentence that remained unexpired on the day on which the parole or statutory release was terminated or revoked.

• Marginal note:Effect of termination on parole and statutory release

  (2) An offender whose parole or statutory release has been terminated is

  • (a) eligible for parole in accordance with section 120, 120.1, 120.2 or 120.3, as the case may be; and

  • (b) entitled to be released on statutory release in accordance with section 127.

• Marginal note:No forfeiture of remission

  (3) An offender whose parole or statutory release has been terminated is not liable to forfeit

  • (a) any remission with which the offender was credited pursuant to the Prisons and Reformatories Act; or

  • (b) any credits under the International Transfer of Offenders Act.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation on parole

  (4) An offender whose parole or statutory release has been revoked is eligible for parole in accordance with section 120, 120.1, 120.2 or 120.3, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (5) Notwithstanding sections 122 and 123, the Board is not required to conduct a review for the purpose of parole of the case of an offender referred to in subsection (4) within one year after the date on which the offender’s parole or statutory release is revoked.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation on statutory release

  (6) Subject to subsections 130(4) and (6), an offender whose parole or statutory release has been revoked is entitled to be released on statutory release in accordance with subsection 127(5).

Merged Sentences

Marginal note:Multiple sentences

• 139 (1) For the purposes of the Criminal Code, the Prisons and Reformatories Act, the International Transfer of Offenders Act and this Act, a person who is subject to two or more sentences is deemed to have been sentenced to one sentence beginning on the first day of the first of those sentences to be served and ending on the last day of the last of them to be served.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (2) This section does not affect the time of commencement, pursuant to subsection 719(1) of the Criminal Code, of any sentences that are deemed under this section to constitute one sentence.

Review Hearings

Marginal note:Mandatory hearings

• 140 (1) The Board shall conduct the review of the case of an offender by way of a hearing, conducted in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the offender, unless the offender waives the right to a hearing in writing or refuses to attend the hearing, in the following classes of cases:

  • (a) the first review for day parole pursuant to subsection 122(1), except in respect of an offender serving a sentence of less than two years;

  • (b) the first review for full parole under subsection 123(1) and subsequent reviews under subsection 123(5), (5.01) or (5.1);

  • (c) a review conducted under section 129 or subsection 130(1) or 131(1) or (1.1);

  • (d) a review following a cancellation of parole; and

  • (e) any review of a class specified in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Discretionary hearing

  (2) The Board may elect to conduct a review of the case of an offender by way of a hearing in any case not referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Dispensing with hearing

  (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), in respect of any class of offenders specified in the regulations, the Board may conduct a review referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) without a hearing in order to decide whether

  • (a) to grant parole, subject to the offender’s acceptance in writing of the conditions of parole; or

  • (b) to hold a hearing before the rendering of a decision.

• Marginal note:Attendance by observers

  (4) Subject to subsections (5) and (5.1), the Board or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board shall, subject to such conditions as the Board or person considers appropriate and after taking into account the offender’s views, permit a person who applies in writing therefor to attend as an observer at a hearing relating to an offender, unless the Board or person is satisfied that

  • (a) the hearing is likely to be disrupted or the ability of the Board to consider the matter before it is likely to be adversely affected by the presence of that person or of that person in conjunction with other persons who have applied to attend the hearing;

  • (b) the person’s presence is likely to adversely affect those who have provided information to the Board, including victims, members of a victim’s family or members of the offender’s family;

  • (c) the person’s presence is likely to adversely affect an appropriate balance between that person’s or the public’s interest in knowing and the public’s interest in the effective reintegration of the offender into society; or

  • (d) the security and good order of the institution in which the hearing is to be held is likely to be adversely affected by the person’s presence.

• Marginal note:Exclusion of observers

  (5) Where in the course of a hearing the Board concludes that any of the possible situations described in subsection (4) is likely to exist, it may decide to continue the hearing in the absence of observers or of a particular observer.

• Marginal note:Attendance by victim or member of their family

  (5.1) In determining whether to permit a victim or a member of the victim’s family to attend as an observer at a hearing, the Board or its designate shall make every effort to fully understand the need of the victim and of the members of his or her family to attend the hearing and witness its proceedings. The Board or its designate shall permit a victim or a member of his or her family to attend as an observer unless satisfied that the presence of the victim or family member would result in a situation described in paragraph (4)(a), (b), (c) or (d).

• Marginal note:Attendance not permitted

  (5.2) If the Board or its designate decides under subsection (5.1) to not permit a victim or a member of his or her family to attend a hearing, the Board shall provide for the victim or family member to observe the hearing by any means that the Board considers appropriate.

• (6) [Repealed, 2015, c. 13, s. 49]

• Marginal note:Assistance to offender

  (7) Where a review by the Board includes a hearing at which the offender is present, the Board shall permit the offender to be assisted by a person of the offender’s choice unless the Board would not permit the presence of that person as an observer pursuant to subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Role of assistant

  (8) A person referred to in subsection (7) is entitled

  • (a) to be present at the hearing at all times when the offender is present;

  • (b) to advise the offender throughout the hearing; and

  • (c) to address, on behalf of the offender, the members of the Board conducting the hearing at times they adjudge to be conducive to the effective conduct of the hearing.

• Marginal note:Right to interpreter

  (9) An offender who does not have an adequate understanding of at least one of Canada’s official languages is entitled to the assistance of an interpreter at the hearing and for the purpose of understanding materials provided to the offender pursuant to subsection 141(1) and paragraph 143(2)(b).

• Marginal note:Presentation of statements

  (10) If they are attending a hearing as an observer,

  • (a) a victim may present a statement describing the harm, property damage or loss suffered by them as the result of the commission of the offence and its continuing impact on them — including any safety concerns — and commenting on the possible release of the offender; and

  • (b) a person referred to in subsection 142(3) may present a statement describing the harm, property damage or loss suffered by them as the result of any act of the offender in respect of which a complaint was made to the police or Crown attorney or an information laid under the Criminal Code, and its continuing impact on them — including any safety concerns — and commenting on the possible release of the offender.

• Marginal note:Consideration of statement

  (10.1) The Board shall, in deciding whether an offender should be released and what conditions might be applicable to the release, take into consideration any statement that has been presented in accordance with paragraph (10)(a) or (b).

• Marginal note:Forms of statement

  (11) If a victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) is not attending a hearing, their statement may be presented at the hearing in the form of a written statement, which may be accompanied by an audio or video recording, or in any other form prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Communication of statement in writing

  (12) A victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) shall, before the hearing, deliver to the Board a transcript of the statement that they plan to present under subsection (10) or (11).

• Marginal note:Audio recording

  (13) Subject to any conditions specified by the Board, a victim, or a person referred to in subsection 142(3), is entitled, on request, after a hearing in respect of a review referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), to listen to an audio recording of the hearing, other than portions of the hearing that the Board considers

  • (a) could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the safety of any person or reveal a source of information obtained in confidence; or

  • (b) should not be heard by the victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) because the privacy interests of any person clearly outweighs the interest of the victim or person referred to in that subsection.

• Marginal note:Access to information

  (14) If an observer has been present during a hearing or a victim or a person has exercised their right under subsection (13), any information or documents discussed or referred to during the hearing shall not for that reason alone be considered to be publicly available for purposes of the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Marginal note:Cancellation of review hearing

140.1 Despite any other provision of this Act, if an offender has, on more than one occasion, refused to attend a review hearing or waived his or her right to a review hearing less than 15 days before the date scheduled for the hearing without providing a reasonable explanation for doing so, the Board may cancel the next review hearing to which the offender would otherwise be entitled to under this Act.

Marginal note:Transcript

• 140.2 (1) If a transcript of the hearing has been made, the Board shall, on written request and free of charge, provide a copy to the offender and a copy to the victim or a member of the victim’s family. However, the copy provided to the victim or member of the victim’s family shall not include any portion of the transcript of a part of the hearing that, under subsection 140(5), was or would have been continued in the absence of observers or of a particular observer.

• Marginal note:Personal information

  (2) The Board may delete from a copy of the transcript any personal information about a person other than the offender, the victim or a member of the victim’s family.

• Marginal note:Access to information

  (3) Information discussed or referred to in the transcript of the hearing are not publicly available for the purposes of the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Disclosure of Information

Marginal note:Disclosure to offender

• 141 (1) At least fifteen days before the day set for the review of the case of an offender, the Board shall provide or cause to be provided to the offender, in writing, in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the offender, the information that is to be considered in the review of the case or a summary of that information.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where information referred to in subsection (1) comes into the possession of the Board after the time prescribed in that subsection, that information or a summary of it shall be provided to the offender as soon as is practicable thereafter.

• Marginal note:Waiver and postponement

  (3) An offender may waive the right to be provided with the information or summary or to have it provided within the period referred to in subsection (1). If they waive the latter right and they receive information so late that it is not possible for them to prepare for the review, they are entitled to a postponement and a member of the Board or a person designated by name or position by the Chairperson of the Board shall, at the offender’s request, postpone the review for the period that the member or person determines. If the Board receives information so late that it is not possible for it to prepare for the review, a member of the Board or a person designated by name or position by the Chairperson of the Board may postpone the review for any reasonable period that the member or person determines.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (4) Where the Board has reasonable grounds to believe

  • (a) that any information should not be disclosed on the grounds of public interest, or

  • (b) that its disclosure would jeopardize

    • (i) the safety of any person,

    • (ii) the security of a correctional institution, or

    • (iii) the conduct of any lawful investigation,

  the Board may withhold from the offender as much information as is strictly necessary in order to protect the interest identified in paragraph (a) or (b).