Corrections and Conditional Release Act

Marginal note:Disclosure of information to victims

• 26 (1) At the request of a victim of an offence committed by an offender, the Commissioner

  • (a) shall disclose to the victim the following information about the offender:

    • (i) the offender’s name,

    • (ii) the offence of which the offender was convicted and the court that convicted the offender,

    • (iii) the date of commencement and length of the sentence that the offender is serving, and

    • (iv) eligibility dates and review dates applicable to the offender under this Act in respect of temporary absences or parole;

  • (b) may disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, where in the Commissioner’s opinion the interest of the victim in such disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender’s privacy that could result from the disclosure:

    • (i) the offender’s age,

    • (ii) the name and location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served,

    • (ii.1) if the offender is transferred, a summary of the reasons for the transfer and the name and location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served,

    • (ii.2) if the offender is to be transferred to a minimum security institution as designated by Commissioner’s Directive and it is possible to notify the victim before the transfer, a summary of the reasons for the transfer and the name and location of the institution in which the sentence is to be served,

    • (ii.3) the programs that were designed to address the needs of the offender and contribute to their successful reintegration into the community in which the offender is participating or has participated,

    • (ii.4) the serious disciplinary offences that the offender has committed,

    • (iii) information pertaining to the offender’s correctional plan, including information regarding the offender’s progress towards meeting the objectives of the plan,

    • (iv) the date of any hearing for the purposes of a review under section 130,

    • (v) that the offender has been removed from Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act before the expiration of the sentence, and

    • (vi) [Repealed, 2015, c. 13, s. 46]

    • (vii) whether the offender is in custody and, if not, the reason why the offender is not in custody;

  • (c) shall disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, if, in the Commissioner’s opinion, the disclosure would not have a negative impact on the safety of the public:

    • (i) the date, if any, on which the offender is to be released on temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release,

    • (ii) the conditions attached to the offender’s temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release,

    • (iii) the destination of the offender on any temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release, whether the offender will be in the vicinity of the victim while travelling to that destination and the reasons for any temporary absence; and

  • (d) shall provide the victim with access to a photograph of the offender taken on the occurrence of the earliest of any of the following — and any subsequent photograph of the offender taken by the Service — if, in the Commissioner’s opinion, to do so would not have a negative impact on the safety of the public:

    • (i) the release of the offender on unescorted temporary absence,

    • (ii) the offender’s work release,

    • (iii) the offender’s release on parole, and

    • (iv) the offender’s release by virtue of statutory release or the expiration of the sentence.

• Marginal note:Timing of disclosure

  (1.1) The Commissioner shall disclose the information referred to in paragraph (1)(c) before the day on which the offender is released and, unless it is not practicable to do so, the Commissioner shall disclose it at least 14 days before that day.

• Marginal note:Continuing duty to disclose

  (1.2) The Commissioner shall disclose to the victim any changes to the information referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (c).

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where a person has been transferred from a penitentiary to a provincial correctional facility, the Commissioner may, at the request of a victim of an offence committed by that person, disclose to the victim the name of the province in which the provincial correctional facility is located, if in the Commissioner’s opinion the interest of the victim in such disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the person’s privacy that could result from the disclosure.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of information to other persons

  (3) Subsection (1) also applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a person who satisfies the Commissioner

  • (a) that the person suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss, as the result of an act of an offender, whether or not the offender was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and

  • (b) that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) Subsection (2) also applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a person who satisfies the Commissioner

  • (a) that the person suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss, as the result of an act of a person referred to in subsection (2), whether or not the person referred to in subsection (2) was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and

  • (b) that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act.

• Marginal note:Representative

  (5) A victim may designate a representative to whom the information referred to in subsections (1) and (2) is to be disclosed on the victim’s behalf, or to whom access to a photograph referred to in paragraph (1)(d) is to be provided. In that case, the victim shall provide the Commissioner with the representative’s contact information.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of request

  (6) A victim who has made a request referred to in subsection (1) or (2) may inform the Commissioner in writing that they no longer want the information to be disclosed to them or access to the photograph. In that case, the Commissioner shall not contact them, or their representative, if any, unless the victim subsequently makes the request again.

• Marginal note:Deemed withdrawal of request

  (7) The Commissioner may consider a victim to have withdrawn a request referred to in subsection (1) or (2) if the Commissioner has made reasonable efforts to contact the victim and has failed to do so.

• Marginal note:Other persons

  (8) Subsections (5) to (7) also apply, with any necessary modifications, to a person who has satisfied the Commissioner of the matters referred to in paragraphs (3)(a) and (b) or (4)(a) and (b).