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

Marginal note:Maximum period

120.3 Subject to section 745 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(1) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(1) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, the day on which an offender is eligible for full parole shall not be later than

• (a) in the case of a person who is not serving a sentence and receives more than one sentence on the same day, the day on which they have served 15 years from the day on which the sentences are imposed;

• (b) in the case of an offender who is serving a sentence — or is serving a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1) — and who receives an additional sentence that changes the day on which they are eligible for parole, the day on which they have served 15 years from the day on which the additional sentence is imposed; and

• (c) in the case of an offender who is serving a sentence — or is serving a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1) — and who receives, on the same day, two or more additional sentences that change the day on which they are eligible for parole, the day on which they have served 15 years from the day on which the additional sentences are imposed.

Marginal note:Exceptional cases

• 121 (1) Subject to section 102 — and despite sections 119 to 120.3 of this Act, sections 746.1 and 761 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act and any order made under section 743.6 of the Criminal Code or section 226.2 of the National Defence Act — parole may be granted at any time to an offender

  • (a) who is terminally ill;

  • (b) whose physical or mental health is likely to suffer serious damage if the offender continues to be held in confinement;

  • (c) for whom continued confinement would constitute an excessive hardship that was not reasonably foreseeable at the time the offender was sentenced; or

  • (d) who is the subject of an order of surrender under the Extradition Act and who is to be detained until surrendered.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Paragraphs (1)(b) to (d) do not apply to an offender who is

  • (a) serving a life sentence imposed as a minimum punishment or commuted from a sentence of death; or

  • (b) serving, in a penitentiary, a sentence for an indeterminate period.

Parole Reviews

Marginal note:Day parole review

• 122 (1) Subject to subsection 119(2), the Board shall, on application, at the time prescribed by the regulations, review, for the purpose of day parole, the case of every offender other than an offender referred to in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Special cases

  (2) The Board may, on application, at the time prescribed by the regulations, review, for the purpose of day parole, the case of an offender who is serving a sentence of two years or more in a provincial correctional facility in a province in which no program of day parole has been established for that category of offender.

• Marginal note:Decision or adjournment

  (3) With respect to a review commenced under this section, the Board shall decide whether to grant day parole, or may adjourn the review for a reason authorized by the regulations and for a reasonable period not exceeding the maximum period prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:No application for one year

  (4) No application for day parole may be made until one year after the date of the Board’s decision — or until any earlier time that the regulations prescribe or the Board determines — if, following a review, the Board does not grant day parole or cancels or terminates parole.

• Marginal note:Maximum duration

  (5) Day parole may be granted to an offender for a period not exceeding six months, and may be continued for additional periods not exceeding six months each following reviews of the case by the Board.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of application

  (6) An offender may not withdraw an application for day parole within 14 days before the commencement of the review unless the withdrawal is necessary and it was not possible to withdraw it earlier due to circumstances beyond their control.

Marginal note:Full parole review

• 123 (1) The Board shall, within the period prescribed by the regulations and for the purpose of deciding whether to grant full parole, review the case of every offender who is serving a sentence of two years or more and who is not within the jurisdiction of a provincial parole board.

• Marginal note:Waiver of review

  (2) The Board is not required under subsection (1), (5) or (5.1) to review the case of an offender who has advised the Board in writing that they do not wish to be considered for full parole and who has not in writing revoked that advice.

• Marginal note:Review by Board

  (3) The Board shall, on application within the period prescribed by the regulations, review, for the purpose of full parole, the case of every offender who is serving a sentence of less than two years in a penitentiary or provincial correctional facility in a province where no provincial parole board has been established.

• Marginal note:Short sentences

  (3.1) The Board is not required to review the case of an offender who applies for full parole if the offender is serving a sentence of less than six months.

• Marginal note:Decision or adjournment

  (4) With respect to a review commenced under this section, the Board shall decide whether to grant full parole, or may grant day parole, or may adjourn the review for a reason authorized by the regulations and for a reasonable period not exceeding the maximum period prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Further review — Board does not grant parole

  (5) If the Board decides not to grant parole following a review under subsection (1) or section 122 or if a review is not made by virtue of subsection (2), the Board shall conduct another review within two years after the later of the day on which the review took place or was scheduled to take place and thereafter within two years after that day until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:Violent offender

  (5.01) Despite subsection (5), if the Board decides not to grant parole to an offender who has been convicted of an offence involving violence for which the offender is serving a sentence of at least two years — or a sentence that includes a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence — following a review under subsection (1) or section 122, or if a review is not made by virtue of subsection (2), the Board shall conduct another review within five years after the later of the day on which the review took place or was scheduled to take place and thereafter within five years after that day until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:Written reasons

  (5.02) If the Board decides not to grant parole to an offender referred to in subsection (5.01), it shall provide the offender with written reasons for its decision.

• Marginal note:Further review — Board terminates or cancels parole

  (5.1) If the Board cancels or terminates parole, it shall conduct another review within two years after the cancellation or termination and, after that date, within two years after the day on which each preceding review takes place until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:Violent offender

  (5.2) Despite subsection (5.1), if the Board cancels or terminates parole for an offender who has been convicted of an offence involving violence for which the offender is serving a sentence of at least two years — or a sentence that includes a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence — the Board shall conduct another review within four years after the date of cancellation or termination and, after that date, within five years after the day on which each preceding review takes place until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:No application for one year

  (6) No application for full parole may be made until one year after the date of the Board’s decision — or until any earlier time that the regulations prescribe or the Board determines — if, following a review, the Board does not grant full parole or cancels or terminates parole.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of application

  (7) An offender may not withdraw an application for full parole within 14 days before the commencement of the review unless the withdrawal is necessary and it was not possible to withdraw it earlier due to circumstances beyond their control.

• Definition of offence involving violence

  (8) In this section, offence involving violence means murder or any offence set out in Schedule I.

Marginal note:Urine sample positive or not provided

123.1 If an offender has been granted parole under section 122 or 123 but has not yet been released and the offender fails or refuses to provide a urine sample when demanded to provide one under section 54, or provides under that section a urine sample for which the result of the urinalysis is positive, as that term is defined in the regulations, then the Service shall inform the Board of the failure or refusal or the test result.

Marginal note:Offenders unlawfully at large

• 124 (1) The Board is not required to review the case of an offender who is unlawfully at large during the period prescribed by the regulations for a review under section 122 or 123 but it shall review the case as soon as possible after being informed of the offender’s return to custody.

• Marginal note:Timing of release

  (2) Where an offender is granted parole but no date is fixed for the offender’s release, the parole shall take effect, and the offender shall be released, forthwith after such period as is necessary to implement the decision to grant parole.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of parole

  (3) If an offender has been granted parole under section 122 or 123, the Board may, after a review of the case based on information that could not reasonably have been provided to it at the time parole was granted, cancel the parole if the offender has not been released or terminate the parole if the offender has been released.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of parole — drug test

  (3.1) If the Board is informed of the matters under section 123.1 and the offender has still not yet been released, the Board shall can- cel the parole if, in its opinion, based on the information received under that section, the criteria set out in paragraphs 102(a) and (b) are no longer met.

• Marginal note:Review

  (4) If the Board exercises its power under subsection (3), it shall, within the period prescribed by the regulations, review its decision and either confirm or cancel it.

125 [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 5]

126 [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 5]

126.1 [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 5]

Statutory Release

Marginal note:Entitlement

• 127 (1) Subject to any provision of this Act, an offender sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary is entitled to be released on the date determined in accordance with this section and to remain at large until the expiration of the sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Sentence for past offences

  (2) Subject to this section, the statutory release date of an offender sentenced before November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences shall be determined by crediting against the sentence

  • (a) any remission, statutory or earned, standing to the offender’s credit on that day; and

  • (b) the maximum remission that could have been earned on the balance of the sentence pursuant to the Penitentiary Act or the Prisons and Reformatories Act, as those Acts read immediately before that day.

• Marginal note:Sentence for future offences

  (3) Subject to this section, the statutory release date of an offender sentenced on or after November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences is the day on which the offender completes two thirds of the sentence.

• Marginal note:Sentences for past and future offences

  (4) Subject to this section, the statutory release date of an offender sentenced before November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences and sentenced on or after November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences is the later of the dates determined in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).

• Marginal note:If parole or statutory release revoked

  (5) Subject to subsections 130(4) and (6), the statutory release date of an offender whose parole or statutory release is revoked is

  • (a) the day on which they have served two thirds of the unexpired portion of the sentence after being recommitted to custody as a result of a suspension or revocation under section 135; or

  • (b) if an additional sentence is imposed after the offender is recommitted to custody as a result of a suspension or revocation under section 135, the day on which they have served two thirds of the portion of the sentence — including the additional sentence — that begins on the day on which they are recommitted and ends on the day on which the sentence expires.

• Marginal note:If additional sentence

  (5.1) If an offender receives an additional sentence for an offence under an Act of Parliament and their parole or statutory release is not revoked, their statutory release date is the day on which they have served, from the earlier of the day on which they are recommitted to custody as a result of the suspension of their parole or statutory release and the day on which they are recommitted to custody as a result of the additional sentence,

  • (a) any time remaining before the statutory release date in respect of the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed; and

  • (b) two thirds of the period that equals the difference between the length of the sentence that includes the additional sentence and the length of the sentence that they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed.

• Marginal note:Failure to earn and forfeiture of remission

  (6) Where an offender receives a sentence to be served in a provincial correctional facility and fails to earn or forfeits any remission under the Prisons and Reformatories Act and is transferred to penitentiary, otherwise than pursuant to an agreement entered into under paragraph 16(1)(b), the offender is not entitled to be released until the day on which the offender has served

  • (a) the period of imprisonment that the offender would have been required to serve under this section if the offender had not failed to earn or had not forfeited the remission; and

  • (b) the period of imprisonment equal to the remission that the offender failed to earn or forfeited and that was not recredited under that Act.

• Marginal note:Supervision after release

  (7) An offender sentenced, committed or transferred (otherwise than pursuant to an agreement entered into under subsection 16(1)) to penitentiary on or after August 1, 1970 who is released on statutory release is subject to supervision in accordance with this Act, but no other offender released under this section is subject to supervision.