Bill C-455 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (duty to provide assistance)

This bill is from the 39th Parliament, 1st session, which ended in October 2007.

Sponsor

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of June 12, 2007
(This bill did not become law.)

Similar bills

C-455 (39th Parliament, 2nd session) An Act to amend the Criminal Code (duty to provide assistance)

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-455s:

C-455 (2019) An Act to amend the Competition Act and the Bank Act (reduction of administrative burden — credit unions)

C-455 (2013) An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (electronic products recycling program)

C-455 (2012) An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (electronic products recycling program)

C-455 (2010) An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (French language)

C-455 (2009) An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (French language)

1^st reading

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

June 12th, 2007 / 10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Mark Holland Liberal Ajax—Pickering, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-455, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (duty to provide assistance).

Mr. Speaker, in April of this year a young man, Nick Brown, was brutally attacked and left to bleed to death in a Toronto subway. Apparently, there were witnesses but no one offered assistance or called 911.

One of my constituents, Debra Clinton, was so upset at this young man's death that she contacted me to ask if Canada had a law requiring bystanders to offer assistance in life and death situations. To our surprise, we learned that no such law existed in Canada and only existed in the province of Quebec, as well as a number of European countries.

The bill I am introducing today addresses this gap in our laws and also responds to recommendations made in the 1985 Law Reform Commission of Canada report. It seeks to amend the Criminal Code to make it an offence not to take reasonable steps to assist someone who is in imminent and overwhelming danger without a lawful excuse. I urge all members to support this bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)