Bill C-455 (Historical)

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

This bill is from the 39th Parliament, 2nd session, which ended in September 2008.

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 Oct. 16, 2007
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to provide that a person who does not take reasonable steps to assist another person who is in imminent and overwhelming danger is guilty of an offence.

Similar bills

C-455 (39th Parliament, 1st 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)

Other House mentions

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

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

See context

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)