Bill C-461 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (use of hand-held telecommunications device while operating a motor vehicle)

This bill was last introduced in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, which ended in March 2011.

This bill was previously introduced in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session.

Sponsor

Linda Duncan  NDP

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. 8, 2009
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to make it an offence to use a hand-held telecommunications device for sending or receiving messages in text format or a hand-held cellular telephone while operating a motor vehicle on a highway.
Section 2 of the Criminal Code specifies that “highway” means “a road to which the public has the right of access, and includes bridges over which or tunnels through which a road passes”.

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.

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

October 8th, 2009 / 10:05 a.m.
See context

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-461, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (use of hand-held telecommunications device while operating a motor vehicle).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to table a bill entitled an Act to amend the Criminal Code (use of hand-held telecommunications device while operating a motor vehicle.

The purpose of the bill is to ban the use of telecommunications devices for sending or receiving messages in text format as well as hand-held cellular telephones while operating a motor vehicle on the highway.

The reason I am tabling the bill is that we have heard from both the American and Canadian medical associations expressing deep concern at the number of accidents and deaths associated with the use of hand-hand devices while operating vehicles.

The president of the Ontario Medical Association, Dr. Ken Arnold, stated that there have been studies that show that when cell phones are banned, accident rates decrease.

There have been actions taken by some provincial jurisdictions and some municipalities to try to fill the vacuum created by the lack of action on the part of the Government of Canada. I am therefore tabling the bill to show that we believe we should take action to protect Canadians from these incidents.

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