This bill was last introduced in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session, which ended in September 2019.
Jody Wilson-Raybould Liberal
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) modernize and clarify interim release provisions to simplify the forms of release that may be imposed on an accused, incorporate a principle of restraint and require that particular attention be given to the circumstances of Aboriginal accused and accused from vulnerable populations when making interim release decisions, and provide more onerous interim release requirements for offences involving violence against an intimate partner;
(b) provide for a judicial referral hearing to deal with administration of justice offences involving a failure to comply with conditions of release or failure to appear as required;
(c) abolish peremptory challenges of jurors, modify the process of challenging a juror for cause so that a judge makes the determination of whether a ground of challenge is true, and allow a judge to direct that a juror stand by for reasons of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice;
(d) increase the maximum term of imprisonment for repeat offences involving intimate partner violence and provide that abuse of an intimate partner is an aggravating factor on sentencing;
(e) restrict the availability of a preliminary inquiry to offences punishable by imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more and strengthen the justice’s powers to limit the issues explored and witnesses to be heard at the inquiry;
(f) hybridize most indictable offences punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years or less, increase the default maximum penalty to two years less a day of imprisonment for summary conviction offences and extend the limitation period for summary conviction offences to 12 months;
(g) remove the requirement for judicial endorsement for the execution of certain out-of-province warrants and authorizations, expand judicial case management powers, allow receiving routine police evidence in writing, consolidate provisions relating to the powers of the Attorney General and allow increased use of technology to facilitate remote attendance by any person in a proceeding;
(h) re-enact the victim surcharge regime and provide the court with the discretion to waive a victim surcharge if the court is satisfied that the victim surcharge would cause the offender undue hardship or would be disproportionate to the gravity of the offence or the degree of responsibility of the offender; and
(i) remove passages and repeal provisions that have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada, repeal section 159 of the Act and provide that no person shall be convicted of any historical offence of a sexual nature unless the act that constitutes the offence would constitute an offence under the Criminal Code if it were committed on the day on which the charge was laid.
The enactment also amends the Youth Criminal Justice Act in order to reduce delays within the youth criminal justice system and enhance the effectiveness of that system with respect to administration of justice offences. For those purposes, the enactment amends that Act to, among other things,
(a) set out principles intended to encourage the use of extrajudicial measures and judicial reviews as alternatives to the laying of charges for administration of justice offences;
(b) set out requirements for imposing conditions on a young person’s release order or as part of a sentence;
(c) limit the circumstances in which a custodial sentence may be imposed for an administration of justice offence;
(d) remove the requirement for the Attorney General to determine whether to seek an adult sentence in certain circumstances; and
(e) remove the power of a youth justice court to make an order to lift the ban on publication in the case of a young person who receives a youth sentence for a violent offence, as well as the requirement to determine whether to make such an order.
Finally, the enactment amends among other Acts An Act to amend the Criminal Code (exploitation and trafficking in persons) so that certain sections of that Act can come into force on different days and also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
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.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Chair, this is another reclassification amendment, which would maintain the offence of fraud in relation to fares as a strictly indictable offence, as opposed to a hybrid offence, which Bill C-75 reclassifies it as.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
CPC-93 would make the offence of disposal of property to defraud creditors as a solely indictable offence, as opposed to a hybrid offence as proposed by Bill C-75.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Chair, CPC-91 would maintain the offence of fraudulent disposal of goods on which money is advanced as a solely indictable offence, as opposed to Bill C-75, which would make it a hybrid offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Chair, this is another reclassification amendment. This amendment would make the offence of fraudulent registration of title a strictly indictable offence, as it presently is, unlike what Bill C-75 proposes to do, which is to make it a hybrid offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Chair, this is a reclassification amendment. Bill C-75 would make the offence of fraudulent concealment of title documents a hybrid offence. We maintain that it should be maintained as a strictly indictable offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
This amendment deals with subsection 383(1) of the Criminal Code, the offence of gaming in stocks or merchandise, whereby an individual is currently guilty of an indictable offence “who, with intent to make gain or profit by the rise or fall in price of the stock of an incorporated or unincorporated company....” Bill C-75 would make this specific offence a hybrid offence. We maintain that it should be a solely indictable offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Again, it's on another financial crime that Bill C-75 seeks to water down in the way of sentencing, namely the offence of prohibited insider trading. Unlike the government, we believe that this should be maintained as a solely indictable offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Chair, this deals with financial crime that Bill C-75 seeks to hybridize, namely the offence of fraudulent manipulation of a stock exchange transaction. We believe that this should be maintained as a solely indictable offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Chair, this is another amendment dealing with the reclassification under Bill C-75. This amendment would maintain the offence of using mails to defraud as a solely indictable offence.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Chair, this amendment would maintain the offence of obtaining execution of valuable security by fraud as a strictly indictable offence, as opposed to a hybrid offence under Bill C-75.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
This is also a reclassification amendment. It is in relation to false pretence or making a false statement, to treat that specific offence as a solely indictable offence, as opposed to a hybrid offence as proposed by Bill C-75.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
This is another reclassification amendment. The subject offence is bringing into Canada property obtained by crime. The amendment would be to maintain the status quo and to treat that offence as a solely indictable offence, rather than a hybrid offence as proposed by Bill C-75.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
This amendment deals with reclassification under Bill C-75. This amendment would maintain the offence of possession of property obtained by crime as a strictly indictable offence, rather than a hybridized offence as proposed by Bill C-75.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Chair, this amendment is again related to reclassification of offences. This particular offence involves an individual who has masked his or her face. It's the “Disguise with intent” section of the Criminal Code. Bill C-75 would hybridize this offence. We would urge that it be maintained as a strictly indictable offence, as it presently is under the Criminal Code.
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Chair, this amendment relates to reclassification. Bill C-75 would reclassify the offence of fraudulent concealment; namely, everyone “who, for a fraudulent purpose, takes, obtains, removes or conceals anything” is currently subject to a solely indictable offence, with a term of imprisonment of up to two years.
The bill would reclassify it; this amendment would maintain it. We do note that even in the case of two years versus two years less a day, a day is important. We're going to urge for the passage of this amendment.