Bill C-40

Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act (David and Joyce Milgaard's Law)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to repeal a regulation (miscarriage of justice reviews)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) establish an independent body to be called the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission;
(b) replace the review process set out in Part XXI.1 with a process in which applications for reviews of findings and verdicts on the grounds of miscarriage of justice are made to the Commission instead of to the Minister of Justice;
(c) confer on the Commission powers of investigation to carry out its functions;
(d) provide that the Commission may direct a new trial or hearing or refer a matter to the court of appeal if it has reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred and considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so;
(e) authorize the Commission to provide supports to applicants in need and to provide the public, including potential applicants, with information about its mandate and miscarriages of justice; and
(f) require the Commission to make and publish policies and to present and publish annual reports that include demographic and performance measurement data.
The enactment also makes consequential amendments to other Acts and repeals the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice .

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

I think there's always a time and a place for questions and it's reasonable to ask questions, Mr. Chair, but the agenda of the meeting was Bill C-40, an act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other acts and to repeal a regulation regarding miscarriage of justice reviews.

In the normal course, when witnesses are invited here, they are invited to speak to the issue that is on the agenda of the meeting. Now, of course, there's always flexibility. If somebody were invited here on a sports study and questions were posed to them on medical assistance in dying, I think it would be relevant to ask the question of relevance.

Here, I fail to see the correlation or the relevance between that question and the subject in the meeting. That's what I want to understand, Mr. Chair, what the relevance is.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 81 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Pursuant the House order of June 21, 2023, the committee is meeting in public to study Bill C-40, an act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

Today’s meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of June 23, 2022. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.

I would like to make a couple of comments for the benefit of the witnesses and members. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mike, and please mute yourself when you are not speaking.

For interpretation for those on Zoom, you have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either the floor, English or French. For those in the room, you can use the earpiece and select the desired channel.

All comments should be addressed through the Chair.

For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as best we can, and we appreciate your patience.

I should also note that you will receive a notice that our meeting for the morning of Thursday from 11:00 to 12:30 with Minister Virani and the chair of the selection process for the new Supreme Court judge has been confirmed.

I understand that our witnesses do not have opening remarks, so we'll move right into our time of questions and answers. I will begin with Mr. Brock for six minutes.

[Randall Koops]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think the amendment clarifies the roles between the minister and the Governor in Council. Inserting new text establishes an obligation on an individual actor—that is, the minister—to make a recommendation that would then be considered for appointment by the Governor in Council in the clause before that. This recognizes the role of the minister, and that a minister can be answerable for that. It is also consistent with other legislation, including the RCMP Act and Bill C-40. I recognize that these are fairly new types of clauses. It's only in the last few years that Parliament has been adopting these.

There may be some benefit in consistency around the duties of a given minister.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

In the new subamendment, in the first line before the comma, I would change it to “in making recommendations for appointments of members of the Commission”.

This language also mirrors what's found in Bill C-40, which deals with the miscarriage of justice reviews. This way we can ensure consistency amongst federal review agencies.

[Randall Koops]

I think the committee may wish to consider that.

It may choose to adopt an amendment like this, in the sense that it is consistent with what we find elsewhere regarding this minister's responsibilities, including for the RCMP, and consistent with government practice. We are seeing other bills—for example Bill C-40—in which that obligation is placed directly on the Minister of Justice, rather than on the Governor in Council. It provides the committee with an individual who can be called to discuss it if it's necessary to inquire about what was considered in making the appointments.

[Randall Koops]

It would be a consideration among the many others the Governor in Council would bring to bear to ensure representation.

Similar provisions, both those in Bill C-40 and the ones that exist now in the RCMP Act in relation to the management advisory board, place that onus on the minister rather than on the Governor in Council. That may be something the committee wishes to consider the desirability of. Placing that onus on the minister allows the House or the minister to question the minister about how those considerations were taken into account, which is, of course, more difficult if the obligation is placed on the Governor in Council directly.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As I was saying a few moments ago, this amendment is similar to the one that Mr. Julian just proposed with respect to the diversity of commission members. There will be no need for me to give further explanations, because it is so explicit:

(1.1) In appointing members of the Commmission, the Governor in Council must seek to reflect the diversity of Canadian society and must take into account considerations such as gender equality and the overrepresentation of certain groups in the criminal justice system, including Indigenous peoples and Black persons.

This definition is based on the legislative wording of the bill, which appears to have been largely accepted. It strikes me that this wording is better than the wording proposed in the previous amendment. I would therefore ask my colleagues to vote in favour of my amendment.C-40

[Randall Koops, Director General, International Border Policy, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

I think the concern around the amendment is that it would propose that the appointees of the commission named by the Governor in Council include four specific communities. The entire commission is quite small. It would consist of only five Governor in Council appointees: the chair and four members. If all four members of the commission are allocated in the statute to a specific community, the Governor in Council may over time have less leeway in appointing representatives of other communities who, through time and circumstance, may emerge as warranting representation on the commission.

In that regard, as the parliamentary secretary pointed out and as the chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission has submitted to this committee, an amendment along the lines of BQ-0.1, closer to what exists now in Bill C-40—which is before another committee at the moment—may be desirable from that perspective.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I fully agree with Ms. O'Connell. The next amendment on the list, which I intend to put forward, covers approximately the same thing, but uses different wording based on the wording of the bill with respect to representation and diversity within the commission it aims to establish. This request comes directly from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.C-40

I am accordingly not going to vote for Mr. Julian's amendment, but rather for the amendment I will be presenting afterwards. I would recommend that members of the committee do likewise.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'd certainly like to welcome you to your role as chair in our first public meeting.

Of course, I'll echo the comments about welcoming the minister here today. With his previous experience on the committee, I'm sure he'll be willing to come back and speak to us many more times. As he's a new minister, there are several things I'd like to talk to him about, such as decriminalizing HIV non-disclosure, decriminalizing sex work, reforming our extradition laws and the bill that's before the House, Bill C-40, on the miscarriage of justice. However, I do accept the urgency with which we're dealing with Bill S-12, so I will limit my comments and questions to Bill S-12 today.

I fully accept the urgency of maintaining the sex offender registry, but I thank you, Minister, for emphasizing that Bill S-12 not only preserves the registry but also improves the registry. We have had some cases in my riding where people have been added to the sex offender registry and no one in the community would reasonably believe that they should have been added. Sometimes those are people who are neurodiverse or who have intellectual disabilities and have ended up in the sex offender registry. I have spoken with advocates and those people. This bill will provide an opportunity, or that's the way I see it, for a judge to decide whether all those people should automatically be added.

I just wondered if you were aware of those kinds of cases.

(Bill C-9. On the Order: Government Orders)

June 21, 2023—Third reading of Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Judges Act.

(Motion respecting Senate amendments agreed to)

(Bill S-8: On the Order: Government Orders)

June 21, 2023—Third reading of Bill S-8, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

(Bill C-40: On the Order: Government Orders)

June 21, 2023—Second reading of Bill C-40, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to repeal a regulation (miscarriage of justice reviews).

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

(Bill C-53: On the Order: Government Orders)

June 21, 2023—Second reading of Bill C-53, An Act respecting the recognition of certain Métis governments in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, to give effect to treaties with those governments and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

Business of the House

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I move that notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House:

(a) on the last allotted day in the supply period ending June 23, 2023, the proceedings on the opposition day motion shall conclude no later than 10:30 p.m., the House shall then proceed to the putting of the question on the motion and then, if required, the taking of any division or divisions necessary to dispose of the motion, and the Speaker shall then put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment, every question necessary to dispose of the motions to concur in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, and to the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, and for the passage at all stages of any bill based on the said estimates;

(b) notices of opposed items in relation to the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, and to the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, listed on the Notice Paper be deemed withdrawn;

(c) the recorded divisions on government legislation currently deferred to the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions today be deemed further deferred to the conclusion of all proceedings in relation to the estimates tonight;

(d) the motion standing on the Order Paper in the name of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons related to the appointment of Harriet Solloway as Public Sector Integrity Commissioner pursuant to Standing Order 111.1(2) be deemed moved, a recorded vote be deemed requested and deferred after the recorded division on the motion for third reading of Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts;

(e) in relation to Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Judges Act, the amendment to the motion respecting Senate amendments made to the bill be deemed withdrawn and the motion respecting Senate amendments made to the bill, standing on the Notice Paper, be deemed adopted;

(f) Bill S-8, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, be deemed read a third time and passed;

(g) Bill C-40, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to repeal a regulation (miscarriage of justice reviews), be deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights;

(h) Ways and Means Motion No. 18, notice of which was tabled on June 16, 2023, be deemed concurred in, a bill based thereon standing on the Order Paper in the name of the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, entitled “An Act respecting the recognition of certain Métis governments in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, to give effect to treaties with those governments and to make consequential amendments to other Acts”, be deemed to have been introduced and read a first time, deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs; and

(i) the written questions dated June 20, 2023, standing on the Notice Paper, be deemed to have been transferred to the Order Paper on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, for the purposes of Standing Order 39.

Bill C-42—Time Allocation Motion

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for sharing the stories and narratives from people in her riding. It is very important that we remind ourselves exactly what the impact of obstructionism does in this place.

I have a constituent who constantly texts me about the progress of Bill C-22. It is a bill that I have supported from the beginning. She is living with a disability. She too is waiting for us to get the job done. I have supported the minister proposing that bill in every way I possibly can, formally and informally. It would wipe out a swath of poverty. I am hoping the letter that goes to the Senate will be accepted by the other place so we can put that in place.

I mentioned the example of Glen Assoun a moment ago and Bill C-40, another important bill that I have put forward to correct miscarriages of justice in the Canadian system. They exist; mistakes happen. However, this is a way to correct them more efficiently, more effectively and with greater access. I am sad that Glen Assoun, who worked for this result, did not live to see this bill get through Parliament.

I am hoping that we can eliminate all of these various delays so we can debate, as the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon wants us to do, the substance without all the other tactics that just grind this place to a halt.

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his wise leadership in the House.

I agree with the member's comment. It is not just the dilatory tactics and the wasting of time. It is that the Leader of the Opposition is relishing in that in front of the media, being proud of the fact he is trying to grind Parliament down to a stop to prevent good pieces of legislation from moving forward. These are bills such as this one, Bill C-42, and Bill C-40, which I mentioned an hour ago. Over the last month, we have witnessed, time and time again, the misuse of time, the use of delay tactics and the real negativity these bring to the House of Commons.

We want to move forward with this bill because it is a positive bill for Canadians. We want to move forward with this bill because it would help us fight organized crime, money laundering and terrorist financing, and would give us better principles of corporate governance. We rely on the market to do many things in our country and in our economy. For that market to function properly, we need corporate governance structures that are transparent and that allow proper corporate decisions to be made, for the purposes of not only shareholders but also the Canadian public, to the extent that we allow the market to regulate these kinds of issues.

It is an important bill, and we need to pass it.

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we just heard a point of order with no point. The point of it was simply to delay time. This happens time and time again. We, as a government, need to do this because the majority of people in the House of Commons would like things to go forward.

We saw last week an important second debate on Bill C-40, which would establish a commission to correct wrongful convictions in Canada. It is something long overdue. We saw that delayed by a number of dilatory motions and procedures on the part of the other side. It is sad and it is tragic.

The Deputy Speaker will know, because he is from Nova Scotia, that Glen Assoun of Nova Scotia died without seeing this bill get to second reading. This is precisely why we need to use these kinds of motions. It is to combat the dilatory tactics being used by the other side.