Bill C-231

An Act to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act

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 Sept. 19, 2025

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Summary

This is from the published bill.

This enactment amends the Youth Criminal Justice Act in order to
(a) clarify the measures governing addiction treatment programs for young persons;
(b) enable, in some cases, the youth justice court that finds a young person guilty of an offence to delay sentencing to enable the young person to participate in an addiction treatment program;
(c) enable the youth justice court to include in certain orders the condition of attending an addiction treatment program; and
(d) provide that failing or refusing to comply with such a condition cannot by itself result in a custodial sentence.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from 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-231s:

C-231 (2022) An Act to amend the Competition Act (vehicle repair)

C-231 (2020) An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act (investments)

C-231 (2016) Fight Against Food Waste Act

1^st reading

Youth Criminal Justice ActRoutine Proceedings

September 19th, 2025 / 12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-231, An Act to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of emotion that I rise today with the support of my wife, Caro, who is at home, to introduce my first bill, the friends of David bill.

This bill aims to help teenagers who are struggling with addiction at a very young age to access treatment programs so that they can get help rather than being punished by the justice system.

This enactment amends the Youth Criminal Justice Act in order to

(a) clarify the measures governing addiction treatment programs for young persons;

(b) enable, in some cases, the youth justice court that finds a young person guilty of an offence to delay sentencing to enable the young person to participate in an addiction treatment program;

(c) enable the youth justice court to include in certain orders the condition of attending an addiction treatment program;

The Criminal Code already gives judges this option when sentencing adults. I hope my colleagues will support my bill to make this option explicitly available when young people are being sentenced as well.

I would like to thank everyone who helped us draft this bill for David's friends.

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