Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to rise today and speak about Bill C-238, an act to amend the Criminal Code, restitution orders.
I would like to begin by thanking my colleague for bringing forward this bill and for drawing attention to the important work that community organizations, emergency services and victim support services provide to communities across Canada every single day. Often, these organizations provide vital services to victims of crime at moments when help is critically important.
We speak frequently in this place about how the criminal justice system is a shared responsibility in Canada and all levels of government have an important role to play in addressing the needs of victims and survivors of crime. As the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights noted during the last Parliament in its report on improving support for victims of crime, “collaboration between governments and community organizations is key to providing holistic, effective services to victims”.
I know I speak for many Canadians when I express my sincere gratitude for the constant efforts of the people who work in these organizations and their dedication to assist members of their communities when they need it the most.
I also share my colleague's concern about the catastrophic impact of illicit drugs on Canadian communities. I have no doubt that every one of my colleagues here has personally witnessed the consequences of this crisis in their communities across the country. We must all work together to fix this.
While there remains much work to be done, I do wish to highlight that the Government of Canada is taking action. As one example, the government has already introduced legislation, through Bill C-12, the strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act. This bill proposes measures to ensure that law enforcement has the tools to keep our borders secure, combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of illegal fentanyl and crack down on money laundering. While this is not an easy fight, it is one that I am proud the Government of Canada is committed to.
My hope today is to assist our debate by discussing the way the current restitution framework in the Criminal Code operates and by raising some considerations that may be helpful for members to consider as this bill moves into study in committee.
To begin, restitution is a part of the criminal sentencing process. It is one of the tools a judge has in their tool box when sentencing or discharging an offender, and it is something that a judge can use in the important task of imposing a fit sentence on an offender that is proportionate to the gravity of the offence and their degree of responsibility. When it is ordered by a judge, a restitution order requires an offender to pay for specific expenses that are linked to the offence they committed. Restitution can be a component of a probation order or a conditional sentence, or it can be included as a stand-alone order.
Bill C-238 would amend the stand-alone restitution order provision found in section 738 of the Criminal Code. As it currently reads, section 738 outlines several different types of expenses that an order under that section can apply to. Some of the expenses listed in this section are more general and apply to a number of different offences in the Criminal Code, while others are drafted to respond to specific offences. As examples of the more general types of expenses in the section, a restitution order under section 738 can address property damage resulting from the commission of an offence or the arrest of an offender, or it can address bodily injury or psychological harm due to the crime, including loss of income or support.
Section 738 also covers costs related to specific crimes. It allows for the payment of reasonable expenses incurred for housing, moving, food, child care and transportation if the spouse, common-law partner, child or any other person must move out of the offender's household because of bodily harm or threat of bodily harm. It allows for the reimbursement of expenses incurred by a victim to re-establish their identity or correct their credit rating following identity theft or identity fraud. Lastly, section 738 applies to expenses incurred by victims to remove intimate images published without their consent from the Internet or other digital network.
While I have spoken to what restitution orders under section 738 can do, it is important to note that there are also things they cannot do. I mentioned earlier in my remarks that restitution orders are a part of the criminal sentencing process. In all of the examples I have described, the amount set out in a restitution order must result from the offence the offender committed, or their arrest or attempted arrest. Restitution amounts must be easy to calculate and not seriously contested.
Restitution under the Criminal Code is not intended to replace the system of civil courts in Canada, and criminal courts are not the right place to settle complex questions about the amount of money that should be paid in the order. There are types of impacts on a victim of a criminal offence that can be significant, but which restitution orders cannot address: for example, pain and suffering or emotional distress.
With this in mind, we should consider, as we study this bill, which kinds of expenses restitution is designed to capture. Many of the expenses that community organizations must pay in order to provide the important services they do may be impossible to link to specific offenders and offences. It will be important to ensure that any action in this area provides a clear direction to sentencing courts about what kinds of expenses can be sought in a restitution order: that those expenses are appropriate subjects of restitution and that they result from the offence an offender is being sentenced for.
While the subject of this bill is restitution orders, given our discussion about the important work of community organizations, I would also like to take a brief moment before my time is up to note some of the ways in which the Government of Canada supports community organizations, including community-based victim services.
One example of how this support is provided is Justice Canada's victims fund. The victims fund provides grants and contributions to support projects and activities that encourage the development of new approaches, promote access to justice, improve the capacity of service providers, foster the establishment of referral networks and increase awareness of services available to victims of crime and their families. In 2025-26, over $24 million was provided through the victims fund to assist or support non-governmental organizations. This money supported important projects and services throughout Canada that made a real difference for victims.
I appreciate the opportunity to talk about this bill, and I look forward to the committee's consideration of it.