C-24724369Elizabeth II2020An Act to amend the Criminal Code (controlling or coercive conduct)An Act to amend the Criminal Code (controlling or coercive conduct)202010
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Mr. Garrison432001SUMMARYThis enactment amends the Criminal Code to create an offence of engaging in controlling or coercive conduct that has a significant impact on the person towards whom the conduct is directed, including a fear of violence, a decline in their physical or mental health and a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities.Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:R.S., c. 46Criminal CodeThe Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after section 264:Controlling or Coercive Conduct OffenceEveryone commits an offence who repeatedly or continuously engages in controlling or coercive conduct towards a person with whom they are connected that they know or ought to know could, in all the circumstances, reasonably be expected to have a significant impact on that person and that has such an impact on that person.Interpretation — significant impactFor the purposes of subsection (1), the conduct has a significant impact on the person ifit causes the person to fear, on reasonable grounds, on more than one occasion, that violence will be used against them;it causes the person's physical or mental health to decline; orit causes the person alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities, includinglimits on their ability to safeguard their well-being or that of their children,changes in or restrictions on their social activities or their communication with others,absences from work or from education or training programs or changes in their routines or status in relation to their employment or education, andchanges of address.Interpretation — connectedFor the purposes of subsection (1), two persons are connected ifthey are current spouses, common-law partners or dating partners, or have agreed to marry each other; orthey are members of the same household, andare former spouses, common-law partners or dating partners,have agreed to marry each other, whether or not the agreement has been terminated,are relatives, orcarry out, or have carried out, parental responsibilities in respect of the same child, that child being under the age of 18 years.Exception — best interests of the personIf an accused is charged with an offence under subsection (1), it is a defence — in relation to conduct that is alleged to have caused a significant impact described in paragraph (2)(b) or (c) — thatthe accused was acting in the best interests of the person towards whom the conduct was directed; andthe conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances.Proof of factsEvidence that the accused was acting in the best interests of the person towards whom the conduct was directed and that the conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances is, in the absence of evidence that proves the contrary beyond a reasonable doubt, proof of those facts.
PunishmentEveryone who commits an offence under subsection (1)is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; oris guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.