Bill S-238
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- ENGLISH
- SUMMARY SUMMARY
- Short Title Short Title
- Criminal Code Criminal Code
- Canadian Victims Bill of Rights Canadian Victims Bill of Rights
- Coordinating Amendment Coordinating Amendment
- EXPLANATORY NOTES EXPLANATORY NOTES
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First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament, 70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022 |
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SENATE OF CANADA |
An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (information about the victim)
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FIRST READING, February 24, 2022
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THE HONOURABLE SENATOR Boisvenu |
SUMMARY
This enactment amends provisions of the Criminal Code in order to provide for the possibility of ordering an accused, defendant, offender or other person to refrain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making available on the Internet any information concerning victims and, in some cases, other persons.
It also amends the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights by adding a right to have reasonable measures taken in order to prohibit an offender from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making available on the Internet any information concerning victims.
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Available on the Senate of Canada website at the following address:
www.sencanada.ca/en |
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1st Session, 44th Parliament, 70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022 |
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SENATE OF CANADA |
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BILL S-238 |
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An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (information about the victim) |
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Short Title
Short title
1 This Act may be cited as the Véronique Barbe Act.
R.S., c. C-46
Criminal Code
2 Subsection 501(3) of the Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after paragraph (d):
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(d.1) abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence in question;
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3 (1) Subsection 515(4) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (d):
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(d.1) abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence in question;
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(2) Subsection 515(4.2) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):
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(a.01) that the accused abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence in question;
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(3) Subsection 515(12) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Order re no communication
(12) A justice who orders that an accused be detained in custody under this section may include in the order a direction that the accused must abstain from Insertion start either or both of the following: Insertion end
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Insertion start (a) Insertion end communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, except in accordance with such conditions specified in the order as the justice considers necessary Insertion start ; or Insertion end
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(b) publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence in question.
End of inserted block
4 Subsection 516(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Detention pending bail hearing
(2) A justice who remands an accused to custody under subsection (1) or subsection 515(11) may order that the accused abstain from Insertion start either or both of the following: Insertion end
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Insertion start (a) Insertion end communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, except in accordance with any conditions specified in the order that the justice considers necessary Insertion start ; or Insertion end
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(b) publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence in question.
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5 Subsection 522(2.1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Order re no communication
(2.1) A judge referred to in subsection (2) who orders that an accused be detained in custody under this section may include in the order a direction that the accused Insertion start must Insertion end abstain from Insertion start either or both of the following: Insertion end
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Insertion start (a) Insertion end communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, except in accordance with such conditions specified in the order as the judge considers necessary Insertion start ; or Insertion end
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(b) publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence in question.
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6 Section 672.542 of the Act is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (a) and by adding the following after paragraph (a):
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(a.1) abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence for which the offender is being sentenced; or
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7 Subsection 732.1(3) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a.1):
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(a.2) abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence for which the offender is being sentenced;
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8 Subsection 742.3(2) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a.3):
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(a.4) abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence for which the offender is being sentenced;
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9 Subsection 743.21(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Non-communication order
743.21 (1) The sentencing judge may order that the Insertion start accused must abstain from either or both of the following: Insertion end
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Insertion start (a) Insertion end communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, except in accordance with Insertion start such Insertion end conditions specified in the order Insertion start as the justice Insertion end considers necessary Insertion start ; or Insertion end
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(b) publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim of the offence for which the offender is being sentenced.
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10 (1) The portion of subsection 810(3.2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Conditions in recognizance
(3.2) Before making an order under subsection (3), the justice or the summary conviction court shall consider whether it is desirable, in the interests of the safety of the informant, of the person on whose behalf the information was laid or of that person’s intimate partner or child, as the case may be, to add Insertion start any Insertion end of the following conditions to the recognizance Insertion start : Insertion end
(2) Subsection 810(3.2) of the Act is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (a), by adding “or” after paragraph (b) and by adding the following after paragraph (b):
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(c) a condition prohibiting the defendant from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the person on whose behalf the information was laid or that person’s intimate partner or child.
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11 Subsection 810.02(6) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (d):
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(d.1) prohibit the defendant from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning any person identified in the recognizance;
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12 Subsection 810.1(3.02) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b.1):
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(b.2) prohibit the defendant from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning any person identified in the recognizance;
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13 Paragraph (q) of Form 32 of Part XXVIII of the Act after the heading “List of Conditions” is amended by replacing “– abstains from communicating, directly or indirectly, with victim, witness or other specified person except in accordance with conditions specified by judge, provincial court judge or justice; and” with the following:
– abstains from communicating, directly or indirectly, with victim, witness or other specified person except in accordance with conditions specified by judge, provincial court judge or justice;
– abstains from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim or other specified person; and
End of inserted block2015, c. 13, s. 2
Canadian Victims Bill of Rights
14 The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights is amended by adding the following after section 11:
Publication or distribution of information concerning the victim
Start of inserted block11.1 Every victim has the right to have reasonable and necessary measures taken by the appropriate authorities in the criminal justice system to prevent the offender from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning the victim.
End of inserted blockCoordinating Amendment
Bill S-205
15 (1) Subsection (2) applies if Bill S-205, introduced in the 1st session of the 44th Parliament and entitled An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to another Act (interim release and domestic violence recognizance orders (in this section referred to as the “other Act”), receives royal assent.
(2) On the first day on which both section 11 of this Act and section 3 of the other Act are in force, subsection 810.03(7) of the Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after paragraph (e):
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(e.1) to abstain from publishing, distributing, transmitting or making accessible on the Internet any information concerning their child or concerning the person on whose behalf the information was laid or that person’s intimate partner or child, as the case may be.
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Published under authority of the Senate of Canada
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EXPLANATORY NOTES
(12) A justice who orders that an accused be detained in custody under this section may include in the order a direction that the accused abstain from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, except in accordance with such conditions specified in the order as the justice considers necessary.
(2) A justice who remands an accused to custody under subsection (1) or subsection 515(11) may order that the accused abstain from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, except in accordance with any conditions specified in the order that the justice considers necessary.
(2.1) A judge referred to in subsection (2) who orders that an accused be detained in custody under this section may include in the order a direction that the accused abstain from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order except in accordance with such conditions specified in the order as the judge considers necessary.
743.21 (1) The sentencing judge may issue an order prohibiting the offender from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order during the custodial period of the sentence, except in accordance with any conditions specified in the order that the sentencing judge considers necessary.
(3.2) Before making an order under subsection (3), the justice or the summary conviction court shall consider whether it is desirable, in the interests of the safety of the informant, of the person on whose behalf the information was laid or of that person’s intimate partner or child, as the case may be, to add either or both of the following conditions to the recognizance,
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(a) a condition prohibiting the defendant from being at, or within a distance specified in the recognizance from, a place specified in the recognizance where the person on whose behalf the information was laid or that person’s intimate partner or child, as the case may be, is regularly found; or
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(b) a condition prohibiting the defendant from communicating, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, with the person on whose behalf the information was laid or that person’s intimate partner or child, as the case may be.
List of Conditions
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(q) any other reasonable conditions, including:
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– abstains from communicating, directly or indirectly, with victim, witness or other specified person except in accordance with conditions specified by judge, provincial court judge or justice; and
. . .