Bill C-293
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1st Session, 41st Parliament,
60 Elizabeth II, 2011
house of commons of canada
BILL C-293
An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (vexatious complain-ants)
1992, c. 20
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
1. The heading before section 90 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act is replaced by the following:
Grievance or Complaint Procedure
2. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 91:
Definitions
91.1 (1) The following definitions apply in this section and sections 91.2 to 91.4.
“complainant”
« plaignant »
« plaignant »
“complainant” means an offender who submits a complaint or grievance at any level of the complaint or grievance procedure under this Act.
“decision-maker”
« décideur »
« décideur »
“decision-maker” means the person who is required to respond to a complaint or grievance at any level of the complaint or grievance procedure, namely the supervisor, institutional head, Regional Deputy Commissioner or Commissioner, or their delegate.
Designation by Commissioner
(2) The Commissioner may designate an offender as a vexatious complainant when, in his or her opinion, the offender has submitted multiple complaints or grievances that are of a vexatious or frivolous nature, or not made in good faith.
Requirements
(3) When the Commissioner commences his or her consideration of a vexatious complainant designation for an offender, he or she shall
(a) inform the offender in writing of his or her intention;
(b) provide the offender with the information that will be used to determine the designation; and
(c) give the offender an opportunity to:
(i) rebut the possibility of such designation and the information on which it is based, and
(ii) present an alternative plan or means to address the offender's issues.
Reasons for designation
(4) When the Commissioner designates an offender as a vexatious complainant, he or she shall notify the offender in writing of such designation and provide the offender with reasons for such designation in writing.
Removal of designation
(5) The Commissioner shall inform an offender who has been designated as a vexatious complainant, in writing, of the terms and conditions the offender must fulfill in order to apply for removal of the designation.
Plan to break cycle of complaints
(6) The institutional head shall ensure that a plan is developed to assist any offender who has been designated as a vexatious complainant to break the cycle of complaints and first-level grievances.
Additional material to show merit
91.2 (1) An offender who has been designated as a vexatious complainant shall, when submitting a new complaint or grievance, provide the institutional head with additional material, as required by the institutional head, to establish the merits of his or her complaint or grievance.
Refusal to review
(2) Subject to subsection (3), when an offender has been designated as a vexatious complainant by the Commissioner, the decision-maker who has jurisdiction to hear and decide the offender’s complaint or grievance may refuse to hear any complaint or grievance that is, in his or her opinion, of a vexatious or frivolous nature, or not made in good faith.
Exception
(3) A decision-maker may not refuse to hear a complaint or grievance that would result in irreparable, significant or adverse consequences to the offender if not resolved.
Judicial review
91.3 The offender who has been designated a vexatious complainant by the Commissioner under subsection 91.1(2) may seek judicial review of this designation.
Assessment of status
91.4 The Commissioner shall assess, every six months, the status of an offender who has been designated as a vexatious complainant and advise the offender in writing of this assessment and its outcome.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons
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