Bill C-483

1st Session, 41st Parliament,

60-61-62 Elizabeth II, 2011-2012-2013

house of commons of canada

BILL C-483

An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (escorted temporary absence)

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

CORRECTIONS AND CONDITIONAL RELEASE ACT

1. (1) Subsections 17(1) to (4) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act are replaced by the following:

17. (1) The institutional head may, subject to section 746.1 of the Criminal Code, subsection 140.3(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, authorize the escort- ed — by a staff member or other person authorized by the institutional head — tempo- rary absence of an inmate, other than an inmate convicted of first or second degree murder, if, in the opinion of the institutional head,

(a) the inmate will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during an absence authorized under this section;

(b) an escorted temporary absence from the penitentiary is desirable for the inmate for medical, administrative, community service, family contact, personal development for rehabilitative purposes, or compassionate reasons, including parental responsibilities;

(c) the inmate’s behaviour while under sentence does not preclude authorizing the absence; and

(d) a structured plan for the absence has been prepared.

(2) The institutional head or the Parole Board of Canada, as the case may be, may impose, in relation to a temporary absence, any conditions that they consider reasonable and necessary in order to protect society.

(3) The institutional head or the Parole Board of Canada, as the case may be, may cancel a temporary absence either before or after its commencement.

(4) The institutional head or the Parole Board of Canada, as the case may be, shall give the inmate written reasons for the authorizing, refusal or cancellation of a temporary absence.

(2) Subsection 17(5) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

(5) La durée de validité de la permission ne comprend pas le temps que peuvent accorder le directeur ou la Commission, selon le cas, pour les déplacements entre le lieu de détention et la destination du détenu.

(3) Subsection 17(6) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(6) If, pursuant to an agreement under paragraph 16(1)(a), an inmate has been admitted to a hospital operated by a provincial government in which the liberty of patients is normally subject to restrictions, the institutional head or the Parole Board of Canada, as the case may be, may confer on the person in charge of the hospital, for such period and subject to such conditions as they specify, any of the institutional head's or the Parole Board of Canada's powers under this section in relation to that inmate.

2. Paragraph 96(z.8) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

z.8) concernant les permissions de sortir avec escorte et les placements à l’extérieur — notamment les circonstances dans lesquelles le directeur ou la Commission, selon le cas, peuvent accorder une permission de sortir au titre de l’article 17;