e-4185 (Justice)

Everyone should feel safe in their home and communities. We recognize the harmful and disproportionate impacts that intimate partner violence (IPV) has, particularly on women, and will work to ensure that our criminal laws, including the law of bail, effectively meet their objectives. Our laws are clear, if an accused poses a serious risk to public safety, they should be denied bail.

The Government introduced amendments to the Criminal Code that were enacted through former Bill C-75, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, to strengthen the criminal law’s response to IPV. In particular, these changes:

• enacted a reverse onus at bail for accused charged with an IPV offence if they have a prior conviction for violence against an intimate partner;
• required courts to consider whether an accused is charged with an IPV offence when determining whether to release or detain the accused;
• clarified that strangulation, choking and suffocation is an elevated form of assault;
• defined “intimate partner” for all Criminal Code purposes and clarified that it includes a current or former spouse, common-law partner and dating partner;
• clarified that the current sentencing provisions, which treat abuse against a spouse or common law partner as an aggravating factor, apply to both current and former spouses/common law partners and dating partners, as well as members of the victim or offender’s family; and,
• allowed for the possibility of seeking a higher maximum penalty in cases involving a repeat IPV offender.

The Criminal Code sets out specific grounds justifying the accused’s detention in custody before trial, including, where necessary, for the protection of the public, including victims, children and witnesses, and to maintain confidence in the administration of justice. A court takes a number of factors into consideration to determine whether detention is justified, such as the nature of the offence and whether it involves allegations of IPV, the probability that the accused will commit another offence, and the accused’s criminal record.

Furthermore, the government is committed to ensuring that victims are meaningfully engaged and that their safety and security is taken into consideration throughout the entire criminal justice process. We will continue to examine ways to make this process more accessible for victims, while also ensuring that their safety is given primary consideration.

In addition, the Government is supporting Bill C-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Judges Act (violence against an intimate partner). The Bill proposes to amend the Criminal Code to require justices to consider whether an accused person should wear an electronic monitoring device as a condition of bail release if: (i) the accused is charged with an offence in the commission of which violence against an intimate partner was used, threatened or attempted; and, (ii) the Attorney General has requested such a condition.

At the Minister of Justice’s direction, federal officials have been working for months with their PT counterparts to develop ways to best keep Canadians safe and to further strengthen the law of bail as it relates to repeat violent offending – building on years of continued federal/provincial/territorial (FPT) cooperation and collaboration in this area. We all have a role to play in protecting our communities. The Minister of Justice also called an urgent meeting with FPT Ministers of Justice and Public Safety to discuss these issues, which was held on March 10, 2023. Ministers agreed that the bail system functions appropriately in many, but not all cases, and there are a number of ways to better address challenges facing the bail system, including both legislative and non-legislative action within federal and provincial jurisdiction. The Government has committed to taking urgent action to strengthen public safety through amendments to the Criminal Code that would target repeat violent offenders and serious offences committed with firearms and other dangerous weapons.