Laws

November 1, 2005 and January 2, 2006 (except s. 28)

This Bill provides amendments to the Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act to:

• strengthen child pornography provisions, by increasing penalties, prohibiting advertising, broadening the definition and creating a clearer, narrower, harm-based “legitimate purpose” defence
• create a new offence against sexual exploitation of youth (aged 14-18) to better protect youth against those who would prey on their vulnerability
• increase penalties for child-specific offences involving abuse, neglect or being exploited for sexual purposes, including imposing mandatory minimum sentences for specific sexual offences against children
• facilitate the testimony of child victims and witnesses under 18 years of age and other vulnerable victims and witnesses by providing a clearer and more consistent test for the use of aids such as screens, closed-circuit television and support persons
• create a new test to enable children under 14 years to testify in any proceeding where they are able to understand and respond to questions and after they have promised to tell the truth
• protect against spousal violence by facilitating the criminal law enforcement of breaches of civil restraining orders
• establish new voyeurism offences prohibiting the secret viewing or recording of another person when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in three specific situations and prohibiting the intentional distribution of a voyeuristic recording

July 23, 2002

• amended the Criminal Code to increase the maximum penalty for criminal harassment from 5 to 10 years. It also included measures to better protect children from being exploited sexually by criminalizing several specific actions, including luring children on the Internet (known as "Internet luring"); transmitting, making available, or exporting child pornography on the Internet; or intentionally accessing child pornography on the Internet. Sentencing provisions were also to be strengthened. In addition, Bill C-15A included measures to make it easier to prosecute people involved in child sex tourism.

December 1, 1999

• amended the Criminal Code to facilitate the participation of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process.  Measures were put in place to prevent victims from being re-victimized by the system. For example, bail decisions must take the safety of victims into account, and publication bans are now permitted to protect the identity of any victim or witness.

May 26, 1997

• amended the Criminal Code to strengthen the criminal harassment (stalking) provisions. This included making murder, committed while stalking a victim, a first-degree murder, where the murderer intended to instil fear for the victim's safety. The Bill also requires the courts to take the breach of a protective court order into account as an aggravating factor in sentencing an offender for criminal harassment. Bill C-27 also amended the Criminal Code provisions on child sex tourism, and clarified that female genital mutilation is prohibited in Canada.

September 3, 1996

• amended the Criminal Code to require the courts to take into account the abuse of a spouse or a child as an aggravating factor in sentencing an offender for an offence. Spouses and children can also seek restitution from the offender for the expenses they incurred because they had to leave their home to avoid being harmed.

February 1, 1995

• amended the Criminal Code to make it easier to obtain peace bonds (protective orders). Police and others can now apply for a peace bond for a person at risk of harm. The maximum penalty for violation of a peace bond was increased from six months to two years.

August 1, 1993

• created the new anti-stalking offence of criminal harassment.