OTTAWA, November 7, 2002 - The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced that next spring, he intends to bring forward a series of legislative and other measures that will improve efficiency, modernize the law, and clarify existing Criminal Code provisions that govern the mentally disordered accused. The measures are explained in the Government of Canada's response to a report and recommendations of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which reviewed the mental disorder provisions in the Code.

"These proposed amendments will reflect an ongoing commitment by the Government of Canada to protect public safety without jeopardizing the rights of mentally disordered persons who come into conflict with the law. We will be implementing the vast majority of recommendations made by the Committee, which were consistent with the results of broad consultations held by the Department of Justice over the last ten years," said Minister Cauchon.

There is consensus among various stakeholders that the current Criminal Code regime for mentally disordered accused is generally working well. The Code was last significantly reformed in 1992. These reforms focused on updating the law that governs persons who are found unfit to stand trial due to their mental disorder, and persons found not criminally responsible because of their mental disorder. The Standing Committee's report was the result of a statutory review of these earlier reforms.

Under the proposals announced today, the Government of Canada will now focus on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the current system to ensure it responds to emerging issues and reflects the case law that has developed since passage of the reforms in 1992. Proposed amendments, to be introduced next spring, will modernize the law while preserving the overall framework and key provisions governing the mentally disordered accused.

Amendments would include:

• expanding the powers of provincial and territorial Review Boards, to ensure they have the tools needed to make decisions about the supervision or release of the mentally disordered accused;
• clarifying provisions on inter-provincial transfers of the mentally disordered accused;
• allowing victim impact statements to be read by the victim at a Review Board hearing; and
• repealing unproclaimed provisions from the 1992 reforms, as urged by the Standing Committee and a majority of stakeholders.

The Department of Justice will also consult with provincial and territorial officials responsible for justice and health to consider additional amendments recommended by the Standing Committee.

The Government's Response is available through the Department of Justice Internet site at http://www.canada.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/tm_md.

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Ref.:

Office of the Minister of Justice and
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Irène Arseneau
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Department of Justice Canada
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