Highlights of Omnibus Bill

The federal government shares jurisdiction over the criminal justice system with the provinces and territories, who are responsible for its administration. The federal government consults regularly with its provincial and territorial partners on justice issues through several fora, including First Ministers conferences as well as meetings of ministers responsible for justice and senior officials.

Recent consultations have raised a number of issues of concern in various regions across Canada. This Bill responds to these concerns, and builds on the cooperative work of federal, provincial and territorial governments towards a more efficient, effective justice system that earns the confidence of all Canadians.

Here are the highlights:

HOMICIDE AND CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE

• The "year and a day" time-limit provision on homicide and criminal negligence prosecutions would be abolished.

Currently, the Criminal Code prevents prosecuting individuals for murder, manslaughter and other offences when more than a year and a day has passed before the death of the victim, a legal rule which is older than Canada itself. Advances in medicine and forensic science have made this rule obsolete. Victims are now more likely to survive under medical care for long periods after assaults, and forensic science has made it possible to determine whether the initial offence actually caused death. The present law blocks prosecution for homicide in such cases, even if it is clear that the accused actually caused the victim’s death. The amendment would make it possible to pursue such cases.

CHILD PROSTITUTION

• Proposals in the Bill will make it possibleeasier to successfully prosecute offenders if they were told that a prostitute they approached was underage, and will allow police to use electronic surveillance when investigating prostitution-related cases.

Making sure the law can be used effectively to protect children is a priority for all levels of government. The changes will make it easier for police to collect evidence against people who demand or obtain sexual services from a child under 18, by using undercover officers posing as prostitutes or intermediaries between the child and the customer. The proposed amendments respond to concerns raised by several provinces based on their law enforcement experiences.

CONDITIONAL SENTENCING

• OnceWhen an offender is alleged to have breachedhas violated his or her conditional sentence and is either arrested or a warrant to arrest him or her is issued, the running of the conditional sentence will now be stopped from the offender’s arrest or the issuance of an arrest warrant until the conclusion of the court hearing on the breach is held. The offender will be required to comply with all the conditions of the conditional sentence order and The sentence will remain in effect for as long as this takes, and the offender will not be given credit for the time unless a court later decides that it should be counted.

Since their introduction in 1996, conditional sentences have become an important tool in effectively dealing with less serious offenders. However, federal, provincial and territorial governments agree that some changes to the conditional sentencing provisions of the Criminal Code are necessary to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the conditional sentencing process as a whole. Notably, the 30-day period in which a breach hearing must be concluded has proven in some cases to be too short, resulting in situations where the conditional sentence has expired before the offender could be arrested and brought before court for a hearing. The proposals allow authorities to stop ensure that offenders who not comply with conditions face appropriate consequences, and the courts will no longer lose their powers to deal with breaches when the original sentence runs out before the offender can be found or brought before the court. When the running of a conditional sentence and provide for a longer period in which to conclude the breach hearing and thereby ensure that offenders who do not comply with conditions face appropriate consequences. is suspended, the powers of the court to deal with the offender are preserved indefinitely, and the offender still remains legally subject to the

CORRECTIONS AND CONDITIONAL RELEASE ACT

• The Act would be changed to prevent offenders convicted under the criminal organization offences of the Criminal Code from receiving Accelerated Parole Review (APR).

With the support of the provinces, particularly Quebec and Manitoba, the federal government has taken important steps to crack down on organized crime in Canada, including 19967 amendments to the Criminal Code that criminalized participation in a criminal organization. Proposals in this Bill would build on these measures by ensuring organized crime figures are not eligible for APR, which is a streamlined parole review process intended for first-time federal offenders who do not pose a risk of violence. Such

a measure helps ensure that criminal gang members serve an appropriate portion of their sentence in custody.

TELEMARKETING FRAUD

• Under the proposed legislation, proceeds obtained from the prosecution of new deceptive telemarketing offences in the Criminal Code would become subject to seizure and forfeiture.

Canada is serious about cracking down on telemarketing fraud. Telemarketing scams are widespread, cost North Americans billions of dollars yearly and do not stop at international borders. In November 1997, both Canada and the United States jointly produced a Report in which they agreed to cooperate strategically on legal approaches to control this illegal activity. The Minister for Industry has introduced amendments (Bill C-20) to the Competition Act which create new offences relating to deceptive telemarketing. The proposed legislation builds on this important initiative by linking the new offences to the existing Criminal Code scheme for the seizure and forfeiture of crime proceeds. SThe 1997 Report identifies such measures ares critical to the fight against telemarketing fraud because of the substantial proceeds that these offenders can generate.

CURRENCY

• Language used in currency offences would be modernized to take into account computer-generated and other high tech ways of copying currency.

In addition to the offence of counterfeiting, the Criminal Code makes it an offence to produce likenesses of banknotes and similar instruments as an additional safeguard. This provision is being modernized in recognition of new electronic methods that might be used to produce likenesses, and expanded to allow the Bank of Canada and the RCMP to legally produce likenesses for commercial and crime prevention purposes.

MINERALS

• Criminal Code offences related to illicit possession and smuggling of minerals and precious metals would be modernized and expanded to include diamonds.

The high value of diamonds makes them especially enticing targets for theft, smuggling and money-laundering by organized crime. The discovery of diamonds in the Northwest Territories in the 1990s has heightened concerns in the mining industry about Canada’s vulnerability to this type of crime. The amendments will allow federal and, provincial and territorial governments to deal effectively with offences involving rough or uncut diamonds committed by organized crime or that cross jurisdictional boundaries.

NON-COMMUNICATION ORDERS

• The Criminal Code would be amended so that a judgstice who remands arrested persons into custody can order them not to communicate with any witness or other person between the time they are detained and the bail hearing.

Currently, only a judge or justice at a bail hearing who detains an accused person pending the trial may order the person not to communicate with a witness or anyone else. An amendment to extend this power to judgstices who initially deal with the accused immediately after the arrest will prove particularly useful in cases of domestic violence.

GAMING

• The Criminal Code would be amended to exempt international cruise ships from offences in current gaming provisions. Under certain circumstances, an international cruise ship would be able to legally operate a casino while in Canadian waters (but not in Canadian ports); and

• provincial governments would be permitted, under limited circumstances, to conduct and manage dice games.

The provinces of Quebec and Ontario requested these amendments, which will allow Canadian ports and casinos to compete more effectively with those in the United States. The changes are not expected to significantly increase gambling in Canada.