OTTAWA, March 31, 2004 - The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler, announced today that Bill C-45 (criminal liability of organizations), which will help ensure organizations are held accountable when they commit criminal offences, has come into effect as of March 31, 2004.

"This legislation is important because, in the aftermath of Westray, it underscores the relationship between corporate liability and public safety, and it says to employers that those who fail to provide safe workplaces may be dealt with severely through the criminal law," said Minister Cotler. "We've also modernized the law on criminal liability to ensure it reflects the current structures of today's organizations."

Through amendments to the Criminal Code, the legislation makes organizations criminally liable:

• as a result of the criminal actions of senior officers who oversee day-to-day operations in addition to the acts of directors or executives;
• when officers with executive or operational authority become aware of offences being committed by other employees but do not take action to stop them in order to benefit the organization, at least in part; or
• when the actions of those with authority and other employees, taken as a whole, demonstrate a lack of care that constitutes criminal negligence.

These reforms also increase the maximum fine that can be imposed on an organization for a summary conviction (or less serious) offence from $25,000 to $100,000. There is currently no set limit on fines for organizations that commit indictable (or more serious) offences, and this will not change. The term "organization" refers to a variety of group structures including a public body, a company or partnership.

Bill C-45, which received Royal Assent in November 2003, also imposes a legal duty on all those who direct work, including employers, to take reasonable measures to protect employee and public safety. Wanton or reckless disregard of this duty causing death or bodily harm could result in a charge of criminal negligence. These measures build on recent reforms to Part II of the Canada Labour Code that protect workers against workplace hazards.

The provisions of Bill C-45 were first outlined in the Government's November 2002 response to the 15th Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on workplace safety and corporate liability, a review prompted by the Westray mine disaster in Nova Scotia.

A Plain Language Guide to Bill C-45 is available on the Department of Justice Web site at: www.canada.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/c45/index.html.

An online version of the legislation is available at www.parl.gc.ca.

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Ref.:

Denise Rudnicki
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
(613) 957-4207