Safer communities

Making murder motivated by hate first-degree, including femicide

The Criminal Code would treat murders driven by hate, or that occur in situation involving controlling or coercive behaviour of an intimate partner, sexual violence or exploitation as first-degree murder, even when there was no planning and deliberation. These killings overwhelmingly target women, with intimate partner homicides rising 39% in 2024, with 81% of victims being women.

Criminalize coercive control to facilitate intervention before intimate partner violence turns lethal

Abuse often escalates through patterns of control long before physical violence occurs. A new offence would target patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour, giving the justice system the tools to intervene before violence escalates.

Modernize sexual violence protections

The legislation would prohibit the non-consensual distribution of sexual deepfakes, increase penalties for the offence of non-consensual distribution of intimate images, prohibit threats to distribute such images, and increase penalties for sexual assault on summary conviction.

Put child predators behind bars

• This legislation would strengthen mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment for predators who possess or access child sexual abuse and exploitation material, including restoring at least a dozen mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment for a range of child sexual offences that were previously struck down by courts.
• These changes would ensure that those who prey on our kids face prison time for the most heinous crimes imaginable.

Crack down on online sextortion:

Kids are being targeted online in a world with threats that are very different compared to a decade ago.

• This legislation proposes stronger measures to address online sexploitation and child luring, including making it a crime to:
  • threaten to distribute child sexual abuse and exploitation material
  • distribute bestiality depictions, which are known to be used to manipulate children for sexual purposes

The proposed changes would also strengthen Canada’s ability to prosecute predators who sexually exploit children abroad. To give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools and evidence they need to stop these crimes and bring perpetrators to justice, this Act would:

• extend the limitation period for the prosecution of offences under the Mandatory Reporting Act from 2 to 5 years
• require online platforms to preserve data longer, from 21 days to one year

Protect youth from being exploited into criminal activity

Criminal organizations are increasingly pressuring, recruiting, or grooming kids to commit serious crimes on their behalf.

This legislation would create a new offence of recruiting youth into crime and toughen sentencing laws. Predators would face a strong response if they recruit, encourage, or counsel a kid to commit a crime.

Explore the proposed changes

Strengthen victims’ rights

This legislation would strengthen the rights of victims of crime under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. This includes creating new rights for victims to:

• be treated with respect, courtesy, compassion and fairness
• have their interests in a timely trial taken into consideration
• receive information about their rights

The legislation would also make several clarifications to victims’ right to information. This would include making it easier to access information related to:

• the criminal justice system
• the case in which they are involved
• the offender who harmed them
• restorative justice processes
• an offender’s progress even after restorative justice processes conclude
• available protection measures
• publication bans

Addressing delays in criminal courts

The legislation includes measures to meaningfully address delays in the criminal justice system, including by:

• requiring courts to consider alternative remedies to stays of proceedings
• providing guidance to courts on what is case complexity in certain situations
• excluding the time it takes to argue certain matters when determining whether unreasonable delay exists

New technologies make communication faster and more accessible, but they are also being used by criminals to facilitate and commit crimes, such as:

• child sexual exploitation
• extortion
• human trafficking
• drug trafficking
• money laundering
• terrorist attacks

Threats to Canada’s national security, such as violent extremism, espionage and foreign interference are also often planned, coordinated, and financed online.

Bill C-22 was informed by extensive consultations with civil society, privacy advocates, the law enforcement community, academia, industry, and provinces and territories. In an increasingly dangerous world, the tools in Bill C-22 will make our country safer and more secure.

Amendments under Part 1 of the Act, Timely Access to Data and Information, include:

New investigative tools

New investigative tools would help law enforcement:

• investigate threats earlier
• act quickly in urgent situations
• confirm the telecommunications service provider most likely to be in possession of relevant information relevant

With this information, law enforcement can take the lawful steps needed to identify suspects more quickly, protect victims and respond to imminent threats.

Two new tools would address long-standing gaps in the investigative toolkit:

1. confirmation of service demand
2. subscriber information production order

These two new tools would not allow law enforcement to conduct warrantless searches involving sensitive information, such as the content of communications or subscriber information as defined.

Clarifications

The Act proposes several clarifications to current laws, to make sure that they are aligned with today’s realities of criminal investigations. Law enforcement agencies sometimes receive information from people – for example, tips to police or victim reports. The legislation would clarify that law enforcement officials are not required to obtain court approval to accept information that is given to them voluntarily.

Emergency (exigent) circumstances

Canadian criminal law has long recognized that in emergency situations, police officers may act without first obtaining a court order (where one would otherwise be required). For example, an online live stream of a terrorist attack or the sexual abuse of a child, where law enforcement must act immediately.

Currently, law enforcement does not have a clear ability to seize digital information in emergency situations without court approval, as they can with physical evidence. This legislation would clarify, as affirmed in Supreme Court of Canada cases, that police can seize both physical and digital information in emergency situations.

Cooperation requests with international partners:

Crime is increasingly transnational – it can involve multiple countries and evidence of crimes is often found all around the world. The Bill would improve cooperation with international partners in responding to serious transnational crime and threats.

Explore the proposed changes

Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act (SAAIA) would require select electronic service providers (ESPs), identified as “core providers”, to have the necessary technical capabilities to respond to law enforcement agencies and CSIS’s requests for information and data that they are legally authorized to obtain, in order to conduct or advance investigations. The act includes an explicit prohibitions against implementing technical capabilities that could create a systemic vulnerability in ESPs’ systems.

There are two ways by which ESPs could be obligated to develop and maintain lawful access capabilities:

1. Those designated as “core providers”, such as telecommunications companies, would have to abide by capability requirements laid out in regulations
2. The Minister of Public Safety, based on operational needs, could issue Ministerial Orders, subject to the approval of the Intelligence Commissioner, to both core and non-core providers compelling the development of specific capabilities

Other proposed changes to the bill include:

• Ministerial Orders would be subject to approval by the Intelligence Commissioner, and privacy and cybersecurity are explicit factors for consideration
• The same factors that must be considered for Ministerial Orders would also need to be considered by the Governor in Council when making regulations for core providers
• Clarification that data retention requirements can be imposed only for metadata, for a one year maximum, which does not include content, web-browsing history or social media history
• Additional parameters would be added for the inspection powers, the obligation to assist, and the confidentiality and security regulations
• Clarification that information provided as part of an internal audit or obtained during an inspection would need to be kept confidential by designated persons
• Public annual reporting would be a legislative requirement
• Systemic vulnerability would be defined in the statute

Explore the proposed changes