HOUSEINCOMMITTEE

Private Member's Bill

45th Parliament · Session 1

Bill C-236: An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Prisons and Reformatories Act

Addressing the Continuing Victimization of Homicide Victims' Families Act

Introduced

September 22, 2025

Current Stage

HouseInCommittee

Last Updated

March 26, 2026

Sponsor

Dane Lloyd

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Bill C-236

Thu Mar 26 2026

An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Prisons and Reformatories Act

Impact Rating

3/5

Short Summary

Homicide offenders who refuse to disclose the location of the victim's body will face longer parole ineligibility periods and stricter sentencing rules.

Victims' Rights

Sentencing Reform

Parole

Criminal Code

Justice System

Detailed Analysis

This bill changes the Criminal Code and the parole system to impose tougher penalties on people convicted of homicide who refuse to disclose the location of the victim's body or remains. The refusal to provide this information becomes an official aggravating factor during sentencing, meaning judges must consider it when deciding the punishment. Crucially, it also allows the court to significantly delay when the offender becomes eligible for full parole, potentially forcing them to serve up to half of their sentence before being considered for release.

Why does this bill exist?

Origin (Public Outcry/Event)

This bill responds to ongoing public concern and advocacy from victims' families who suffer extreme emotional distress when they cannot locate the remains of their loved ones.

Key Points

Refusing to provide authorities with the location of a homicide victim's body or remains is now an official aggravating circumstance for sentencing.
A court must order that the portion of the sentence served before full parole eligibility is delayed to one half of the sentence or ten years, whichever is less.
The Parole Board of Canada can use the offender's continued refusal to disclose the body's location as grounds to deny full parole or temporary absences.
If the offender eventually provides the location, the court can revoke the order delaying their parole eligibility.

Impact By Group

Families of Homicide Victims

(Rights Expanded)

Provides significant leverage in the justice system to pressure offenders into revealing the location of remains, potentially leading to greater closure.

Persons Convicted of Homicide

(Harder)

Refusal to disclose the body's location will directly lead to a longer period of incarceration before being considered for parole and may also result in denial of temporary absences.

Sentencing Judges and Parole Boards

(Neutral)

Judges are now mandated to formally consider this refusal as an aggravating factor, and Parole Boards must use this criteria when evaluating release risk.

Provincial Impact

Low (Information Sharing) Interaction

Criminal law and federal parole are federal responsibilities. However, provincial parole boards (which handle sentences under two years) and provincial correctional facilities must adhere to the new criteria regarding temporary absences, requiring minor procedural updates.

Benefits & Pros

Provides a mechanism to offer closure to grieving families who cannot properly mourn without the recovery of the victim's remains.

Formally recognizes the act of maliciously withholding the body's location as a serious, ongoing act of cruelty and victimization.

Strengthens the victim's voice within the criminal justice and parole decision-making processes.

Applies pressure on offenders to cooperate, which may help resolve cold cases where the remains are missing.

Beneficiaries

Families of Homicide Victims

Victim Advocacy Groups

Parole Board of Canada (clearer guidelines)

Risks & Cons

May face Charter challenges arguing it violates the offender's right against self-incrimination by penalizing silence.

A judge's discretion in setting parole eligibility is significantly reduced in these specific homicide cases.

The law may fail to achieve its goal if offenders genuinely do not know the location or are willing to serve extra time rather than cooperate.

Creates complexity for the courts which must be 'satisfied' the offender actually possesses the information they refuse to share.

Affected Groups

Persons Convicted of Homicide

Defense Lawyers

Before & After

Currently, a judge may consider the refusal to disclose a body's location as an informal aggravating factor during sentencing. Under this bill, the judge must formally classify this refusal as an aggravating circumstance and is mandated to delay parole eligibility unless they are satisfied that a shorter period meets the objectives of deterrence and denunciation.

Real World Scenario

Currently: A person convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years, refuses to tell police where the victim's remains are. Their standard parole eligibility is set at five years (one third of the sentence). Under this Bill: The judge must delay parole eligibility to 7.5 years (half of the sentence) due to the refusal, meaning the family gets closure, or the offender serves an extra two and a half years before being considered for release.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this bill raise my taxes?

Does this mean every convicted murderer who doesn't reveal the body will get a longer sentence?

Sponsor

Dane Lloyd

Member of Parliament

House of Commons

First reading

Completed on September 22, 2025

Second reading

Completed on March 26, 2026

Consideration in committee

Not yet started

Report stage

Not yet started

Third reading

Not yet started

Senate

First reading

Not yet started

Second reading

Not yet started

Third reading

Not yet started

Abuse Potential

The main risk lies in the subjective determination by the court or the Parole Board that the offender “has information respecting the location” but refuses to share it. If this determination is based on weak evidence or speculation, an offender could face an unnecessarily extended incarceration period for silence they maintain, even if they truly have no knowledge. A future government could theoretically tighten the definition of 'refusal' or reduce the burden of proof, potentially leading to the arbitrary application of delayed parole simply because the body was never found, regardless of the offender's actual knowledge. This high standard of judicial satisfaction must be consistently applied to protect against such misuse.

Financial Impact

Indirectly increases correctional costs due to extended incarceration periods.

Implementation Risk

Low. The implementation relies on existing judicial and correctional processes, but the legislation may face immediate legal challenges arguing that the delayed parole violates Charter rights pertaining to the right to silence or protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Broad Economic Impact

Indirect

Everyday Life

Minimal impact

Admin Burden

Requires new forms. Judges and Parole Boards must document their findings regarding the offender's knowledge of the body's location.

Timeline

Immediate upon Royal Assent. Changes to the Criminal Code apply to sentencing proceedings moving forward.

Bill Text Versions

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Summary

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to add as an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes and as a reason to delay parole the fact that a person who is convicted of certain offences refuses to provide persons in authority with information respecting the location of bodies or remains. It also amends the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Prisons and Reformatories Act to add that fact as a consideration in the making of certain decisions under those Acts.

Full Text

Short Title Short title 1 This Act may be cited as the Addressing the Continuing Victimization of Homicide Victims’ Families Act . R.S., c. C-46 Criminal Code 2 The Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after section 718.04: Aggravating circumstance — body or remains 718.05 (1) When a court imposes a sentence for an offence in relation to the death of a person, if it is satisfied that the offender has information respecting the location of the body or remains of the person but refuses to provide persons in authority with that information, the court shall, in order to denounce and deter such behaviour, consider the refusal as an aggravating circumstance. Reasons (2) If the court is satisfied of the existence of the aggravating circumstance referred to in subsection (1) but decides not to give effect to it for sentencing purposes, the court shall give reasons for its decision. 3 Section 743.6 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1.2): Power of court to delay parole (1.3) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act , if an offender receives a sentence of imprisonment of two years or more, including a sentence of imprisonment for life, on conviction for an offence in relation to the death of a person and the court is satisfied that the offender has information respecting the location of the body or remains of the person but refuses to provide it to persons in authority, the court shall order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the offender may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or ten years, whichever is less, unless the court is satisfied, having regard to the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the character and circumstances of the offender, that the expression of society’s denunciation of the offence and the objectives of specific and general deterrence would be adequately served by a period of parole ineligibility determined in accordance with the Corrections and Conditional Release Act . Revocation of parole order (1.4) The court shall revoke the order made under subsection (1.3) if it is satisfied that the circumstances for which it was made have ceased to exist. 1992, c. 20 Corrections and Conditional Release Act 4 Paragraph 4(a) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act is replaced by the following: (a) the sentence is carried out having regard to all relevant available information, including the stated reasons and recommendations of the sentencing judge, the nature and gravity of the offence, the degree of responsibility of the offender, information from the trial or sentencing process, any order made under subsection 743.6(1.3) of the Criminal Code , the release policies of and comments from the Parole Board of Canada and information obtained from victims, offenders and other components of the criminal justice system; 5 Paragraph 101(a) of the Act is replaced by the following: (a) parole boards take into consideration all relevant available information, including the stated reasons and recommendations of the sentencing judge, the nature and gravity of the offence, the degree of responsibility of the offender, information from the trial or sentencing process, any order made under subsection 743.6(1.3) of the Criminal Code , and information obtained from victims, offenders and other components of the criminal justice system, including assessments provided by correctional authorities; 6 Section 102 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 102(1) and is amended by adding the following: Refusing to grant parole (2) The Board or a provincial parole board may refuse to grant parole to an offender who has been sentenced for an offence in relation to the death of a person if it is satisfied that the offender has information respecting the location of the body or remains of the person but refuses to provide it to persons in authority. 7 Section 116 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1): Refusal to authorize (1.1) The Board may refuse to authorize the unescorted temporary absence of an offender who has been sentenced for an offence in relation to the death of a person if it is satisfied that the offender has information respecting the location of the body or remains of the person but refuses to provide it to persons in authority. R.S., c. P-20 Prisons and Reformatories Act 8 Section 7.3 of the Prisons and Reformatories Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2): Eligibility — consideration (3) The designated authority may refuse to authorize the temporary absence of a prisoner who has been sentenced for an offence in relation to the death of a person if it is satisfied that the prisoner has information respecting the location of the body or remains of the person but refuses to provide it to persons in authority.

Version History

September 23, 2025 at 04:09 AM

Doc ID: 13599388