Bill C-479: An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (fairness for victims)

Second Session, Forty-first Parliament, 62-63-64 Elizabeth II, 2013-2014-2015 STATUTES OF CANADA 2015CHAPTER 11 An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (fairness for victims) ASSENTED TO 23rd APRIL, 2015 BILL C-479 SUMMARY The purpose of this enactment is to amend Part II of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act in respect of the following matters: (a) the parole review of offenders who are serving a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence; (b) the attendance of victims and members of their family at parole review hearings; (c) the consideration of victims’ statements by the National Parole Board when making a determination regarding the release of an offender; (d) the manner of presentation of victims’ statements at a parole review hearing; (e) the providing of information under consideration by the Board to a victim; (f) the cancellation of a parole review hearing if an offender has repeatedly refused to attend, or waived his or her right to attend, previous hearings; (g) the providing of transcripts of a parole review hearing to the victim and members of their family and the offender; and (h) the notification of victims if an offender is to be released on temporary absence, parole or statutory release. Available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:http://www.parl.gc.ca 62-63-64 ELIZABETH II —————— CHAPTER 11 An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (fairness for victims) [Assented to 23rd April, 2015] Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: SHORT TITLE Short title 1. This Act may be cited as An Act to Bring Fairness for the Victims of Violent Offenders. 1992, c. 20 CORRECTIONS AND CONDITIONAL RELEASE ACT 2. (1) Section 123 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5): Violent offender (5.01) Despite subsection (5), if the Board decides not to grant parole to an offender who has been convicted of an offence involving violence for which the offender is serving a sentence of at least two years — or a sentence that includes a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence — following a review under subsection (1) or section 122, or if a review is not made by virtue of subsection (2), the Board shall conduct another review within five years after the later of the day on which the review took place or was scheduled to take place and thereafter within five years after that day until (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release; (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date. Written reasons (5.02) If the Board decides not to grant parole to an offender referred to in subsection (5.01), it shall provide the offender with written reasons for its decision. (2) Section 123 of Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5.1): Violent offender (5.2) Despite subsection (5.1), if the Board cancels or terminates parole for an offender who has been convicted of an offence involving violence for which the offender is serving a sentence of at least two years — or a sentence that includes a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence — the Board shall conduct another review within four years after the date of cancellation or termination and, after that date, within five years after the day on which each preceding review takes place until (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release; (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date. (3) Section 123 of Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (7): Definition of “offence involving violence” (8) In this section, “offence involving violence” means murder or any offence set out in Schedule I. 3. Section 131 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1): Schedule I offence (1.1) Despite subsection (1), if the order made under subsection 130(3) relates to an offender who is serving a sentence imposed for an offence set out in Schedule I whose commission caused the death of or serious harm to another person, the Board shall review the order within two years after the date the order was made, and thereafter within two years after the date of each preceding review while the offender remains subject to the order. 4. (1) Paragraphs 140(1)(b) and (c) of the Act are replaced by the following: (b) the first review for full parole under subsection 123(1) and subsequent reviews under subsection 123(5), (5.01) or (5.1); (c) a review conducted under section 129 or subsection 130(1) or 131(1) or (1.1); (1.1) The portion of subsection 140(4) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: Attendance by observers (4) Subject to subsections (5) and (5.1), the Board or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board shall, subject to such conditions as the Board or person considers appropriate and after taking into account the offender’s views, permit a person who applies in writing therefor to attend as an observer at a hearing relating to an offender, unless the Board or person is satisfied that (2) Section 140 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5): Attendance by victim or member of their family (5.1) In determining whether to permit a victim or a member of the victim’s family to attend as an observer at a hearing, the Board or its designate shall make every effort to fully understand the need of the victim and of the members of his or her family to attend the hearing and witness its proceedings. The Board or its designate shall permit a victim or a member of his or her family to attend as an observer unless satisfied that the presence of the victim or family member would result in a situation described in paragraph (4)(a), (b), (c) or (d). Attendance not permitted (5.2) If the Board or its designate decides under subsection (5.1) to not permit a victim or a member of his or her family to attend a hearing, the Board shall provide for the victim or family member to observe the hearing by any means that the Board considers appropriate. (3) Section 140 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (10): Consideration of statement (10.1) The Board shall, in deciding whether an offender should be released and what conditions might be applicable to the release, take into consideration any statement that has been presented in accordance with paragraph (10)(a) or (b). (4) Subsection 140(11) of the Act is replaced by the following: Forms of statement (11) If a victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) is not attending a hearing, their statement may be presented at the hearing in the form of a written statement, which may be accompanied by an audio or video recording, or in any other form prescribed by the regulations. 5. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 140: Cancellation of review hearing 140.1 Despite any other provision of this Act, if an offender has, on more than one occasion, refused to attend a review hearing or waived his or her right to a review hearing less than 15 days before the date scheduled for the hearing without providing a reasonable explanation for doing so, the Board may cancel the next review hearing to which the offender would otherwise be entitled to under this Act. Transcript 140.2 (1) If a transcript of the hearing has been made, the Board shall, on written request and free of charge, provide a copy to the offender and a copy to the victim or a member of the victim’s family. However, the copy provided to the victim or member of the victim’s family shall not include any portion of the transcript of a part of the hearing that, under subsection 140(5), was or would have been continued in the absence of observers or of a particular observer. Personal information (2) The Board may delete from a copy of the transcript any personal information about a person other than the offender, the victim or a member of the victim’s family. Access to information (3) Information discussed or referred to in the transcript of the hearing are not publicly available for the purposes of the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act. 6. (1) Subparagraph 142(1)(b)(iii) of the Act is repealed. (2) Subparagraphs 142(1)(b)(v) and (vi) of the Act are repealed. (3) Paragraph 142(1)(b) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of subparagraph (viii) and by adding the following after that subparagraph: (viii.1) information pertaining to the offender’s correctional plan, including information regarding the offender’s progress towards meeting the objectives of the plan, and (4) Subsection 142(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (a), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (b) and by adding the following after paragraph (b): (c) shall disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, if, in the Chairperson’s opinion, the disclosure would not have a negative impact on the safety of the public: (i) the date, if any, on which the offender is to be released on unescorted temporary absence, escorted temporary absence if the Board has approved the absence as required by subsection 746.1(2) of the Criminal Code, parole or statutory release, (ii) any conditions attached to the offend­er’s unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release and the reasons for any unescorted temporary absence, and (iii) the destination of the offender when released on unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release and whether the offender will be in the vicinity of the victim while travelling to that destination. (5) Section 142 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1): Timing of disclosure (1.1) The Chairperson shall disclose the information referred to in paragraph (1)(c) at least 14 days, where practicable, before the offender in question is to be released. Continuing duty to disclose (1.2) If a victim makes a request to the Chairperson under subsection (1) in respect of the information relating to an offender and, subsequent to that initial request, there are changes to that information, the Chairperson shall, in accordance with that subsection, disclose any such changes to the victim, unless the victim notifies the Chairperson that he or she does not wish to be so informed. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS Additional sentence 7. (1) Subsections 123(5.01) and (5.2) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as enacted by section 2 — and subsection 131(1.1) of the Act, as enacted by section 3 — apply in respect of an offender who receives an additional sentence for an offence under an Act of Parliament on or after the day on which this section comes into force. Additional sentence — on parole or statutory release (2) Subsections 123(5.01) and (5.2) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as enacted by section 2 — and subsection 131(1.1) of the Act, as enacted by section 3 — apply in respect of an offender who is on parole or statutory release and who receives an additional sentence for an offence under an Act of Parliament on or after the day on which this section comes into force. First review — section 122, 123 or 131 (3) Subsections 123(5.01) and (5.2) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as enacted by section 2 — and subsection 131(1.1) of the Act, as enacted by section 3 — apply in respect of an offender even if they were sentenced, committed or transferred to a penitentiary before the day on which this section comes into force. However, they do not apply to the first review on or after that day, under section 122, 123 or 131, as the case may be. COMING INTO FORCE Order in council 8. Section 6 of the Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council. Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons