Bill C-247: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (controlling or coercive conduct)

Bill C-247 If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at [email protected]. First Reading LEGISinfo Bilingual view XML PDF Skip to Document Navigation Skip to Document Content ENGLISHSUMMARYSUMMARY1 Criminal Code1 Criminal Code Second Session, Forty-third Parliament, 69 Elizabeth II, 2020 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-247 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (controlling or coercive conduct) FIRST READING, October 5, 2020 Mr. Garrison 432001 SUMMARY This enactment amends the Criminal Code to create an offence of engaging in controlling or coercive conduct that has a significant impact on the person towards whom the conduct is directed, including a fear of violence, a decline in their physical or mental health and a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities. Available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca 2nd Session, 43rd Parliament, 69 Elizabeth II, 2020 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-247 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (controlling or coercive conduct) Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: R.‍S.‍, c. 46 Criminal Code 1 The Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after section 264: Controlling or Coercive Conduct Offence 264.‍01 (1) Everyone commits an offence who repeatedly or continuously engages in controlling or coercive conduct towards a person with whom they are connected that they know or ought to know could, in all the circumstances, reasonably be expected to have a significant impact on that person and that has such an impact on that person. Interpretation — significant impact (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the conduct has a significant impact on the person if (a) it causes the person to fear, on reasonable grounds, on more than one occasion, that violence will be used against them; (b) it causes the person’s physical or mental health to decline; or (c) it causes the person alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities, including (i) limits on their ability to safeguard their well-being or that of their children, (ii) changes in or restrictions on their social activities or their communication with others, (iii) absences from work or from education or training programs or changes in their routines or status in relation to their employment or education, and (iv) changes of address. Interpretation — connected (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), two persons are connected if (a) they are current spouses, common-law partners or dating partners, or have agreed to marry each other; or (b) they are members of the same household, and (i) are former spouses, common-law partners or dating partners, (ii) have agreed to marry each other, whether or not the agreement has been terminated, (iii) are relatives, or (iv) carry out, or have carried out, parental responsibilities in respect of the same child, that child being under the age of 18 years. Exception — best interests of the person (4) If an accused is charged with an offence under subsection (1), it is a defence — in relation to conduct that is alleged to have caused a significant impact described in paragraph (2)‍(b) or (c) — that (a) the accused was acting in the best interests of the person towards whom the conduct was directed; and (b) the conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances. Proof of facts (5) Evidence that the accused was acting in the best interests of the person towards whom the conduct was directed and that the conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances is, in the absence of evidence that proves the contrary beyond a reasonable doubt, proof of those facts.‍ Punishment (6) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction. Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons Publication Explorer Publication Explorer ParlVU