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Bill C-46

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SUMMARY

This enactment amends the Criminal Code by creating a new offence of prohibited insider trading and creating a new offence to prohibit threatening or retaliating against employees for disclosing unlawful conduct. The enactment increases the maximum penalties and codifies aggravating and non-mitigating sentencing factors for fraud and certain related offences and provides for concurrent jurisdiction for the Attorney General of Canada to prosecute those offences.

The enactment also creates a new procedural mechanism by which persons will be required to produce documents, data or information in specific circumstances.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Criminal Code

Clause 1: (1) and (2) Paragraph (g) of the definition ``Attorney General'' in section 2 is new. The relevant portion of that definition reads as follows:

``Attorney General''

      (a) subject to paragraphs (c) to (f), with respect to proceedings to which this Act applies, means the Attorney General or Solicitor General of the province in which those proceedings are taken and includes his or her lawful deputy,

Clause 2: (1) The relevant portion of subsection 380(1) reads as follows:

380. (1) Every one who, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, whether or not it is a false pretence within the meaning of this Act, defrauds the public or any person, whether ascertained or not, of any property, money or valuable security or any service,

    (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding ten years, where the subject-matter of the offence is a testamentary instrument or the value of the subject-matter of the offence exceeds five thousand dollars; or

(2) Subsection 380(2) reads as follows:

(2) Every one who, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, whether or not it is a false pretence within the meaning of this Act, with intent to defraud, affects the public market price of stocks, shares, merchandise or anything that is offered for sale to the public is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

Clause 3: New.

Clause 4: The relevant portion of section 382 reads as follows:

382. Every one who, through the facility of a stock exchange, curb market or other market, with intent to create a false or misleading appearance of active public trading in a security or with intent to create a false or misleading appearance with respect to the market price of a security,

    . . .

is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Clause 5: New.

Clause 6: New.

Clause 7: New.

Clause 8: (1) The relevant portion of subsection 487.3(1) reads as follows:

487.3 (1) A judge or justice may, on application made at the time of issuing a warrant under this or any other Act of Parliament or of granting an authorization to enter a dwelling-house under section 529 or an authorization under section 529.4 or at any time thereafter, make an order prohibiting access to and the disclosure of any information relating to the warrant or authorization on the ground that

(2) Subsection 487.3(4) reads as follows:

(4) An application to terminate the order or vary any of its terms and conditions may be made to the justice or judge who made the order or a judge of the court before which any proceedings arising out of the investigation in relation to which the warrant was obtained may be held.