Bill C-235
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- ENGLISH
- SUMMARY SUMMARY
- 1 Short Title 1 Short Title
- 1.1 Criminal Code 1.1 Criminal Code
- 6 Coordinating Amendments 6 Coordinating Amendments
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First Session, Forty-fifth Parliament, 3-4 Charles III, 2025-2026 |
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HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA |
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (increasing parole ineligibility)
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Reprinted as amended by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights as a working copy for the use of the House of Commons at Report Stage and as reported to the House on June 8, 2026
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Mr. Kibble |
SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Criminal Code to provide that a person convicted of the abduction, sexual assault and murder of the same victim in respect of the same event or series of events is to be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served a sentence of between twenty-five and forty years, as determined by the presiding judge after considering the recommendation, if any, of the jury.
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Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:
www.ourcommons.ca
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1st Session, 45th Parliament, 3-4 Charles III, 2025-2026 |
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HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA |
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BILL C-235 |
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An Act to amend the Criminal Code (increasing parole ineligibility) |
His 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 the Respecting Families of Murdered and Brutalized Persons Act.
R.S., c. C-46
Criminal Code
Start of inserted block1.1 Section 675 of the Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after subsection (1.1):
End of inserted blockAppeal against section 745.31 order
Start of inserted block(1.2) A person against whom an order under section 745.31 has been made may appeal to the court of appeal against the order.
1.2 Section 676 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):
End of inserted blockAppeal — section 745.31
Start of inserted block(3.1) The Attorney General or counsel instructed by the Attorney General for the purpose may appeal to the court of appeal against the number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole, being less than 40, that has been imposed under an order made under section 745.31 or against the decision of the court not to make an order under that section.
End of inserted block2 Section 745 of the Insertion start Act Insertion end is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):
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(a.1) in respect of an accused who has been convicted — in respect of the same victim and the same event or series of events — of an offence under section 151 to 153.1 or 271 to 273, an offence under section 279 or 280 to 283, and murder, that the accused be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the accused has served at least twenty-five years of the sentence or until the period referred to under section Insertion start 745.31 Insertion end has expired;
3 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 745.21:
Recommendation by jury
745.22 When a jury finds an accused referred to in paragraph 745(a.1) guilty, the judge presiding at the trial shall, before discharging the jury, put to them the following question:
You have found the accused guilty of (state offences) and the law requires that I now pronounce a sentence of imprisonment for life against the accused. Do you wish to make any recommendation with respect to the number of years that the accused must serve before the accused is eligible for release on parole? You are not required to make any recommendation but if you do, your recommendation will be considered by me when I am determining whether I should substitute for the twenty-five year period, which the law would otherwise require the accused to serve before the accused is eligible to be considered for release on parole, a number of years that is more than twenty-five but not more than forty.
4 The Act is amended by adding the following after section Insertion start 745.3 Insertion end :
Ineligibility for parole
Insertion start 745.31 Insertion end Insertion start Insertion end Insertion start (1) Insertion end At the time of the sentencing under section 745 of an accused referred to in paragraph 745(a.1), the judge who presided at the trial of the accused or, if that judge is unable to do so, any judge of the same court may, having regard to the character of the accused, the nature of the offences and the circumstances surrounding their commission, and to the recommendation, if any, made under section 745.22, by order, substitute for twenty-five years a number of years of imprisonment that is more than twenty-five but not more than forty without eligibility for parole, as the judge deems fit in the circumstances.
Reasons
Start of inserted block(2) The judge shall give, either orally or in writing, reasons for the decision to make or not to make an order under subsection (1).
5 Section 746 of the Act is amended by replacing “745.1” with “745.1, 745.31”.
End of inserted block Start of inserted blockCoordinating Amendments
End of inserted blockBill C-16
Start of inserted block6 (1) Subsections (2) and (3) apply if Bill C-16, introduced in the 1st session of the 45th Parliament and entitled the Protecting Victims Act (in this section referred to as the “other Act”), receives royal assent.
(2) If section 5 of this Act comes into force before section 75 of the other Act, then that section 75 is amended by replacing “745.1” with “745.1, 745.31”.
(3) If section 5 of this Act comes into force on the same day as section 75 of the other Act, then that section 75 is deemed to have come into force before that section 5.
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Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons
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