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Bill C-270

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2nd Session, 36th Parliament,
48 Elizabeth II, 1999

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-270

An Act to protect persons accused of a crime from undue public speculation and suspicion before guilt has been established

Preamble

Whereas it is a fundamental principle of justice that an accused person is presumed innocent until found to be guilty by a proper judicial process;

Whereas publication of the fact that a person has been charged with committing a crime inevitably causes public speculation that may amount to an unjustified presumption of guilt;

Whereas the law already provides protection from undue publicity for certain witnesses, complainants and young offenders in order to protect their interests and that there should also be protection for those who are accused but not convicted of an offence;

Whereas Parliament considers that a restriction on the right to publish details of a criminal charge or trial in such a way as to identify an accused before the matter has been determined is a reasonable limit on the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society as necessary to maintain the principle of presumption of innocence;

Now, Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. The Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after section 533:

PART XVII.1 PUBLICATION PRIOR TO CONVICTION

Publication delay

534.1 (1) Subject to this section, no person shall publish by any means any report

    (a) of an offence under this Act alleged to have been committed by any person,

    (b) of a warrant for the arrest or search of the property of or the detention of any person, or

    (c) of any court application, hearing, preliminary hearing, trial or disposition concerning a person alleged to have committed an offence,

in which the name of the person or any information serving to identify the person is disclosed, until the person has been found guilty of the offence or has been acquitted of the offence by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if a judge, on application orders that such information may be published, having being satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so because

    (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe the person is avoiding arrest;

    (b) the person has escaped from lawful custody; or

    (c) the person has breached the conditions of an order for judicial interim release.

Adminis-
tration of justice

(3) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not apply in respect of the disclosure of information in the course of the administration of justice, including the disclosure of information for the purposes of the investigation of an offence or the purposes of Part III of this Act, or the Firearms Act where it is not the purpose of the disclosure to make the information known in the community.

Appeals

(4) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not apply to an appeal of a conviction or acquittal.

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