This enactment amends the Criminal Code to set out certain types of damages for which a restitution order may be made to certain persons who provide front-line services, including emergency and victim support services, to a community.

Preamble

Whereas crimes related to drug and human trafficking have far-reaching impacts for communities;

Whereas, as a result of such crimes, community organizations that provide front-line services are forced to bear many costs;

Whereas acknowledging the harm done to communities and providing reparations for such harms are recognized objectives of sentencing under the Criminal Code;

And whereas Parliament considers it important that community organizations be able to obtain proper restitution from offenders;

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

• Start of inserted block

  (f) in the case of an offence under sections 279.‍01 to 279.‍02 of this Act or section 5, 6 or 7.‍1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, by paying — independently of any other amount ordered to be paid under this section — to a person, other than an individual, who provides front-line services to a community, including emergency services and victim support services, and who, as a result of the offence, incurs any of the following expenses, an amount that is not more than the amount of those expenses, to the extent that they are reasonable, if the amount is readily ascertainable:

  • (i) expenses to provide emergency shelter and medical services, including expenses to purchase emergency medical supplies such as those needed to reverse overdoses,

  • (ii) expenses to provide harm reduction programs, including overdose and infectious disease prevention programs,

  • (iii) expenses to implement or strengthen security measures, including expenses for security services and equipment,

  • (iv) expenses to provide counselling or other mental health supports to individuals who work for that person and who experience workplace trauma as a result of the offence, and

  • (v) expenses to respond to increased demands on that person’s services, including expenses to cover increased operational costs such as those required to hire additional or specialized personnel or to provide specialized training.

    End of inserted block