Liberal government tables bill to protect children, victims of gender-based violence

justness government minister announces bank note to protect children, call gender-based violence

The Liberal government has tabled sweeping new legislation that it says will protect victims and survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence and protect children from predators.

Calling the Protecting Victims Act "one of the most consequential reforms of the Criminal Code in a generation," the legislation also challenges a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that allows cases to be stayed if they are significantly delayed. 

"These reforms strengthen the tools available to protect women and girls, and to hold offenders accountable. Alongside our broader efforts to prevent violence before it happens, we are building a safer and more just Canada," Justice Minister Sean Fraser said in a statement. 

The legislation also proposes to increase penalties for sexual crimes such as distributing intimate images and sexual deepfakes and obtaining sexual services from a child.

The legislation restores the use of mandatory minimum sentences which have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada and provincial courts across the country. The courts found those sentences violated Section 12 of the Charter by subjecting offenders to cruel and unusual punishment.

Officials speaking on background said mandatory minimum sentences have traditionally violated Section 12 because of a test courts apply called a reasonable hypothetical scenario. Under the test, courts have said not having the flexibility to hand out lighter sentences in very rare cases that could hypothetically happen is unconstitutional. By giving courts that limited discretion, officials say, mandatory minimum sentences will survive constitutional challenges going forward. 

In cases where a conviction requires an offender being subject to imprisonment, courts would have the ability to impose a lighter sentence under the Protecting Victims Act, but jail time would still be required. In cases where someone has been convicted of murder or treason, where the sentence is life in prison, lighter sentences would not be permissible.

If the legislation passes, it would restore all mandatory minimum sentences struck down by the courts which remain on the books. Mandatory minimums that have been repealed by Parliament would not be restored.

A 2016 Supreme Court decision in the case of R. V. Jordan established that criminal cases that go beyond 18 months for provincial courts and 30 months for superior courts can be stayed for unreasonable delay.

Government officials said the number of cases being stayed for violating the Jordan ruling has undermined Canadians' faith in the justice system. 

The Protecting Victims Act would "give courts clear guidance on how to deal with court delays, including in sexual assault cases and make clear that a stay need not be imposed in cases of delay."

At present, cases can be extended beyond the Jordan deadlines if they are complex, but the law currently does not define what complex means.

The Protecting Victims Act establishes benchmarks for what constitutes a complex case, which includes things like the number motions and applications filed which lead to delays. 

The legislation would also require courts to consider alternatives to staying trials that extend beyond the Jordan limits.

Fraser is scheduled to hold a news conference early Tuesday afternoon.

Senior writer

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