C-48
House Government Bill
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform)
Sponsor: Arif Virani, Minister of Justice (Parkdale—High Park)
Proposed changes
On 16 May 2023, the Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform), to make consequential amendments to other Acts, and to make a clarification relating to another Act, and it was given first reading.
Bill C-48 amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
- create a reverse onus provision for any person charged with a serious offence involving violence and the use of a weapon who has been convicted, within the last five years, of a serious offence involving violence and the use of a weapon;
- add certain firearms offences to the existing reverse onus provisions;
- expand the reverse onus provision for offences involving intimate partner violence to ensure that it applies to an accused person who has been previously discharged for such an offence; and
- require the court to consider if an accused person has any previous convictions involving violence and to include in the record a statement that the safety and security of the community was considered.
This enactment also makes further clarifications and provides for a parliamentary review of the provisions it enacts or amends to commence on the fifth anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent, or as soon as feasible after that anniversary.