Bill C-5: General Questions
- Q 1 What are the reforms being proposed in this Bill?
- Q 2 What are the objectives of the Bill?
- Q 3 What steps has the Government taken to address systemic racism and discrimination in the criminal justice system?
- Q 4 How will these reforms contribute to addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous people, Black persons and members of marginalized communities?
- Q 5 Are these laws consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act?
- Q 6 When would this Bill come into force?
- Q 7 Are the measures retroactive/retrospective?
- Q 8 What amendments were made to the Bill by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights?
Mandatory Minimum Penalties
- Q 9 How many MMPs are there in the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act?
- Q 10 How many MMPs would remain in the Criminal Code after Bill C-5 receives Royal Assent?
- Q 11 What is the range of imprisonment for offences punishable by a MMP in the Criminal Code?
- Q 12 Why aren’t you repealing all MMPs?
- Q 13 Would repealing MMPs reduce the length/severity of sentences imposed?
- Q 14 What has been the impact of MMPs on the overrepresentation of Indigenous people, Black persons and marginalized populations?
- Q 15 What does research say about the impacts of MMPs on the Criminal Justice System (CJS)?
- Q 16 What is the status of the constitutional challenges to MMPs?
- Q 17 Is it true that MMPs for child sexual offences are the most frequently and successfully challenged MMPs in the courts? Why not repeal them?
Firearms
- Q 18 What firearms/weapons MMPs would be repealed by this Bill?
- Q 19 What firearms MMPs would not be repealed?
- Q 20 In light of the high volume of shootings in metropolitan areas such as Montreal, how do you justify repealing the MMPs for these firearm offences?
- Q 21 How does this Bill relate to Bill C-21?
Conditional Sentence Orders (CSOs)
- Q 22 What is a conditional sentence order?
- Q 23 What reforms would Bill C-5 make to the conditional sentence regime?
- Q 24 How often are CSOs imposed?
- Q 25 How would these amendments address the ONCA’s decision in R. v. Sharma?
- Q 26 Wasn’t the decision to appeal the decision in R. v. Sharma inconsistent with the Government’s decision to amend the CSO regime?
- Q 27 – Would C-5 actually result in net widening where more CSOs would be imposed instead of probation orders?
- Q 28 Would allowing a greater use of CSOs create a risk to public safety?
- Q 29 The reforms in Bill C-5 would make CSOs available for impaired driving offences for a first-time offender where there is bodily harm or death. How is this consistent with former Bill C-46, whose objectives were to strengthen penalties for impaired drivers?
Diversion for Simple Possession of Drugs
- Q 30 What reforms are being proposed regarding the diversion of individuals for simple possession of drugs?
- Q 31 How would creating alternatives to laying/prosecuting a charge contribute to reducing recidivism?
- Q 32 If systemic racism is prevalent in the CJS from first contact with police through to sentencing, how does relying on police officers’ existing discretion remedy the problem?
- Q 33 How do these reforms align with the Director of Public Prosecutions’ August 2020 Guideline: Prosecution of Possession of Controlled Substances Contrary to Section 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act?
- Q 34 Would the proposed amendments compel peace officers and Crown Attorneys to use alternatives to laying a charge in all cases of drug possession offences?
- Q 35 Can a person who is in possession of an illicit substance be required to go to a treatment facility?
- Q 36 Why isn’t the Government decriminalizing all drugs if it acknowledges that drug use is a social and health issue?
- Q 37 Where is the Government in its consideration of exempting certain cities pursuant to subsection 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act?
- Q 38 Do the proposed amendments regarding police discretion interfere with prosecutorial discretion in pre-charge jurisdictions (such as Quebec)?
- Q 39 How will the proposed provision regarding keeping convictions for simple possession “separate and apart” from other convictions after two years be operationalized? Would it not be preferable to amend the Criminal Records Act for this purpose?
Stakeholders
- Q 40 Are stakeholders supportive of the Bill’s proposed reforms?
- Q 41 Are the reforms responsive to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
- Q 42 Are the reforms responsive to the Calls for Justice in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls?