441-02492 (Justice)

Maintaining the safety of people in Canada is at the forefront of every decision made by our Government.

Our Government is cracking down on auto theft. Bill C-69, which received Royal Assent in June2024, enacts:

1. New auto theft offences involving violence or links to organized crime punishable by a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.
2. New offences targeting the possession or distribution of an electronic device suitable for committing auto theft punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment on indictment or two years less a day upon summary conviction.
3. A new offence of laundering proceeds of crime for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization punishable by a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.
4. A new aggravating factor at the sentencing that would be applied to an adult offender who involves a person under the age of 18 years in the commission of an offence, including auto theft.
5. Changes to strengthen the ability of police officers to investigate the above noted crimes.

Our Government’s National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft also includes efforts to enhance intelligence and information sharing between municipal, provincial, federal, and international police and customs officials in support of criminal investigations, charges, and prosecutions. We are also working to make intervention improvements that will allow more shipping containers to be examined through increased capacity at the Canada Border Services Agency and the integration of new targeting tools.

We are laser-focused on keeping everyone and their property safe from violence and crime. You cannot address auto theft without addressing organized crime rings, who orchestrate large-scale auto theft operations and often prey on vulnerable teenagers to do their dirty work. This is why we have also introduced multiple measures to crack down on money laundering and organized crime. The Conservatives have voted against these measures at every possible opportunity. They claim to take these issues seriously, yet their actions prove otherwise.

The Criminal Code makes clear that a police officer must not release an arrested person where they believe, on reasonable grounds, that there is a need to ensure the safety and security of any victim of or witness to an offence. The bail provisions are also clear that courts must not release accused persons on bail if they believe that doing so would endanger public safety, which includes the safety of specific individuals such as any victim of or witness to an offence.

While the Criminal Code is under the jurisdiction of the federal government, the administration of justice is the job of the provincial governments in the provinces and of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) in the territories. We work closely with our partners to maintain public safety and to build a fair and effective criminal justice system.

Recently in response to requests from provinces and territories, our Government spearheaded a bail reform initiative that targeted repeat violent offending by introducing Bill C-48, which received Royal Assent on December 5, 2023. Provinces, territories, and police associations across the country applauded this legislation.

Bill C-48 made the following specific changes to the bail provisions of the Criminal Code, which came into force on January 4, 2024:

• created a new “reverse onus”—meaning that the onus shifts to the accused person to convince the court that they should be released, rather than detained, while awaiting their trial—to target serious repeat violent offending involving weapons;
• expanded the list of firearms offences that trigger a reverse onus;
• broadened the reverse onus targeting repeat offenders in cases of intimate partner violence;
• clarified that the definition of a “prohibition order” under the Criminal Code includes a bail release order made by a court that imposes conditions prohibiting an accused from being in possession of firearms or other weapons, to promote greater clarity in the reverse onus provisions;
• require courts to consider for any bail decisions an accused person’s history of convictions for violence;
• require courts to state on the record that they have considered the safety and security of the community when making a bail decision; and
• require courts to state on the record for any bail decision how they have considered the particular circumstances of Indigenous accused persons or accused persons who are members of vulnerable populations as required by section 493.2 of the Criminal Code.

Our Government has also made funding available to support relevant bail initiatives across Canada. For example, in May 2023, our Government announced $390.6 million over five years in funding directly to provinces and territories to help support a variety of initiatives to reduce gun crime and criminal gang activities, which include bail programming.