e-4770 (Public safety)

All Canadians deserve to feel safe in their homes and communities. That is why the Government is investing in measures to strengthen community safety and combat violent crime in Canada. These measures combine evidence-based policies, funding for programs that address the root causes of crime, and strong partnerships with provinces, territories and local communities.

The Government of Canada works closely with the Provinces and Territories and, through them, Municipalities to ensure the safety and security of communities across Canada. This includes regular meetings of the Ministers of Justice and Public Safety, as well as meetings of Justice and Public Safety officials, to advance common objectives, including addressing drug crimes.

Crime prevention is a critical component of the Government of Canada’s approach to addressing violence. It is recognized that evidence-based preventative strategies and interventions can reduce offending, victimization, and costs to the criminal justice system. Since 1998, the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), administered through Public Safety Canada, has provided national leadership on cost-effective ways to prevent and reduce crime among at-risk populations and vulnerable communities by intervening to mitigate the underlying factors that put individuals at risk of offending. The NCPS provides time-limited funding for the implementation of community-based crime prevention initiatives, and supports the development and dissemination of practical knowledge, to help Canadian communities adopt effective crime prevention and community safety practices. Through the NCPS, the Government of Canada supports communities in addressing existing and emerging crime issues, such youth gangs and youth violence, and provides support for the implementation of interventions that address risk factors and build protective factors. The mandate of the NCPS is advanced through four distinct crime prevention funding programs: the Youth Gang Prevention Fund, the Crime Prevention Action Fund, the Northern and Indigenous Crime Prevention Fund, and the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program. In 2022-23, through the NCPS, the Government of Canada provided funding to support 200 projects in communities across Canada, representing an investment of $51 million.

Through the NCPS, the Government of Canada is also providing support to communities at risk of being victimized by hate-motivated crime. The Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) provides funding to support private, non-profit organizations to enhance the security of their community gathering spaces. In Autumn 2023, to help address the concerns that many communities were feeling as a result of international events, new funding of $10 million was made available on a temporary basis through the expanded Security Infrastructure Program. With this funding, support was provided to 173 projects across the country. Recent modifications to SIP have included the introduction of the Severe Hate-Motivated Incident Support Stream, which makes funding available at any time of the year for organizations who become victim of a significant and direct hate-motivated crime at their facility. To expand the SIP and allow it to better address the evolving security requirements of communities, Budget 2023 provided $49.5 million in funding over five years. Budget 2024 proposes a further $32 million over 6 years, and $11 million on-going to support communities in addressing their security needs.

The Government of Canada has also made significant investments in prevention, enforcement, intelligence, and border security efforts to tackle the increase in gang activity across the country through the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence starting in 2018, with an initial investment of $356.1 million over five years. Renewed in 2023, funds were directed to provincial and territorial partners to combat gun and gang violence under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund ($390 million over 5 years), and to Indigenous communities under the Youth Gang Prevention Fund ($10 million over five years). Additional funds are provided to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) ($8.3 million ongoing) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) ($92.9 million from 2018 to 2025) to support law enforcement efforts to combat gun and gang violence. Recognizing that any solution to violence must also empower local governments in their prevention and intervention efforts, the 2020 Fall Economic Statement allocated $250 million over five years to bolster the Building Safer Communities Fund to gang-prevention programming to counter the social conditions that leadto criminality with funding to municipalities and Indigenous communities.

Additionally, the Government of Canada is supporting community safety through the rehabilitation of offenders and their successful reintegration. The Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism (the Framework) is the Government of Canada’s first step in putting together a plan that identifies crucial factors that impact why people reoffend and how to support safe and successful reintegration into the community. Developed in consultation with a diverse array of stakeholders, it outlines five priority themes key to the successful reintegration of offenders: housing, education, employment, health and positive support networks. Additionally, the Framework highlights the need to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples, Black Canadians, and other marginalized groups in Canada's criminal justice system. One of its guiding principles is collaboration, in recognition of the broad multi-sectoral approach that is required to address the complex interwoven issues affecting recidivism.

An implementation plan for the Framework was released in November 2023, outlining over 45 actions that will be undertaken in areas focused on addressing overrepresentation, supporting communities, and in the area of digital transformation. This is the first implementation plan for the Framework. Public Safety Canada will continue to strengthen collaboration among partners in community corrections and with federal, provincial, and territorial partners, identifying new opportunities that will be integrated in updated versions of the plan, and providing overall support for reintegration in the community.

Recognizing that some individuals continue to be involved in the criminal justice system, Public Safety Canada provides funding annually to provinces and territories to enhance their capacity to identify and track high-risk, violent offenders and facilitate prosecution and sentencing of these offenders if they re-offend.

We know that there are many reasons why individuals come into contact with the criminal justice system, and therefore in order to build stronger and safer communities, it is essential that a multi-sectoral partnership approach be adopted to ensure that a continuum of services is provided to those most at-risk.

Substances that can alter mental processes and produce harm are regulated through the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), for which the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health is responsible. Pursuant to s.4(1) of the Act, it remains a criminal offence to possess substance(s) listed under Schedules I, II, and III, including for personal use purposes, and thus may be subject to law enforcement action. In 2021, Health Canada received a request from the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) for an exemption under the CDSA to remove criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs for personal use. After carefully considering both the public health and public safety impacts, the Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health granted B.C. a time-limited exemption in May 2022, from January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026. Responding to concerns about public drug use in the province, in May 2024 Health Canada granted B.C.’s request to amend its exemption, giving police in B.C. the option to arrest an individual if they do not comply with orders not to consume controlled substances in most public spaces.

Our Government is committed to combatting crime in Canada. Addressing crime requires concerted action by all levels of government, given the shared responsibility of federal-provincial-territorial governments over the criminal justice system. The Department of Justice works in close collaboration with provinces and territories throughout the year on a broad range of criminal justice issues, including repeat violent offending and recidivism. Together, we analyze and consult on issues, identify trends and share information to ensure that legislative and other reforms in the Canadian justice system are made to address evolving concerns.

Our Government has made important criminal law reforms to tackle violent crime. These include robust responses to sexual offending, giving victims of crime a greater voice in the criminal justice system and a comprehensive approach to address firearms-related violence. This approach includes changes to the Criminal Code through Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms), which received Royal Assent on December 15, 2023. Bill C-21 enacted amendments to create red flag laws to allow any person to seek a court order to temporarily remove firearms from a firearms licensee in circumstances in which the licensee poses a risk to themselves, their family, or to public safety (including intimate partner, gender-based or other violence); to create new offences to combat the illicit manufacture of untraceable firearms (i.e., ghost guns), and to criminalize altering a cartridge magazine to exceed lawful capacity, and prohibit newly designed and manufactured assault-style firearms from entering Canada.

In addition, our Government has more recently introduced a proposal to tackle hate crime, both online and offline.

On December 5, 2023, the Government’s changes to the Criminal Code’s bail provisions received Royal Assent. Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform), enacted changes designed to promote community safety and reinforce public confidence in the administration of justice. Bill C-48 enacted new reverse onuses at bail to address repeat violent offending involving weapons, including firearms, knives and bear spray, and made additional firearms offences subject to a reverse onus. Bill C-48 also adopted changes at the bail stage to broaden the law’s response to intimate partner violence.

The changes brought by Bill C-48 were the result of ongoing cooperation and collaboration with the provinces and territories who play a critical role in administering the bail system and in ensuring it operates as intended. The reforms were also informed by engagement with other partners and stakeholders, including law enforcement and Indigenous partners. Everyone in Canada expects the government to tackle crime, as well as the causes of crime. Bill C-48 is part of our broader strategy to ensure the safety of all Canadians and an example of what we can achieve when we work together.

In addition to the above, our Government is adding significant resources to fight crime and prevent violence from happening in the first place. In 2022, our Government announced new support through the $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) to assist municipalities and Indigenous communities prevent gun and gang violence by tackling root causes. In the Spring 2023, our Government announced $390 million over five years to provinces and territories under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund to help stop gun crime and gang violence before it starts, bringing our global total to over $640 Million from 2022-2028. Our Government is providing this funding, including a $23,120,649 allocation to Manitoba, to support a variety of initiatives, including support for prevention programs and law enforcement. This funding builds on the success of the initial Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, announced in 2017 through which provinces and territories received $215 million in funding.

The Government will continue to create conditions for safer communities by building on past and present investments.