Corrections and Conditional Release Act (S.C. 1992, c. 20)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

PART IInstitutional and Community Corrections

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) In this Part,

  Commissioner

  Commissioner means the Commissioner of Corrections appointed pursuant to subsection 6(1); (commissaire)

  contraband

  contraband means

  • (a) an intoxicant,

  • (b) a weapon or a component thereof, ammunition for a weapon, and anything that is designed to kill, injure or disable a person or that is altered so as to be capable of killing, injuring or disabling a person, when possessed without prior authorization,

  • (c) an explosive or a bomb or a component thereof,

  • (d) currency over any applicable prescribed limit, when possessed without prior authorization, and

  • (e) any item not described in paragraphs (a) to (d) that could jeopardize the security of a penitentiary or the safety of persons, when that item is possessed without prior authorization; (objets interdits)

  day parole

  day parole has the same meaning as in Part II; (semi-liberté)

  Indigenous

  Indigenous, in respect of a person, includes a First Nation person, an Inuit or a Métis person; (autochtone)

  inmate

  inmate means

  • (a) a person who is in a penitentiary pursuant to

    • (i) a sentence, committal or transfer to penitentiary, or

    • (ii) a condition imposed by the Parole Board of Canada in connection with day parole or statutory release, or

  • (b) a person who, having been sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary,

    • (i) is temporarily outside penitentiary by reason of a temporary absence or work release authorized under this Act, or

    • (ii) is temporarily outside penitentiary for reasons other than a temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release, but is under the direction or supervision of a staff member or of a person authorized by the Service; (détenu)

  institutional head

  institutional head, in relation to a penitentiary, means the person who is normally in charge of the penitentiary; (Version anglaise seulement)

  intoxicant

  intoxicant means a substance that, if taken into the body, has the potential to impair or alter judgment, behaviour or the capacity to recognize reality or meet the ordinary demands of life, but does not include caffeine, nicotine or any authorized medication used in accordance with directions given by a staff member or a registered health care professional; (substance intoxicante)

  long-term supervision

  long-term supervision means long-term supervision ordered under subsection 753(4), 753.01(5) or (6) or 753.1(3) or subparagraph 759(3)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code; (surveillance de longue durée)

  mental health assessment

  mental health assessment means an assessment of the mental health of a person conducted by a medical professional with recognized specialty training in mental health diagnosis and treatment, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or psychiatric nurse or a primary care physician who has had psychiatric training. (évaluation de la santé mentale)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness; (ministre)

  offender

  offender means

  • (a) an inmate, or

  • (b) a person who, having been sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary, is outside penitentiary

    • (i) by reason of parole or statutory release,

    • (ii) pursuant to an agreement referred to in subsection 81(1), or

    • (iii) pursuant to a court order; (délinquant)

  parole

  parole has the same meaning as in Part II; (libération conditionnelle)

  penitentiary

  penitentiary means

  • (a) a facility of any description, including all lands connected therewith, that is operated, permanently or temporarily, by the Service for the care and custody of inmates, and

  • (b) any place declared to be a penitentiary pursuant to section 7; (pénitencier)

  prescribed

  prescribed means prescribed by regulation; (Version anglaise seulement)

  provincial parole board

  provincial parole board has the same meaning as in Part II; (commission provinciale)

  sentence

  sentence means a sentence of imprisonment and includes

  • (a) a sentence imposed by a foreign entity on a Canadian offender who has been transferred to Canada under the International Transfer of Offenders Act, and

  • (b) a youth sentence imposed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act consisting of a custodial portion and a portion to be served under supervision in the community subject to conditions under paragraph 42(2)(n) of that Act or under conditional supervision under paragraph 42(2)(o), (q) or (r) of that Act; (peine ou peine d’emprisonnement)

  Service

  Service means the Correctional Service of Canada described in section 5; (Service)

  staff member

  staff member means an employee of the Service; (agent)

  statutory release

  statutory release has the same meaning as in Part II; (libération d’office)

  unescorted temporary absence

  unescorted temporary absence has the same meaning as in Part II; (permission de sortir sans escorte)

  victim

  victim, in respect of an offence, means an individual who has suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss as the result of the commission of the offence; (victime)

  visitor

  visitor means any person other than an inmate or a staff member; (visiteur)

  working day

  working day means a day on which offices of the federal public administration are generally open in the province in question. (jour ouvrable)

• Marginal note:Exercise of powers, etc.

  (2) Except as otherwise provided by this Part or by regulations made under paragraph 96(b),

  • (a) powers, duties and functions that this Part assigns to the Commissioner may only be exercised or performed by the Commissioner or, where the Commissioner is absent or incapacitated or where the office is vacant, by the person acting in the place of the Commissioner; and

  • (b) powers, duties and functions that this Part assigns to the institutional head may only be exercised or performed by the institutional head or, where the institutional head is absent or incapacitated or where the office is vacant, by the person who, at the relevant time, is in charge of the penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Acting on victim’s behalf

  (3) For the purposes of this Act, any of the following individuals may act on the victim’s behalf if the victim is dead or incapable of acting on their own behalf:

  • (a) the victim’s spouse, or if the victim is dead, their spouse at the time of death;

  • (b) the individual who is or was at the time of the victim’s death, cohabiting with them in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year;

  • (c) a relative or a dependant of the victim;

  • (d) an individual who has in law or fact custody, or is responsible for the care or support, of the victim; and

  • (e) an individual who has in law or fact custody, or is responsible for the care or support, of a dependant of the victim.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (4) For the purposes of this Act, an individual is not a victim, or entitled to act on a victim’s behalf, in relation to an offence, if the individual is the offender.

Marginal note:Application to persons subject to long-term supervision order

2.1 A person who is required to be supervised by a long-term supervision order is deemed to be an offender for the purposes of this Part, and sections 3, 4, 23 to 27, 55 and 56, subsections 57(2) and 66(3), sections 68, 69, 76, 77 and 79 to 82, paragraph 87(b) and sections 90 and 91 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to the person and to the long-term supervision of that person.

Purpose and Principles

Marginal note:Purpose of correctional system

3 The purpose of the federal correctional system is to contribute to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by

• (a) carrying out sentences imposed by courts through the safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders; and

• (b) assisting the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens through the provision of programs in penitentiaries and in the community.

Marginal note:Paramount consideration

3.1 The protection of society is the paramount consideration for the Service in the corrections process.

Marginal note:Principles that guide Service

4 The principles that guide the Service in achieving the purpose referred to in section 3 are as follows:

• (a) the sentence is carried out having regard to all relevant available information, including the stated reasons and recommendations of the sentencing judge, the nature and gravity of the offence, the degree of responsibility of the offender, information from the trial or sentencing process, the release policies of and comments from the Parole Board of Canada and information obtained from victims, offenders and other components of the criminal justice system;

• (b) the Service enhances its effectiveness and openness through the timely exchange of relevant information with victims, offenders and other components of the criminal justice system and through communication about its correctional policies and programs to victims, offenders and the public;

• (c) the Service uses the least restrictive measures consistent with the protection of society, staff members and offenders;

• (c.1) the Service considers alternatives to custody in a penitentiary, including the alternatives referred to in sections 29 and 81;

• (c.2) the Service ensures the effective delivery of programs to offenders, including correctional, educational, vocational training and volunteer programs, with a view to improving access to alternatives to custody in a penitentiary and to promoting rehabilitation;

• (d) offenders retain the rights of all members of society except those that are, as a consequence of the sentence, lawfully and necessarily removed or restricted;

• (e) the Service facilitates the involvement of members of the public in matters relating to the operations of the Service;

• (f) correctional decisions are made in a forthright and fair manner, with access by the offender to an effective grievance procedure;

• (g) correctional policies, programs and practices respect gender, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic differences, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and are responsive to the special needs of women, Indigenous persons, visible minorities, persons requiring mental health care and other groups;

• (h) offenders are expected to obey penitentiary rules and conditions governing temporary absences, work release, parole, statutory release and long-term supervision and to actively participate in meeting the objectives of their correctional plans, including by participating in programs designed to promote their rehabilitation and reintegration; and

• (i) staff members are properly selected and trained and are given

  • (i) appropriate career development opportunities,

  • (ii) good working conditions, including a workplace environment that is free of practices that undermine a person’s sense of personal dignity, and

  • (iii) opportunities to participate in the development of correctional policies and programs.

Correctional Service of Canada

Marginal note:Correctional Service of Canada

5 There shall continue to be a correctional service in and for Canada, to be known as the Correctional Service of Canada, which shall be responsible for

• (a) the care and custody of inmates;

• (b) the provision of programs that contribute to the rehabilitation of offenders and to their successful reintegration into the community;

• (c) the preparation of inmates for release;

• (d) parole, statutory release supervision and long-term supervision of offenders;

• (e) maintaining a program of public education about the operations of the Service; and

• (f) the implementation of arrangements entered into between the Commissioner and the Canada Border Services Agency under section 94.3.

Marginal note:Commissioner

• 6 (1) The Governor in Council may appoint a person to be known as the Commissioner of Corrections who, under the direction of the Minister, has the control and management of the Service and all matters connected with the Service.

• Marginal note:National headquarters

  (2) The national headquarters of the Service and the offices of the Commissioner shall be in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.

• Marginal note:Regional headquarters

  (3) The Commissioner may establish regional headquarters of the Service.

Marginal note:Penitentiaries

• 7 (1) Subject to subsection (3), the Commissioner may, by order, declare any prison as defined in the Prisons and Reformatories Act, or any hospital, to be a penitentiary in respect of any person or class of persons.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Governor in Council may, by order, declare any place to be a penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Provincial approval

  (3) No prison, hospital or place administered or supervised under the authority of an Act of the legislature of a province may be declared a penitentiary under subsection (1) or (2) without the approval of an officer designated by the lieutenant governor of that province.

Marginal note:Lands constituting penitentiary

8 In any proceedings before a court in Canada in which a question arises concerning the location or description of lands alleged to constitute a penitentiary, a certificate purporting to be signed by the Commissioner, setting out the location or description of those lands as constituting a penitentiary, is admissible in evidence and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, is proof that the lands as located or described in the certificate constitute a penitentiary.

Marginal note:Lawful custody

9 For greater certainty, a person who is an inmate by virtue of subparagraph (b)(ii) of the definition “inmate” in section 2 shall be deemed to be in the lawful custody of the Service.

Marginal note:Peace officer status

10 The Commissioner may in writing designate any staff member, either by name or by class, to be a peace officer, and a staff member so designated has all the powers, authority, protection and privileges that a peace officer has by law in respect of

• (a) an offender subject to a warrant or to an order for long-term supervision; and

• (b) any person, while the person is in a penitentiary.

Reception of Inmates

Marginal note:General

11 A person who is sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary may be received into any penitentiary, and any designation of a particular penitentiary in the warrant of committal is of no force or effect.

Marginal note:Recommitment to custody

11.1 Where a person who is sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary is at large without lawful authority before the expiration of the sentence according to law and where no alternative means of arrest are available, the institutional head may, by warrant, authorize the apprehension and recommitment of the person to custody in a penitentiary.

Marginal note:Fifteen day delay

12 In order to better enable a person who has been sentenced to penitentiary or who is required by law to be transferred to penitentiary to file an appeal or attend to personal affairs, such a person shall not be received in penitentiary until the expiration of fifteen days after the day on which the person was sentenced, unless the person agrees to be transferred to a penitentiary before the expiration of those fifteen days.

Marginal note:Medical certificate

13 The institutional head may refuse to receive a person referred to in section 12 into the penitentiary if there is not a certificate signed by a registered health care professional setting out available health information and stating whether or not the person appears to be suffering from a dangerous, infectious or contagious disease.

Marginal note:Confinement in provincial facility

• 14 (1) A person who, by virtue of section 12 or 13, is not received into a penitentiary shall be confined in a provincial correctional facility.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) The person in charge of the provincial correctional facility to whom a person referred to in subsection (1) is delivered shall, on being presented with

  • (a) the warrant of committal to penitentiary, or

  • (b) a copy of the warrant of committal certified by any judge of a superior or provincial court, by any justice of the peace, or by the clerk of the court in which the person was convicted,

  confine the person in the provincial correctional facility until the person is transferred to penitentiary or released from custody in accordance with law.

Marginal note:Newfoundland and Labrador

• 15 (1) Notwithstanding any requirement in the Criminal Code or under the Youth Criminal Justice Act that a person be sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary, such a person in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador shall not be received in a penitentiary without the approval of an officer designated by the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A person who, pursuant to subsection (1), is not received in a penitentiary shall be confined in the provincial correctional facility in Newfoundland and Labrador known as Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, and is subject to all the statutes, regulations and rules applicable in that facility.

• Marginal note:Agreement re cost

  (3) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an agreement with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador providing for the payment to the Province of the cost of maintaining persons who are confined pursuant to subsection (2).

Correctional Plans

Marginal note:Objectives for offender’s behaviour

• 15.1 (1) The institutional head shall cause a correctional plan to be developed in consultation with the offender as soon as practicable after their reception in a penitentiary. The plan is to contain, among others, the following:

  • (a) the level of intervention in respect of the offender’s needs; and

  • (b) objectives for

    • (i) the offender’s behaviour, including

      • (A) to conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates respect for other persons and property,

      • (B) to obey penitentiary rules and respect the conditions governing their conditional release, if any,

    • (ii) their participation in programs, and

    • (iii) the meeting of their court-ordered obligations, including restitution to victims or child support.

• Marginal note:Maintenance of plan

  (2) The plan is to be maintained in consultation with the offender in order to ensure that they receive the most effective programs at the appropriate time in their sentence to rehabilitate them and prepare them for reintegration into the community, on release, as a law-abiding citizen.

• Marginal note:Mental health assessment

  (2.01) In order to ensure that the plan can be developed in a manner that takes any mental health needs of the offender into consideration, the institutional head shall, as soon as practicable after the day on which the offender is received but not later than the 30th day after that day, refer the offender’s case to the portion of the Service that administers health care for the purpose of conducting a mental health assessment of the offender.

• Marginal note:Update of plan — structured intervention unit

  (2.1) If an offender is in a structured intervention unit and a determination is made under subsection 29.01(2), paragraph 37.3(1)(b) or section 37.4 or 37.8 that the offender should remain in the structured intervention unit, the institutional head shall, as soon as practicable after the determination, cause the offender’s correctional plan to be updated, in consultation with the offender, in order to ensure that they receive the most effective programs at the appropriate time during their confinement in the structured intervention unit and to prepare them for reintegration into the mainstream inmate population as soon as possible.

• Marginal note:Progress towards meeting objectives

  (3) In making decisions on program selection for — or the transfer or conditional release of — an inmate, the Service shall take into account the offender’s progress towards meeting the objectives of their correctional plan.

Marginal note:Incentive measures

15.2 The Commissioner may provide offenders with incentives to encourage them to make progress towards meeting the objectives of their correctional plans.

Exchange of Service Agreements

Marginal note:Agreements with provinces

• 16 (1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an agreement with the government of a province for

  • (a) the confinement in provincial correctional facilities or hospitals in that province of persons sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary; and

  • (b) the confinement in penitentiary of persons sentenced or committed to imprisonment for less than two years for offences under any Act of Parliament or any regulations made thereunder.

• Marginal note:Effect of confinement

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), a person who is confined in a penitentiary pursuant to an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)(b) is, despite section 743.1 of the Criminal Code, subject to all the statutes, regulations and rules applicable in the penitentiary in which the person is confined.

• Marginal note:Release date

  (3) The release date of an offender who is transferred to penitentiary pursuant to an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)(b) shall be determined by crediting against the sentence

  • (a) any remission, statutory or earned, standing to the offender’s credit on the day of the transfer; and

  • (b) the maximum remission that could have been earned on the balance of the sentence pursuant to the Prisons and Reformatories Act.

Escorted Temporary Absences

Marginal note:Temporary absences may be authorized

• 17 (1) The institutional head may, subject to section 746.1 of the Criminal Code, subsection 140.3(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, authorize the temporary absence of an inmate, other than an inmate described in subsection 17.1(1), if the inmate is escorted by a staff member or other person authorized by the institutional head and, in the opinion of the institutional head,

  • (a) the inmate will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during an absence authorized under this section;

  • (b) it is desirable for the inmate to be absent from the penitentiary for medical or administrative reasons, community service, family contact, including parental responsibilities, personal development for rehabilitative purposes or compassionate reasons;

  • (c) the inmate’s behaviour while under sentence does not preclude authorizing the absence; and

  • (d) a structured plan for the absence has been prepared.

  The temporary absence may be for an unlimited period if it is authorized for medical reasons or for a period of not more than five days or, with the Commissioner’s approval, for a period of more than five days but not more than 15 days if it is authorized for reasons other than medical reasons.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (2) The institutional head may impose, in relation to a temporary absence, any conditions that the institutional head considers reasonable and necessary in order to protect society.

• Marginal note:Cancellation

  (3) The institutional head may cancel a temporary absence either before or after its commencement.

• Marginal note:Reasons to be given

  (4) The institutional head shall give the inmate written reasons for the authorizing, refusal or cancellation of a temporary absence.

• Marginal note:Travel time

  (5) In addition to the period authorized for the purposes of a temporary absence, an inmate may be granted the time necessary to travel to and from the place where the absence is authorized to be spent.

• Marginal note:Delegation to provincial hospital

  (6) Where, pursuant to an agreement under paragraph 16(1)(a), an inmate has been admitted to a hospital operated by a provincial government in which the liberty of patients is normally subject to restrictions, the institutional head may confer on the person in charge of the hospital, for such period and subject to such conditions as the institutional head specifies, any of the institutional head’s powers under this section in relation to that inmate.

Marginal note:Temporary absences may be approved — exception

• 17.1 (1) The Parole Board of Canada may authorize the temporary absence of an inmate who is serving a sentence of imprisonment for life imposed as a minimum punishment and is eligible for day parole if the inmate is escorted by a staff member or other person authorized by the institutional head and the Parole Board of Canada is of the opinion that

  • (a) the inmate will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during an absence authorized under this section;

  • (b) it is desirable for the inmate to be absent from the penitentiary for administrative reasons, community service, family contact, including parental responsibilities, personal development for rehabilitative purposes or compassionate reasons;

  • (c) the inmate’s behaviour while under sentence does not preclude authorizing the absence; and

  • (d) a structured plan for the absence has been prepared.

  The temporary absence may be for a period of not more than 15 days.

• Marginal note:Subsequent temporary absence

  (2) If the Parole Board of Canada authorizes the temporary absence of an inmate under subsection (1) for community service, family contact, including parental responsibilities, or personal development for rehabilitative purposes and the temporary absence is not cancelled because the inmate has breached a condition, the institutional head may authorize that inmate’s subsequent temporary absences with escort if the institutional head is of the opinion that the criteria set out in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) are met.

• Marginal note:Subsequent temporary absence — Parole Board

  (3) If a temporary absence authorized by the institutional head is cancelled because the inmate breached a condition in relation to it, the inmate’s subsequent temporary absence may be authorized only by the Parole Board of Canada.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (4) The Parole Board of Canada or the institutional head, as the case may be, may impose, in relation to a temporary absence that it authorizes, any condition that it considers reasonable and necessary in order to protect society.

• Marginal note:Cancellation and reasons

  (5) The institutional head may cancel a temporary absence that is authorized under this section either before or after its commencement and shall give the inmate written reasons for doing so.

• Marginal note:Authorization or refusal and reasons

  (6) The Parole Board of Canada or the institutional head, as the case may be, shall give the inmate written reasons for authorizing or refusing a temporary absence.

Work Releases

Definition of work release

• 18 (1) In this section, work release means a structured program of release of specified duration for work or community service outside the penitentiary, under the supervision of a staff member or other person or organization authorized by the institutional head.

• Marginal note:Work releases may be authorized

  (2) Where an inmate is eligible for unescorted temporary absences under Part II or pursuant to section 746.1 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act or subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, and, in the opinion of the institutional head,

  • (a) the inmate will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during a work release,

  • (b) it is desirable for the inmate to participate in a structured program of work or community service in the community,

  • (c) the inmate’s behaviour while under sentence does not preclude authorizing the work release, and

  • (d) a structured plan for the work release has been prepared,

  the institutional head may authorize a work release, for such duration as is fixed by the institutional head, subject to the approval of the Commissioner if the duration is to exceed sixty days.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (3) The institutional head may impose, in relation to a work release, any conditions that the institutional head considers reasonable and necessary in order to protect society.

• Marginal note:Suspension or cancellation

  (4) The institutional head may suspend or cancel a work release either before or after its commencement.

• Marginal note:Reasons to be given

  (5) The institutional head shall give the inmate written reasons for the authorizing, refusal, suspension or cancellation of a work release.

• Marginal note:Warrant

  (6) Where a work release is suspended or cancelled after its commencement, the institutional head may cause a warrant in writing to be issued authorizing the apprehension and recommitment to custody of the inmate.

Investigations

Marginal note:General

• 19 (1) Where an inmate dies or suffers serious bodily injury, the Service shall, whether or not there is an investigation under section 20, forthwith investigate the matter and report thereon to the Commissioner or to a person designated by the Commissioner.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (1.1) Subsection (1) does not apply to

  • (a) a death that results from an inmate receiving medical assistance in dying, as defined in section 241.1 of the Criminal Code, in accordance with section 241.2 of that Act; or

  • (b) if a registered health care professional advises the Service in writing that the registered health care professional has reasonable grounds to believe that an inmate’s death is from a natural cause.

• Marginal note:Copy to Correctional Investigator

  (2) The Service shall give the Correctional Investigator, as defined in Part III, a copy of its report referred to in subsection (1).

Marginal note:Quality of care review

• 19.1 (1) If a registered health care professional advises the Service in writing that the registered health care professional has reasonable grounds to believe that the death of an inmate is from a natural cause, the Service shall, whether or not there is an investigation under section 20, without delay, cause a review to be conducted by a registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Service for the purpose of determining the quality of care provided to the inmate in the penitentiary. The registered health care professional shall report on the review to the Commissioner or to a person designated by the Commissioner.

• Marginal note:Copy to Correctional Investigator

  (2) The Service shall give the Correctional Investigator, as defined in Part III, a copy of its report referred to in subsection (1).

Marginal note:Special investigations

20 The Commissioner may appoint a person or persons to investigate and report on any matter relating to the operations of the Service.

Marginal note:Application of Inquiries Act

21 Sections 7 to 13 of the Inquiries Act apply in respect of investigations carried on under section 20

• (a) as if the references to “commissioners” in those sections were references to the person or persons appointed under section 20; and

• (b) with such other modifications as the circumstances require.

Compensation for Death or Disability

Marginal note:Minister may pay compensation

22 The Minister or a person authorized by the Minister may, subject to and in accordance with the regulations, pay compensation in respect of the death or disability of

• (a) an inmate, or

• (b) a person on day parole

that is attributable to the participation of that inmate or person in an approved program.

Information

Marginal note:Service to obtain certain information about offender

• 23 (1) When a person is sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary, the Service shall take all reasonable steps to obtain, as soon as is practicable,

  • (a) relevant information about the offence;

  • (b) relevant information about the person’s personal history, including the person’s social, economic, criminal and young-offender history;

  • (c) any reasons and recommendations relating to the sentencing or committal that are given or made by

    • (i) the court that convicts, sentences or commits the person, and

    • (ii) any court that hears an appeal from the conviction, sentence or committal;

  • (d) any reports relevant to the conviction, sentence or committal that are submitted to a court mentioned in subparagraph (c)(i) or (ii); and

  • (e) any other information relevant to administering the sentence or committal, including existing information from the victim, the victim impact statement and the transcript of any comments made by the sentencing judge regarding parole eligibility.

• Marginal note:Access by offender

  (2) Where access to the information obtained by the Service pursuant to subsection (1) is requested by the offender in writing, the offender shall be provided with access in the prescribed manner to such information as would be disclosed under the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act.

• Marginal note:Disclosure to Service

  (3) No provision in the Privacy Act or the Access to Information Act shall operate so as to limit or prevent the Service from obtaining any information referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (e).

Marginal note:Accuracy, etc., of information

• 24 (1) The Service shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that any information about an offender that it uses is as accurate, up to date and complete as possible.

• Marginal note:Correction of information

  (2) Where an offender who has been given access to information by the Service pursuant to subsection 23(2) believes that there is an error or omission therein,

  • (a) the offender may request the Service to correct that information; and

  • (b) where the request is refused, the Service shall attach to the information a notation indicating that the offender has requested a correction and setting out the correction requested.

Marginal note:Service to give information to parole boards, etc.

• 25 (1) The Service shall give, at the appropriate times, to the Parole Board of Canada, provincial governments, provincial parole boards, police, and any body authorized by the Service to supervise offenders, all information under its control that is relevant to release decision-making or to the supervision or surveillance of offenders.

• Marginal note:Police to be notified of releases

  (2) Before the release of an inmate on an unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release, the Service shall notify all police forces that have jurisdiction at the destination of the inmate if that destination is known.

• Marginal note:Service to give information to police in some cases

  (3) Where the Service has reasonable grounds to believe that an inmate who is about to be released by reason of the expiration of the sentence will, on release, pose a threat to any person, the Service shall, prior to the release and on a timely basis, take all reasonable steps to give the police all information under its control that is relevant to that perceived threat.

Marginal note:Disclosure of information to victims

• 26 (1) At the request of a victim of an offence committed by an offender, the Commissioner

  • (a) shall disclose to the victim the following information about the offender:

    • (i) the offender’s name,

    • (ii) the offence of which the offender was convicted and the court that convicted the offender,

    • (iii) the date of commencement and length of the sentence that the offender is serving, and

    • (iv) eligibility dates and review dates applicable to the offender under this Act in respect of temporary absences or parole;

  • (b) may disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, where in the Commissioner’s opinion the interest of the victim in such disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender’s privacy that could result from the disclosure:

    • (i) the offender’s age,

    • (ii) the name and location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served,

    • (ii.1) if the offender is transferred, a summary of the reasons for the transfer and the name and location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served,

    • (ii.2) if the offender is to be transferred to a minimum security institution as designated by Commissioner’s Directive and it is possible to notify the victim before the transfer, a summary of the reasons for the transfer and the name and location of the institution in which the sentence is to be served,

    • (ii.3) the programs that were designed to address the needs of the offender and contribute to their successful reintegration into the community in which the offender is participating or has participated,

    • (ii.4) the serious disciplinary offences that the offender has committed,

    • (iii) information pertaining to the offender’s correctional plan, including information regarding the offender’s progress towards meeting the objectives of the plan,

    • (iv) the date of any hearing for the purposes of a review under section 130,

    • (v) that the offender has been removed from Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act before the expiration of the sentence, and

    • (vi) [Repealed, 2015, c. 13, s. 46]

    • (vii) whether the offender is in custody and, if not, the reason why the offender is not in custody;

  • (c) shall disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, if, in the Commissioner’s opinion, the disclosure would not have a negative impact on the safety of the public:

    • (i) the date, if any, on which the offender is to be released on temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release,

    • (ii) the conditions attached to the offender’s temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release,

    • (iii) the destination of the offender on any temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release, whether the offender will be in the vicinity of the victim while travelling to that destination and the reasons for any temporary absence; and

  • (d) shall provide the victim with access to a photograph of the offender taken on the occurrence of the earliest of any of the following — and any subsequent photograph of the offender taken by the Service — if, in the Commissioner’s opinion, to do so would not have a negative impact on the safety of the public:

    • (i) the release of the offender on unescorted temporary absence,

    • (ii) the offender’s work release,

    • (iii) the offender’s release on parole, and

    • (iv) the offender’s release by virtue of statutory release or the expiration of the sentence.

• Marginal note:Timing of disclosure

  (1.1) The Commissioner shall disclose the information referred to in paragraph (1)(c) before the day on which the offender is released and, unless it is not practicable to do so, the Commissioner shall disclose it at least 14 days before that day.

• Marginal note:Continuing duty to disclose

  (1.2) The Commissioner shall disclose to the victim any changes to the information referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (c).

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where a person has been transferred from a penitentiary to a provincial correctional facility, the Commissioner may, at the request of a victim of an offence committed by that person, disclose to the victim the name of the province in which the provincial correctional facility is located, if in the Commissioner’s opinion the interest of the victim in such disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the person’s privacy that could result from the disclosure.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of information to other persons

  (3) Subsection (1) also applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a person who satisfies the Commissioner

  • (a) that the person suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss, as the result of an act of an offender, whether or not the offender was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and

  • (b) that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) Subsection (2) also applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a person who satisfies the Commissioner

  • (a) that the person suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss, as the result of an act of a person referred to in subsection (2), whether or not the person referred to in subsection (2) was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and

  • (b) that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act.

• Marginal note:Representative

  (5) A victim may designate a representative to whom the information referred to in subsections (1) and (2) is to be disclosed on the victim’s behalf, or to whom access to a photograph referred to in paragraph (1)(d) is to be provided. In that case, the victim shall provide the Commissioner with the representative’s contact information.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of request

  (6) A victim who has made a request referred to in subsection (1) or (2) may inform the Commissioner in writing that they no longer want the information to be disclosed to them or access to the photograph. In that case, the Commissioner shall not contact them, or their representative, if any, unless the victim subsequently makes the request again.

• Marginal note:Deemed withdrawal of request

  (7) The Commissioner may consider a victim to have withdrawn a request referred to in subsection (1) or (2) if the Commissioner has made reasonable efforts to contact the victim and has failed to do so.

• Marginal note:Other persons

  (8) Subsections (5) to (7) also apply, with any necessary modifications, to a person who has satisfied the Commissioner of the matters referred to in paragraphs (3)(a) and (b) or (4)(a) and (b).

Marginal note:Victim-offender mediation services

• 26.1 (1) The Service shall provide every victim, and every person referred to in subsection 26(3), who has registered themselves with the Service for the purposes of this section with information about its restorative justice programs and its victim-offender mediation services, and, on the victim’s or other person’s request, may take measures to provide those services.

• Marginal note:Consent required

  (2) The Service’s victim-offender mediation services are to be provided in accordance with the Commissioner’s Directives and they may be provided only with the informed consent of the participants that is voluntarily given.

Marginal note:Information to be given to offenders

• 27 (1) Where an offender is entitled by this Part or the regulations to make representations in relation to a decision to be taken by the Service about the offender, the person or body that is to take the decision shall, subject to subsection (3), give the offender, a reasonable period before the decision is to be taken, all the information to be considered in the taking of the decision or a summary of that information.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where an offender is entitled by this Part or the regulations to be given reasons for a decision taken by the Service about the offender, the person or body that takes the decision shall, subject to subsection (3), give the offender, forthwith after the decision is taken, all the information that was considered in the taking of the decision or a summary of that information.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (3) Except in relation to decisions on disciplinary offences, where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure of information under subsection (1) or (2) would jeopardize

  • (a) the safety of any person,

  • (b) the security of a penitentiary, or

  • (c) the conduct of any lawful investigation,

  the Commissioner may authorize the withholding from the offender of as much information as is strictly necessary in order to protect the interest identified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

• Marginal note:Right to interpreter

  (4) An offender who does not have an adequate understanding of at least one of Canada’s official languages is entitled to the assistance of an interpreter

  • (a) at any hearing provided for by this Part or the regulations; and

  • (b) for the purposes of understanding materials provided to the offender pursuant to this section.

Placement and Transfer of Inmates

Marginal note:Criteria for selection of penitentiary

28 If a person is or is to be confined in a penitentiary, the Service shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the penitentiary in which they are confined is one that provides them with the least restrictive environment for that person, taking into account

• (a) the degree and kind of custody and control necessary for

  • (i) the safety of the public,

  • (ii) the safety of that person and other persons in the penitentiary, and

  • (iii) the security of the penitentiary;

• (b) accessibility to

  • (i) the person’s home community and family,

  • (ii) a compatible cultural environment, and

  • (iii) a compatible linguistic environment; and

• (c) the availability of appropriate programs and services and the person’s willingness to participate in those programs.

Marginal note:Transfers

29 The Commissioner may authorize the transfer of a person who is sentenced, transferred or committed to a penitentiary

• (a) to a hospital, including any mental health facility, or to a provincial correctional facility, in accordance with an agreement entered into under paragraph 16(1)(a) and any applicable regulations;

• (b) within a penitentiary, from an area that has been assigned a security classification under section 29.1 to another area that has been assigned a security classification under that section, in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 96(d), subject to section 28; or

• (c) to another penitentiary, in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 96(d), subject to section 28.

Marginal note:Transfers to structured intervention unit

• 29.01 (1) A staff member who holds a position lower in rank than that of institutional head and who is designated by the Commissioner may, in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 96(g), and subject to section 28, authorize the transfer of a person who is sentenced, transferred or committed to a penitentiary into a structured intervention unit in the penitentiary or in another penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Decision — institutional head

  (2) The institutional head shall determine, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g), whether an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit within the period of five working days that begins on the first working day on which the inmate is confined in the unit.

Security Classification

Marginal note:Commissioner to classify penitentiaries or areas

29.1 The Commissioner may assign the security classification of “minimum security”, “medium security”, “maximum security” or “multi-level security”, or any other prescribed security classification, to each penitentiary or to any area in a penitentiary.

Marginal note:Service to classify each inmate

• 30 (1) The Service shall assign a security classification of maximum, medium or minimum to each inmate in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 96(z.6).

• Marginal note:Service to give reasons

  (2) The Service shall give each inmate reasons, in writing, for assigning a particular security classification or for changing that classification.

• Marginal note:Subclassification

  (3) Within the maximum and medium security classifications, the Commissioner may assign an inmate to a subclassification in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 96(z.6).

• Marginal note:Commissioner to give reasons

  (4) The Commissioner or the staff member designated by the Commissioner shall give each inmate reasons, in writing, for assigning them to a subclassification or for changing that subclassification.

Structured Intervention Units

Marginal note:Designation

31 The Commissioner may designate a penitentiary or any area in a penitentiary to be a structured intervention unit.

Marginal note:Purpose

• 32 (1) The purpose of a structured intervention unit is to

  • (a) provide an appropriate living environment for an inmate who cannot be maintained in the mainstream inmate population for security or other reasons; and

  • (b) provide the inmate with an opportunity for meaningful human contact and an opportunity to participate in programs and to have access to services that respond to the inmate’s specific needs and the risks posed by the inmate.

• Marginal note:Physical barriers

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), every reasonable effort shall be made to ensure that the opportunity to interact through human contact is not mediated or interposed by physical barriers such as bars, security glass, door hatches or screens.

• Marginal note:Record

  (3) The Service shall maintain a record of every instance of an interaction referred to in paragraph (1)(b) that is mediated or interposed by such physical barriers.

Marginal note:Duration

33 An inmate’s confinement in a structured intervention unit is to end as soon as possible.

Marginal note:Transfer to unit

• 34 (1) A staff member may authorize the transfer of an inmate into a structured intervention unit under subsection 29.01(1) only if the staff member is satisfied that there is no reasonable alternative to the inmate’s confinement in a structured intervention unit and the staff member believes on reasonable grounds that

  • (a) the inmate has acted, has attempted to act or intends to act in a manner that jeopardizes the safety of any person or the security of a penitentiary and allowing the inmate to be in the mainstream inmate population would jeopardize the safety of any person or the security of the penitentiary;

  • (b) allowing the inmate to be in the mainstream inmate population would jeopardize the inmate’s safety; or

  • (c) allowing the inmate to be in the mainstream inmate population would interfere with an investigation that could lead to a criminal charge or a charge under subsection 41(2) of a serious disciplinary offence.

• Marginal note:Record of transfers

  (2) The Service shall maintain a record of every instance in which an inmate is authorized to be transferred into a structured intervention unit indicating the reasons for granting the authorization and any alternative that was considered.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (3) No later than one working day after the day on which the transfer of an inmate is authorized, the Service shall, orally, provide the inmate with notice that the authorization was granted as well as the reasons for it and no later than two working days after the day on which the transfer of an inmate is authorized, the Service shall provide the inmate with those reasons in writing.

Marginal note:Inmate rights

35 An inmate in a structured intervention unit has the same rights as other inmates, except for those that cannot be exercised due to limitations specific to the structured intervention unit or security requirements.

Marginal note:Obligations of Service

• 36 (1) The Service shall, every day, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., provide an inmate in a structured intervention unit

  • (a) an opportunity to spend a minimum of four hours outside the inmate’s cell; and

  • (b) an opportunity to interact, for a minimum of two hours, with others, through activities including, but not limited to,

    • (i) programs, interventions and services that encourage the inmate to make progress towards the objectives of their correctional plan or that support the inmate’s reintegration into the mainstream inmate population, and

    • (ii) leisure time.

• Marginal note:Time included

  (2) Time spent interacting under paragraph (1)(b) outside an inmate’s cell counts as time spent outside the inmate’s cell under paragraph (1)(a).

• Marginal note:Time not included

  (3) If an inmate takes a shower outside their cell, the time spent doing so does not count as time spent outside the inmate’s cell under paragraph (1)(a).

Marginal note:Exceptions

• 37 (1) Paragraph 36(1)(a) or (b), as the case may be, does not apply

  • (a) if the inmate refuses to avail themselves of the opportunity referred to in that paragraph;

  • (b) if the inmate, at the time the opportunity referred to in that paragraph is provided to them, does not comply with reasonable instructions to ensure their safety or that of any other person or the security of the penitentiary; or

  • (c) in the prescribed circumstances, which circumstances may include, among other things, natural disasters, fires, riots and work refusals under section 128 of the Canada Labour Code, and those circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

• Marginal note:Record

  (2) The Service shall maintain a record of every instance that an inmate has been offered an opportunity referred to in paragraph 36(1)(a) or (b) that the inmate refused, indicating the specific opportunity and any reason given for the refusal, or has not been given such an opportunity by reason of paragraph (1)(b) or (c).

Marginal note:Ongoing monitoring

• 37.1 (1) The Service shall ensure that measures are taken to provide for the ongoing monitoring of the health of inmates in a structured intervention unit.

• Marginal note:Mental health assessment and daily visits

  (2) The Service shall ensure that the measures include

  • (a) a referral of the inmate’s case, within 24 hours after the inmate’s transfer into the structured intervention unit, to the portion of the Service that administers health care for the purpose of conducting a mental health assessment of the inmate; and

  • (b) a visit to the inmate at least once every day by a registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Service.

Marginal note:Mental health assessment

37.11 If a staff member or a person engaged by the Service believes that the confinement of an inmate in a structured intervention unit is having detrimental impacts on the inmate’s health, the staff member or person shall refer, in the prescribed manner, the inmate’s case to the portion of the Service that administers health care. Grounds for the belief include the inmate

• (a) refusing to interact with others;

• (b) engaging in self-injurious behaviour;

• (c) showing symptoms of a drug overdose; and

• (d) showing signs of emotional distress or exhibiting behaviour that suggests that they are in urgent need of mental health care.

Marginal note:Recommendations to institutional head

37.2 A registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Service may, for health reasons, recommend to the institutional head that the conditions of confinement of the inmate in a structured intervention unit be altered or that the inmate not remain in the unit.

Marginal note:Decision — institutional head

• 37.3 (1) The institutional head shall determine, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g), whether an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit

  • (a) as soon as practicable after a registered health care professional recommends under section 37.2, for health reasons, that the inmate not remain in the unit;

  • (b) within the period that begins on the day on which the determination under subsection 29.01(2) is made and that ends on the expiry of the period of 30 days that begins on the first day on which the inmate is confined in the unit; and

  • (c) as soon as practicable in any of the prescribed circumstances.

• Marginal note:Conditions of confinement

  (2) As soon as practicable after the registered health care professional referred to in section 37.2 has recommended, for health reasons, that the conditions of confinement be altered, the institutional head shall determine whether the inmate’s conditions of confinement in the structured intervention unit should be altered.

• Marginal note:Visit to the inmate

  (3) Before making a determination under this section, the institutional head shall visit the inmate.

• Marginal note:Record

  (4) The institutional head shall maintain a record indicating the circumstances of every instance in which, because of security requirements, a visit was not face to face or took place through a cell door hatch.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (5) No later than one working day after the day on which he or she makes a determination under this section, the institution head shall orally notify the inmate of the determination as well as the reasons for it and no later than two working days after the day on which the determination was made, the institutional head shall provide the inmate with those reasons in writing.

Marginal note:Advice of registered health care professional

• 37.31 (1) If the institutional head determines under paragraph 37.3(1)(a) that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit or the institutional head determines under subsection 37.3(2) that an inmate’s conditions of confinement in the structured intervention unit should not be altered in accordance with the recommendations of a registered health care professional, another registered health care professional shall provide advice to the committee established under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Qualifications

  (2) The registered health care professional providing the advice is to be a senior registered health care professional employed by the Service or a registered health care professional engaged by the Service as an expert advisor.

• Marginal note:Committee

  (3) The Commissioner shall establish a committee consisting of staff members who hold a position higher in rank than that of institutional head for the purpose of making determinations under section 37.32.

Marginal note:Decision of committee — recommendation to alter conditions

• 37.32 (1) As soon as practicable after the institutional head determines under subsection 37.3(2) that an inmate’s conditions of confinement in a structured intervention unit should not be altered in accordance with the recommendations of a registered health care professional, the committee established under subsection 37.31(3) shall, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g), determine whether the inmate’s conditions of confinement in the unit should be altered.

• Marginal note:Decision of committee — recommendation that inmate remain in unit

  (2) As soon as practicable after the institutional head determines under paragraph 37.3(1)(a) that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit, the committee established under subsection 37.31(3) shall, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g), determine whether the inmate should remain in the unit.

Marginal note:Decision — Commissioner

37.4 Thirty days after the institutional head’s determination under paragraph 37.3(1)(b) that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit, the Commissioner shall, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g), determine whether the inmate should remain in the unit. The Commissioner shall also make such a determination in the prescribed circumstances and every 60 days after the Commissioner’s last determination under this section that the inmate should remain in the unit.

Marginal note:Grounds

• 37.41 (1) The institutional head, the Commissioner or the committee established under subsection 37.31(3) may determine that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit only if they believe on reasonable grounds that allowing the inmate’s reintegration into the mainstream inmate population

  • (a) would jeopardize the safety of the inmate or any other person or the security of the penitentiary; or

  • (b) would interfere with an investigation that could lead to a criminal charge or a charge under subsection 41(2) of a serious disciplinary offence.

• Marginal note:Factors

  (2) In making the determination, the institutional head, the Commissioner or the committee, as the case may be, shall take into account

  • (a) the inmate’s correctional plan;

  • (b) the appropriateness of the inmate’s confinement in the penitentiary;

  • (c) the appropriateness of the inmate’s security classification; and

  • (d) any other consideration that he or she considers relevant.

Marginal note:Review of inmate’s case

37.5 If an inmate has been authorized to be transferred to a structured intervention unit the prescribed number of times or in the prescribed circumstances, the Service shall review the inmate’s case in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed period.

Marginal note:Appointment of independent external decision-maker

• 37.6 (1) The Minister shall appoint one or more persons to be independent external decision-makers.

• Marginal note:Eligibility

  (2) To be eligible for appointment as an independent external decision-maker, a person must have knowledge of administrative decision-making processes in general. A person is not eligible for appointment as an independent external decision-maker if the person was, at any time, in the previous five years a staff member or appointed under subsection 6(1).

• Marginal note:Term

  (3) An independent external decision-maker is to be appointed for a renewable term of not more than five years and holds office during good behaviour, but may be removed at any time for cause by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Full-time or part-time

  (4) An independent external decision-maker may be appointed to serve either full-time or part-time.

Marginal note:Remuneration and expenses

37.61 An independent external decision-maker is to be paid

• (a) the remuneration that is fixed by the Treasury Board; and

• (b) in accordance with Treasury Board directives, any travel and living expenses that they incur in the performance of their duties and functions while absent from their ordinary place of work, in the case of a full-time decision-maker, and their ordinary place of residence, in the case of a part-time decision-maker.

Marginal note:Information to be made available

• 37.7 (1) The Service shall furnish to an independent external decision-maker all information under the Service’s control that is relevant to the making of a determination in respect of an inmate by the independent external decision-maker.

• Marginal note:Right to require information and documents

  (2) For the purpose of making a determination in respect of an inmate, an independent external decision-maker may require any staff member, or any person whose services are engaged by or on behalf of the Service,

  • (a) to furnish any information that, in the decision-maker’s opinion, the staff member or person may be able to furnish in relation to the inmate’s case; and

  • (b) to produce, for examination by the decision-maker, any document or thing that, in the decision-maker’s opinion, relates to the inmate’s case and that may be in the possession or under the control of the staff member or person.

• Marginal note:Return of document of thing

  (3) Within 10 days after the day on which an independent external decision-maker makes a determination, the decision-maker shall return to the Service any document or thing furnished under subsection (1) or paragraph (2)(a) or produced under paragraph (2)(b), as well as any copy of one.

Marginal note:Disclosure to inmate

• 37.71 (1) Before making a determination in respect of an inmate, an independent external decision-maker shall provide or cause to be provided to the inmate, in writing, in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the inmate, the information that is to be considered by the decision-maker or a summary of that information, other than information provided to the independent external decision-maker by the inmate.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) The independent external decision-maker may withhold from the inmate as much information as is strictly necessary if the independent external decision-maker has reasonable grounds to believe that

  • (a) the information should not be disclosed on the grounds of public interest; or

  • (b) the disclosure of the information would jeopardize the safety of any person, the security of a penitentiary or the conduct of any lawful investigation.

Marginal note:Written representations

37.72 Before making a determination in respect of an inmate, an independent external decision-maker shall ensure that the inmate is given an opportunity to make written representations to the independent external decision-maker.

Marginal note:Access to inmate

37.73 For the purpose of making a determination in respect of an inmate, an independent external decision-maker may communicate with the inmate.

Marginal note:No disclosure

• 37.74 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an independent external decision-maker shall not disclose any information that comes to their knowledge in the course of the exercise of their powers, or the performance of their duties and functions, under this Act or any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) An independent external decision-maker may disclose information referred to in subsection (1) in the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties and functions.

Marginal note:Not to be witness

37.75 An independent external decision­maker is not a competent or compellable witness in any civil proceedings in respect of any matter coming to their knowledge in the course of the exercise or purported exercise of their powers, or the performance or purported performance of their duties and functions, under this Act or any other Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Protection of independent external decision-maker

37.76 No criminal or civil proceedings lie against an independent external decision-maker for anything done, reported or said in good faith in the course of the exercise or purported exercise of any power, or the performance or purported performance of any duty or function, of the independent external decision-maker under this Act or any other Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Publication of information

37.77 An independent external decision-maker may, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g.1), publish or otherwise disseminate information, other than personal information, relating to any determination made by the independent external decision-maker.

Marginal note:Decision after Commissioner’s determination

37.8 Thirty days after each of the Commissioner’s determinations under section 37.4 that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit, an independent external decision-maker shall, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g.1), determine whether the inmate should remain in the unit.

Marginal note:Decision after committee’s determination

37.81 If a committee established under subsection 37.31(3) determines that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit or determines that an inmate’s conditions of confinement in the structured intervention unit should not be altered in accordance with a recommendation of a registered health care professional under section 37.2, an independent external decision-maker shall, as soon as practicable, in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g.1), determine whether the inmate should remain in the unit or whether the inmate’s conditions of confinement in the unit should be altered.

Marginal note:Grounds

• 37.82 (1) The independent external decision-maker may determine under sections 37.8 and 37.81 that an inmate should remain in a structured intervention unit only if the independent external decision-maker believes on reasonable grounds that allowing the inmate’s reintegration into the mainstream inmate population

  • (a) would jeopardize the safety of the inmate or any other person or the security of the penitentiary; or

  • (b) would interfere with an investigation that could lead to a criminal charge or a charge under subsection 41(2) of a serious disciplinary offence.

• Marginal note:Factors

  (2) In making the determination, the independent external decision-maker shall take into account

  • (a) the inmate’s correctional plan;

  • (b) the appropriateness of the inmate’s confinement in the penitentiary;

  • (c) the appropriateness of the inmate’s security classification; and

  • (d) any other consideration that he or she considers relevant.

Marginal note:Decision — reasonable steps

• 37.83 (1) If, for five consecutive days or for a total of 15 days during any 30-day period, an inmate confined in a structured intervention unit has not spent a minimum of four hours a day outside the inmate’s cell or has not interacted, for a minimum of two hours a day, with others, an independent external decision-maker shall, as soon as practicable, determine whether the Service has taken all reasonable steps to provide the inmate with the opportunities referred to in subsection 36(1) and to encourage the inmate to avail themselves of those opportunities.

• Marginal note:Recommendations

  (2) If the independent external decision-maker determines that the Service has not taken all reasonable steps, he or she may make any recommendation to the Service that he or she considers appropriate to remedy the situation.

• Marginal note:Power to direct removal from unit

  (3) If the Service, within the period of seven days commencing on the day on which it receives recommendations, fails to satisfy the independent external decision-maker that it has taken all reasonable steps to provide the inmate with the opportunities referred to in subsection 36(1), the independent external decision-maker shall direct the Service to remove the inmate from the structured intervention unit and provide a notice of the direction to the Correctional Investigator as defined in Part III.

Marginal note:Other duties

37.9 An independent external decision-maker may, in the prescribed circumstances, make a prescribed determination or review in the prescribed manner.

Marginal note:Restriction of movement and application of provisions before transfer

• 37.91 (1) The transfer of an inmate to a structured intervention unit must be completed not later than five working days after the day on which the authorization for the transfer is given. Until the transfer is completed, the Service may impose restrictions on the inmate’s movement and sections 29.01, 33, 35 to 37.4 and 37.81 to 37.83 apply with any necessary modifications in respect of the inmate as though the inmate were in a structured intervention unit. However, the opportunity referred to in paragraph 36(1)(b) is to be provided only if the circumstances permit.

• Marginal note:Obligation of the institutional head

  (2) The institutional head shall, at least once every day, meet with the inmate.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the transfer is to a structured intervention unit in the penitentiary where the inmate is confined at the time the authorization is given.

Discipline

Marginal note:Purpose of disciplinary system

38 The purpose of the disciplinary system established by sections 40 to 44 and the regulations is to encourage inmates to conduct themselves in a manner that promotes the good order of the penitentiary, through a process that contributes to the inmates’ rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community.

Marginal note:System exclusive

39 Inmates shall not be disciplined otherwise than in accordance with sections 40 to 44 and the regulations.

Marginal note:Disciplinary offences

40 An inmate commits a disciplinary offence who

• (a) disobeys a justifiable order of a staff member;

• (b) is, without authorization, in an area prohibited to inmates;

• (c) wilfully or recklessly damages or destroys property that is not the inmate’s;

• (d) commits theft;

• (e) is in possession of stolen property;

• (f) is disrespectful toward a person in a manner that is likely to provoke them to be violent or toward a staff member in a manner that could undermine their authority or the authority of staff members in general;

• (g) is abusive toward a person or intimidates them by threats that violence or other injury will be done to, or punishment inflicted on, them;

• (h) fights with, assaults or threatens to assault another person;

• (i) is in possession of, or deals in, contraband;

• (j) without prior authorization, is in possession of, or deals in, an item that is not authorized by a Commissioner’s Directive or by a written order of the institutional head;

• (k) takes an intoxicant into the inmate’s body;

• (l) fails or refuses to provide a urine sample when demanded pursuant to section 54 or 55;

• (m) creates or participates in

  • (i) a disturbance, or

  • (ii) any other activity

  that is likely to jeopardize the security of the penitentiary;

• (n) does anything for the purpose of escaping or assisting another inmate to escape;

• (o) offers, gives or accepts a bribe or reward;

• (p) without reasonable excuse, refuses to work or leaves work;

• (q) engages in gambling;

• (r) wilfully disobeys a written rule governing the conduct of inmates;

• (r.1) knowingly makes a false claim for compensation from the Crown;

• (r.2) throws a bodily substance towards another person; or

• (s) attempts to do, or assists another person to do, anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (r).

Marginal note:Informal resolution

• 41 (1) Where a staff member believes on reasonable grounds that an inmate has committed or is committing a disciplinary offence, the staff member shall take all reasonable steps to resolve the matter informally, where possible.

• Marginal note:Charge may be issued

  (2) Where an informal resolution is not achieved, the institutional head may, depending on the seriousness of the alleged conduct and any aggravating or mitigating factors, issue a charge of a minor disciplinary offence or a serious disciplinary offence.

Marginal note:Notice of charge

42 An inmate charged with a disciplinary offence shall be given a written notice of the charge in accordance with the regulations, and the notice must state whether the charge is minor or serious.

Marginal note:Hearing

• 43 (1) A charge of a disciplinary offence shall be dealt with in accordance with the prescribed procedure, including a hearing conducted in the prescribed manner.

• Marginal note:Presence of inmate

  (2) A hearing mentioned in subsection (1) shall be conducted with the inmate present unless

  • (a) the inmate is voluntarily absent;

  • (b) the person conducting the hearing believes on reasonable grounds that the inmate’s presence would jeopardize the safety of any person present at the hearing; or

  • (c) the inmate seriously disrupts the hearing.

• Marginal note:Decision

  (3) The person conducting the hearing shall not find the inmate guilty unless satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt, based on the evidence presented at the hearing, that the inmate committed the disciplinary offence in question.

Marginal note:Disciplinary sanctions

• 44 (1) An inmate who is found guilty of a disciplinary offence is liable, in accordance with the regulations made under paragraphs 96(i) and (j), to one or more of the following:

  • (a) a warning or reprimand;

  • (b) a loss of privileges;

  • (c) an order to make restitution, including in respect of any property that is damaged or destroyed as a result of the offence;

  • (d) a fine; and

  • (e) performance of extra duties.

  • (f) [Repealed, 2019, c. 27, s. 11]

• Marginal note:Collection of fine or restitution

  (2) A fine or restitution imposed pursuant to subsection (1) may be collected in the prescribed manner.

Summary Conviction Offences

Marginal note:Summary conviction offences

45 Every person commits a summary conviction offence who

• (a) is in possession of contraband beyond the visitor control point in a penitentiary;

• (b) is in possession of anything referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition “contraband” in section 2 before the visitor control point at a penitentiary;

• (c) delivers contraband to, or receives contraband from, an inmate;

• (d) without prior authorization, delivers jewellery to, or receives jewellery from, an inmate; or

• (e) trespasses at a penitentiary.

Search and Seizure

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

46 In sections 47 to 67,

body cavity

body cavity means the rectum or vagina; (cavité corporelle)

body cavity search

body cavity search means the physical probing of a body cavity, in the prescribed manner; (examen des cavités corporelles)

body scan search

body scan search means a search of a body by means of a prescribed body scanner that is conducted in the prescribed manner. (fouille par balayage corporel)

frisk search

frisk search means

• (a) a manual search, or a search by technical means, of the clothed body, in the prescribed manner, and

• (b) a search of

  • (i) personal possessions, including clothing, that the person may be carrying, and

  • (ii) any coat or jacket that the person has been requested to remove,

  in accordance with any applicable regulations made under paragraph 96(l); (fouille par palpation)

non-intrusive search

non-intrusive search means

• (a) a search of a non-intrusive nature of the clothed body by technical means, in the prescribed manner, and

• (b) a search of

  • (i) personal possessions, including clothing, that the person may be carrying, and

  • (ii) any coat or jacket that the person has been requested to remove,

  in accordance with any applicable regulations made under paragraph 96(l); (fouille discrète)

strip search

strip search means

• (a) a visual inspection of the naked body, in the prescribed manner, and

• (b) a search, in accordance with any applicable regulations made under paragraph 96(l), of all clothing, things in the clothing, and other personal possessions that the person may be carrying; (fouille à nu)

urinalysis

urinalysis means a prescribed procedure by which a person provides a urine sample, by the normal excretory process, for analysis. (prise d’échantillon d’urine)

Searches of Inmates

Marginal note:Routine non-intrusive or frisk searches

• 47 (1) A staff member may conduct routine non-intrusive searches or routine frisk searches of inmates, without individualized suspicion, in the prescribed circumstances, which circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A person providing services of a prescribed class to the Service under a contract has the power to search that a staff member is authorized to conduct under subsection (1) if

  • (a) the conducting of such searches is provided for in the contract but does not constitute the person’s principal services under the contract;

  • (b) the searches are reasonably related to the person’s principal services under the contract; and

  • (c) the person has received the prescribed training to conduct such searches.

Marginal note:Routine strip search of inmates

• 48 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a staff member of the same sex as the inmate may conduct a routine strip search of an inmate, without individualized suspicion,

  • (a) in the prescribed circumstances in situations in which the inmate has been in a place where there was a likelihood of access to contraband that is capable of being hidden on or in the body; or

  • (b) when the inmate is entering or leaving a structured intervention unit.

• Marginal note:Choice of body scan search

  (2) A body scan search of the inmate shall be conducted instead of the strip search if

  • (a) the body scan search is authorized under section 48.1; and

  • (b) a prescribed body scanner in proper working order is in the area where the strip search would be conducted.

Marginal note:Search by body scan

48.1 A staff member may, in the prescribed circumstances, conduct a body scan search of an inmate, and those circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

Marginal note:Frisk search of inmate

• 49 (1) Where a staff member suspects on reasonable grounds that an inmate is carrying contraband or carrying evidence relating to a disciplinary or criminal offence, the staff member may conduct a frisk search of the inmate.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A person providing services of a prescribed class to the Service under a contract has the powers of search of a staff member under subsection (1) if

  • (a) the conducting of such searches is provided for in the contract but does not constitute the person’s principal services under the contract;

  • (b) the searches are reasonably related to the person’s principal services under the contract; and

  • (c) the person has received the prescribed training to conduct such searches.

• Marginal note:Strip search of inmate

  (3) Where a staff member

  • (a) believes on reasonable grounds that an inmate is carrying contraband or carrying evidence relating to a disciplinary or criminal offence, and that a strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence, and

  • (b) satisfies the institutional head that there are reasonable grounds to so believe,

  a staff member of the same sex as the inmate may conduct a strip search of the inmate.

• Marginal note:Emergency search

  (4) Where a staff member

  • (a) satisfies the requirements of paragraph (3)(a), and

  • (b) believes on reasonable grounds that the delay that would be necessary in order to comply with paragraph (3)(b) or with the gender requirement of subsection (3) would result in danger to human life or safety or in loss or destruction of the evidence,

  the staff member may conduct the strip search without complying with paragraph (3)(b) or the gender requirement of subsection (3).

Marginal note:Staff member to inform institutional head

50 Where a staff member believes on reasonable grounds that an inmate is carrying contraband in a body cavity, the staff member may not seize or attempt to seize that contraband, but shall inform the institutional head.

Marginal note:Detention in dry cell

• 51 (1) If the institutional head is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an inmate has ingested contraband or is carrying contraband in their rectum, the institutional head may authorize in writing the detention of the inmate in a cell without plumbing fixtures, on the expectation that the contraband will be expelled.

• Marginal note:Visits by registered health care professional

  (2) The inmate must be visited at least once every day by a registered health care professional.

Marginal note:Body cavity search

52 Where the institutional head is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an inmate is carrying contraband in a body cavity and that a body cavity search is necessary in order to find or seize the contraband, the institutional head may authorize in writing a body cavity search to be conducted by a qualified medical practitioner, if the inmate’s consent is obtained.

Marginal note:Exceptional power of search

• 53 (1) Where the institutional head is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that

  • (a) there exists, because of contraband, a clear and substantial danger to human life or safety or to the security of the penitentiary, and

  • (b) a frisk search or strip search of all the inmates in the penitentiary or any part thereof is necessary in order to seize the contraband and avert the danger,

  the institutional head may authorize in writing such a search, subject to subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Gender requirement

  (2) A strip search authorized under subsection (1) shall be conducted in each case by a staff member of the same sex as the inmate.

Marginal note:Urinalysis

54 Subject to section 56 and subsection 57(1), a staff member may demand that an inmate submit to urinalysis

• (a) where the staff member believes on reasonable grounds that the inmate has committed or is committing the disciplinary offence referred to in paragraph 40(k) and that a urine sample is necessary to provide evidence of the offence, and the staff member obtains the prior authorization of the institutional head;

• (b) as part of a prescribed random selection urinalysis program, conducted without individualized grounds on a periodic basis and in accordance with any Commissioner’s Directives that the regulations may provide for; or

• (c) where urinalysis is a prescribed requirement for participation in

  • (i) a prescribed program or activity involving contact with the community, or

  • (ii) a prescribed substance abuse treatment program.

Marginal note:Urinalysis

55 Subject to section 56 and subsection 57(2), a staff member, or any other person so authorized by the Service, may demand that an offender submit to urinalysis

• (a) at once, where the staff member or other authorized person has reasonable grounds to suspect that the offender has breached any condition of a temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release that requires abstention from alcohol or drugs, in order to monitor the offender’s compliance with that condition; or

• (b) at regular intervals, in order to monitor the offender’s compliance with any condition of a temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release that requires abstention from alcohol or drugs.

Marginal note:Information requirements

56 Where a demand is made of an offender to submit to urinalysis pursuant to section 54 or 55, the person making the demand shall forthwith inform the offender of the basis of the demand and the consequences of non-compliance.

Marginal note:Right to make representations

• 57 (1) An inmate who is required to submit to urinalysis pursuant to paragraph 54(a) shall be given an opportunity to make representations to the institutional head before submitting the urine sample.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) An offender who is required to submit to urinalysis at regular intervals pursuant to section 55 shall be given reasonable opportunities to make representations to the prescribed official in relation to the length of the intervals.

Marginal note:Monitoring device

• 57.1 (1) The Service may demand that an offender wear a monitoring device in order to monitor their compliance with a condition of a temporary absence, work release, parole, statutory release or long-term supervision that restricts their access to a person or a geographical area or requires them to be in a geographical area.

• Marginal note:Representations

  (2) An offender who is required to wear a monitoring device is to be given reasonable opportunities to make representations to the prescribed official in relation to the duration of the requirement.

Searches of Cells

Marginal note:Searches of cells

58 A staff member may, in the prescribed manner, conduct searches of cells and their contents in the prescribed circumstances, which circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

Searches of Visitors

Marginal note:Definition of visitor

58.1 Despite the definition visitor in subsection 2(1), in sections 59, 60 and 60.1 visitor does not include an immigration detainee, as defined in section 94.1.

Marginal note:Routine non-intrusive or frisk searches

59 A staff member may conduct routine non-intrusive searches or routine frisk searches of visitors, without individualized suspicion, in the prescribed circumstances, which circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

Marginal note:Frisk search

• 60 (1) A staff member may conduct a frisk search of a visitor where the staff member suspects on reasonable grounds that the visitor is carrying contraband or carrying other evidence relating to an offence under section 45.

• Marginal note:Strip search

  (2) Where a staff member

  • (a) suspects on reasonable grounds that a visitor is carrying contraband or carrying other evidence relating to an offence under section 45 and believes that a strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence, and

  • (b) satisfies the institutional head that there are reasonable grounds

    • (i) to suspect that the visitor is carrying contraband or carrying other evidence relating to an offence under section 45, and

    • (ii) to believe that a strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence,

  a staff member of the same sex as the visitor may, after giving the visitor the option of voluntarily leaving the penitentiary forthwith, conduct a strip search of the visitor.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) Where a staff member believes on reasonable grounds that a visitor is carrying contraband or carrying other evidence relating to an offence under section 45 and that a strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence,

  • (a) the staff member may detain the visitor in order to

    • (i) obtain the authorization of the institutional head to conduct a strip search, or

    • (ii) obtain the services of the police; and

  • (b) where the staff member satisfies the institutional head that there are reasonable grounds to believe

    • (i) that the visitor is carrying contraband or carrying other evidence relating to an offence under section 45, and

    • (ii) that a strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence,

    the institutional head may authorize a staff member of the same sex as the visitor to conduct a strip search of the visitor.

• Marginal note:Rights of detained visitor

  (4) A visitor who is detained pursuant to subsection (3) shall

  • (a) be informed promptly of the reasons for the detention; and

  • (b) before being searched, be given a reasonable opportunity to retain and instruct counsel without delay and be informed of that right.

Marginal note:Search by body scan

60.1 A staff member may, in the prescribed circumstances, conduct a body scan search of a visitor, and those circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

Searches of Vehicles

Marginal note:Routine searches

• 61 (1) A staff member may, in the prescribed manner, conduct routine searches of vehicles at a penitentiary, without individualized suspicion, in the prescribed circumstances, which circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

• Marginal note:Searches for contraband

  (2) A staff member who believes on reasonable grounds that contraband is located in a vehicle at a penitentiary in circumstances constituting an offence under section 45 may, with prior authorization from the institutional head, search the vehicle.

• Marginal note:Emergency searches

  (3) Where a staff member believes on reasonable grounds that the delay that would be necessary in order to comply with the prior authorization requirement of subsection (2) would result in danger to human life or safety or the loss or destruction of the contraband, the staff member may search the vehicle without that prior authorization.

• Marginal note:Exceptional power to search

  (4) An institutional head may, in writing, authorize a staff member to search the vehicles at a penitentiary if the institutional head has reasonable grounds to believe that

  • (a) there is a clear and substantial danger to the security of the penitentiary or the life or safety of persons because evidence exists that there is contraband at the penitentiary or that a criminal offence is being planned or has been committed at the penitentiary; and

  • (b) it is necessary to search the vehicles in order to locate and seize the contraband or other evidence and to avert the danger.

Warnings to be Posted

Marginal note:Warnings about searches

62 At each penitentiary, a conspicuous warning shall be posted at the entrance to the lands and at the visitor control point, stating that all visitors and vehicles at the penitentiary are subject to being searched in accordance with this Part and the regulations.

Searches of Staff Members

Marginal note:Routine non-intrusive or frisk searches

63 A staff member may conduct routine non-intrusive searches or routine frisk searches of other staff members, without individualized suspicion, in the prescribed circumstances, which circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

Marginal note:Frisk search or strip search

• 64 (1) Where a staff member believes on reasonable grounds that another staff member is carrying contraband or carrying evidence relating to a criminal offence and that a frisk search or strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence,

  • (a) the staff member may detain the other staff member in order to

    • (i) obtain the authorization of the institutional head to conduct a frisk search or strip search, or

    • (ii) obtain the services of the police; and

  • (b) where the staff member satisfies the institutional head that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the other staff member is carrying contraband or carrying evidence relating to a criminal offence and that a frisk search or strip search is necessary to find the contraband or evidence, the institutional head may

    • (i) authorize a staff member to conduct a frisk search of the other staff member, or

    • (ii) authorize a staff member of the same sex as the other staff member to conduct a strip search of that other staff member.

• Marginal note:Rights of detained staff member

  (2) A staff member who is detained pursuant to subsection (1) shall

  • (a) be informed promptly of the reasons for the detention; and

  • (b) before being searched, be given a reasonable opportunity to retain and instruct counsel without delay and be informed of that right.

Marginal note:Search by body scan

64.1 A staff member may, in the prescribed circumstances, conduct a body scan search of another staff member, and those circumstances must be limited to what is reasonably required for security purposes.

Power to Seize

Marginal note:Power to seize

• 65 (1) A staff member may seize contraband, or evidence relating to a disciplinary or criminal offence, found in the course of a search conducted under sections 47 to 64, except a body cavity search or a body scan search.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A medical practitioner conducting a body cavity search may seize contraband or evidence relating to a disciplinary or criminal offence found in the course of that search.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) A person conducting a search pursuant to subsection 47(2) or 49(2) may seize contraband found in the course of that search.

Searches in Community-based Residential Facilities

Marginal note:Frisk search, room search

• 66 (1) An employee of a community-based residential facility who is so authorized by the Service may

  • (a) conduct a frisk search of an offender in that facility, and

  • (b) search an offender’s room and its contents,

  where the employee suspects on reasonable grounds that the offender is violating or has violated a condition of the offender’s parole, statutory release or temporary absence and that such a search is necessary to confirm the suspected violation.

• Marginal note:Power to seize

  (2) An employee who conducts a search pursuant to subsection (1) may seize any evidence of a violation of the offender’s conditions of release found in the course of the search.

• Marginal note:Definition of community-based residential facility

  (3) In this section, community-based residential facility means a place that provides accommodation to offenders who are on parole, statutory release or temporary absence.

Reports Relating to Searches and Seizures

Marginal note:Reports to be submitted

67 Reports in respect of searches conducted pursuant to sections 47 to 66, and in respect of the seizure of items in the course of those searches, must be submitted where required by regulations made under paragraph 96(o) and in accordance with those regulations.

General — Living Conditions

Marginal note:Instruments of restraint

68 No person shall apply an instrument of restraint to an offender as punishment.

Marginal note:Cruel treatment, etc.

69 No person shall administer, instigate, consent to or acquiesce in any cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment of an offender.

Marginal note:Living conditions, etc.

70 The Service shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that penitentiaries, the penitentiary environment, the living and working conditions of inmates and the working conditions of staff members are safe, healthful and free of practices that undermine a person’s sense of personal dignity.

Marginal note:Contacts and visits

• 71 (1) In order to promote relationships between inmates and the community, an inmate is entitled to have reasonable contact, including visits and correspondence, with family, friends and other persons from outside the penitentiary, subject to such reasonable limits as are prescribed for protecting the security of the penitentiary or the safety of persons.

• Marginal note:Visitors’ permitted items

  (2) At each penitentiary, a conspicuous notice shall be posted at the visitor control point, listing the items that a visitor may have in possession beyond the visitor control point.

• Marginal note:Where visitor has non-permitted item

  (3) Where a visitor has in possession, beyond the visitor control point, an item not listed on the notice mentioned in subsection (2) without having previously obtained the permission of a staff member, a staff member may terminate or restrict the visit.

Marginal note:Members of Parliament, judges

72 Every member of the House of Commons, every Senator and every judge of a court in Canada has the right to

• (a) enter any penitentiary,

• (b) visit any part of a penitentiary, and

• (c) visit any inmate, with the consent of the inmate,

subject to such reasonable limits as are prescribed for protecting the security of the penitentiary or the safety of persons.

Marginal note:Assembly and association

73 Inmates are entitled to reasonable opportunities to assemble peacefully and associate with other inmates within the penitentiary, subject to such reasonable limits as are prescribed for protecting the security of the penitentiary or the safety of persons.

Marginal note:Inmate input into decisions

74 The Service shall provide inmates with the opportunity to contribute to decisions of the Service affecting the inmate population as a whole, or affecting a group within the inmate population, except decisions relating to security matters.

Marginal note:Religion

75 An inmate is entitled to reasonable opportunities to freely and openly participate in, and express, religion or spirituality, subject to such reasonable limits as are prescribed for protecting the security of the penitentiary or the safety of persons.

Programs for Offenders

Marginal note:Programs for offenders generally

76 The Service shall provide a range of programs designed to address the needs of offenders and contribute to their successful reintegration into the community.

Marginal note:Programs for female offenders

77 Without limiting the generality of section 76, the Service shall

• (a) provide programs designed particularly to address the needs of female offenders; and

• (b) consult regularly about programs for female offenders with

  • (i) appropriate women’s groups, and

  • (ii) other appropriate persons and groups

  with expertise on, and experience in working with, female offenders.

Marginal note:Payments to offenders

• 78 (1) For the purpose of

  • (a) encouraging offenders to participate in programs provided by the Service, or

  • (b) providing financial assistance to offenders to facilitate their reintegration into the community,

  the Commissioner may authorize payments to offenders at rates approved by the Treasury Board.

• Marginal note:Deductions

  (2) Where an offender receives a payment referred to in subsection (1) or income from a prescribed source, the Service may

  • (a) make deductions from that payment or income in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(z.2) and any Commissioner’s Directive; and

  • (b) require that the offender pay to Her Majesty in right of Canada, in accordance with regulations made pursuant to paragraph 96(z.2.1) and as set out in a Commissioner’s Directive, an amount, not exceeding thirty per cent of the gross payment referred to in subsection (1) or gross income, for reimbursement of the costs of the offender’s food and accommodation incurred while the offender was receiving that income or payment, or for reimbursement of the costs of work-related clothing provided to the offender by the Service.

Indigenous Offenders

Marginal note:Definitions

79 In sections 79.1 to 84.1,

correctional services

correctional services means services or programs for offenders, including their care, custody and supervision. (services correctionnels)

Indigenous governing body

Indigenous governing body means a council, government or other entity that is authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people that holds rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. (corps dirigeant autochtone)

Indigenous organization

Indigenous organization means an organization with predominately Indigenous leadership. (organisme autochtone)

Indigenous peoples of Canada

Indigenous peoples of Canada has the meaning assigned by the definition aboriginal peoples of Canada in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982.‍ (peuples autochtones du Canada)

Marginal note:Factors to be considered

• 79.1 (1) In making decisions under this Act affecting an Indigenous offender, the Service shall take the following into consideration:

  • (a) systemic and background factors affecting Indigenous peoples of Canada;

  • (b) systemic and background factors that have contributed to the overrepresentation of Indigenous persons in the criminal justice system and that may have contributed to the offender’s involvement in the criminal justice system; and

  • (c) the Indigenous culture and identity of the offender, including his or her family and adoption history.

• Marginal note:Exception — risk assessment

  (2) The factors described in paragraphs (1)(a) to (c) are not to be taken into consideration for decisions respecting the assessment of the risk posed by an Indigenous offender unless those factors could decrease the level of risk.

Marginal note:Programs

80 Without limiting the generality of section 76, the Service shall provide programs designed particularly to address the needs of Indigenous offenders.

Marginal note:Agreements

• 81 (1) The Minister, or a person authorized by the Minister, may enter into an agreement with an Indigenous governing body or any Indigenous organization for the provision of correctional services to Indigenous offenders and for payment by the Minister, or by a person authorized by the Minister, in respect of the provision of those services.

• Marginal note:Scope of agreement

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an agreement entered into under that subsection may provide for the provision of correctional services to a non-Indigenous offender.

• Marginal note:Placement of offender

  (3) In accordance with any agreement entered into under subsection (1), the Commissioner may transfer an offender to the care and custody of an appropriate Indigenous authority, with the consent of the offender and of the appropriate Indigenous authority.

Marginal note:Advisory committees

• 82 (1) The Service shall establish a national Indigenous advisory committee, and may establish regional and local Indigenous advisory committees, which shall provide advice to the Service on the provision of correctional services to Indigenous offenders.

• Marginal note:Committees to consult

  (2) For the purpose of carrying out their function under subsection (1), all committees shall consult regularly with Indigenous communities, Indigenous governing bodies, Indigenous organizations and other appropriate persons with knowledge of Indigenous matters.

Marginal note:Spiritual leaders and elders

• 83 (1) For greater certainty, Indigenous spirituality and Indigenous spiritual leaders and elders have the same status as other religions and other religious leaders.

• Marginal note:Advice

  (1.1) If the Service considers it appropriate in the circumstance, it shall seek advice from an Indigenous spiritual leader or elder when providing correctional services to an Indigenous inmate, particularly in matters of mental health and behaviour.

• Marginal note:Obligation

  (2) The Service shall take all reasonable steps to make available to Indigenous inmates the services of an Indigenous spiritual leader or elder after consultation with

  • (a) the national Indigenous advisory committee established under section 82; and

  • (b) the appropriate regional and local Indigenous advisory committees.

Marginal note:Release into Indigenous community

84 If an inmate expresses an interest in being released into an Indigenous community, the Service shall, with the inmate’s consent, give the community’s Indigenous governing body

• (a) adequate notice of the inmate’s parole review or their statutory release date, as the case may be; and

• (b) an opportunity to propose a plan for the inmate’s release and integration into that community.

Marginal note:Plans – long-term supervision

84.1 If an offender who is required to be supervised by a long-term supervision order has expressed an interest in being supervised in an Indigenous community, the Service shall, with the offender’s consent, give the community’s Indigenous governing body

• (a) adequate notice of the order; and

• (b) an opportunity to propose a plan for the offender’s release on supervision, and integration, into that community.

Health Care

Marginal note:Definitions

85 In sections 86 and 87,

health care

health care means medical care, dental care and mental health care, provided by registered health care professionals or by persons acting under the supervision of registered health care professionals; (soins de santé)

mental health care

mental health care means the care of a disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation or memory that significantly impairs judgment, behaviour, the capacity to recognize reality or the ability to meet the ordinary demands of life; (soins de santé mentale)

treatment

treatment means health care treatment. (Version anglaise seulement)

Marginal note:Obligations of Service

• 86 (1) The Service shall provide every inmate with

  • (a) essential health care; and

  • (b) reasonable access to non-essential health care.

• Marginal note:Standards

  (2) The provision of health care under subsection (1) shall conform to professionally accepted standards.

Marginal note:Health care obligations

86.1 When health care is provided to inmates, the Service shall

• (a) support the professional autonomy and the clinical independence of registered health care professionals and their freedom to exercise, without undue influence, their professional judgment in the care and treatment of inmates;

• (b) support those registered health care professionals in their promotion, in accordance with their respective professional code of ethics, of patient-centred care and patient advocacy; and

• (c) promote decision-making that is based on the appropriate medical care, dental care and mental health care criteria.

Marginal note:Designation of health care unit

86.2 The Commissioner may designate a penitentiary or any area in a penitentiary to be a health care unit.

Marginal note:Purpose

86.3 The purpose of a health care unit is to provide an appropriate living environment to facilitate an inmate’s access to health care.

Marginal note:Admission and discharge

86.4 The admission of inmates to and the discharge of inmates from health care units must be in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 96(g.2).

Marginal note:Service to consider health factors

87 The Service shall take into consideration an offender’s state of health and health care needs

• (a) in all decisions affecting the offender, including decisions relating to placement, transfer, confinement in a structured intervention unit and disciplinary matters; and

• (b) in the preparation of the offender for release and the supervision of the offender.

Marginal note:When treatment permitted

• 88 (1) Except as provided by subsection (5),

  • (a) treatment shall not be given to an inmate, or continued once started, unless the inmate voluntarily gives an informed consent thereto; and

  • (b) an inmate has the right to refuse treatment or withdraw from treatment at any time.

• Marginal note:Meaning of informed consent

  (2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(a), an inmate’s consent to treatment is informed consent only if the inmate has been advised of, and has the capacity to understand,

  • (a) the likelihood and degree of improvement, remission, control or cure as a result of the treatment;

  • (b) any significant risk, and the degree thereof, associated with the treatment;

  • (c) any reasonable alternatives to the treatment;

  • (d) the likely effects of refusing the treatment; and

  • (e) the inmate’s right to refuse the treatment or withdraw from the treatment at any time.

• Marginal note:Special case

  (3) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(a), an inmate’s consent to treatment shall not be considered involuntary merely because the treatment is a requirement for a temporary absence, work release or parole.

• Marginal note:Treatment demonstration programs

  (4) Treatment under a treatment demonstration program shall not be given to an inmate unless a committee that is independent of the Service and constituted as prescribed has

  • (a) approved the treatment demonstration program as clinically sound and in conformity with accepted ethical standards; and

  • (b) reviewed the inmate’s consent to the treatment and determined that it was given in accordance with this section.

• Marginal note:Where provincial law applies

  (5) Where an inmate does not have the capacity to understand all the matters described in paragraphs (2)(a) to (e), the giving of treatment to an inmate shall be governed by the applicable provincial law.

Marginal note:Force-feeding

89 The Service shall not direct the force-feeding, by any method, of an inmate who had the capacity to understand the consequences of fasting at the time the inmate made the decision to fast.

Marginal note:Patient advocacy services

89.1 The Service shall provide, in respect of inmates in penitentiaries designated by the Commissioner, access to patient advocacy services

• (a) to support inmates in relation to their health care matters; and

• (b) to enable inmates and their families or an individual identified by the inmate as a support person to understand the rights and responsibilities of inmates related to health care.

Grievance or Complaint Procedure

Marginal note:Grievance procedure

90 There shall be a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving offenders’ grievances on matters within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, and the procedure shall operate in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 96(u).

Marginal note:Access to grievance procedure

91 Every offender shall have complete access to the offender grievance procedure without negative consequences.

Marginal note:Frivolous complaints, etc.

• 91.1 (1) If the Commissioner is satisfied that an offender has persistently submitted complaints or grievances that are frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith, the Commissioner may, in accordance with the prescribed procedures, prohibit an offender from submitting any further complaint or grievance except by leave of the Commissioner.

• Marginal note:Review of prohibition

  (2) The Commissioner shall review each prohibition under subsection (1) annually and shall give the offender written reasons for his or her decision to maintain or lift it.

Marginal note:Regulations

91.2 The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the complaints and grievances regime with respect to offenders who are subject to a prohibition under subsection 91.1(1).

Release of Inmates

Marginal note:General

92 An inmate may be released from a penitentiary or from any other place designated by the Commissioner.

Marginal note:Timing of release from penitentiary

• 93 (1) Except as provided by subsection (2), an inmate who is entitled to be released from penitentiary on a particular day by virtue of statutory release or the expiration of the sentence shall be released during normal business hours on the last working day before that day.

• Marginal note:Earlier release in some cases

  (2) Where the institutional head is satisfied that an inmate’s re-entry into the community will be facilitated by an earlier release than that provided for by subsection (1), the institutional head may release the inmate up to five days before the day on which the inmate is entitled to be released by virtue of statutory release or the expiration of the sentence.

• Marginal note:When inmate deemed released

  (3) An inmate who is released pursuant to subsection (2) shall be deemed to have been released by virtue of statutory release or the expiration of the sentence, as the case may be, at the moment of actual release.

• (3.1) [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 2]

• Marginal note:Release on request

  (4) Where an inmate who is in penitentiary pursuant to subsection 94(1) requests to be released, the Service shall release the inmate as soon as reasonably possible, but is not required to release the inmate except during normal business hours on a working day.

• (5) [Repealed, 1995, c. 42, s. 23]

Temporary Accommodation in Penitentiary

Marginal note:Temporary stay in penitentiary

• 94 (1) At the request of a person who has been or is entitled to be released from a penitentiary on parole or statutory release, the institutional head may allow them to stay temporarily in the penitentiary in order to assist their rehabilitation, but the temporary stay may not extend beyond the expiration of their sentence.

• Marginal note:Person deemed an inmate

  (2) A person staying temporarily in a penitentiary pursuant to subsection (1) shall be deemed to be an inmate while in the penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Continuation of parole or statutory release

  (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the parole or statutory release, as the case may be, of a person staying temporarily in a penitentiary pursuant to subsection (1) is deemed to be in force and subject to the provisions of this Act.

Support to Canada Border Services Agency

Marginal note:Definitions

94.1 The definitions in this section apply in sections 94.2, 94.3 and 94.5 to 94.8.

designated immigrant station

designated immigrant station means any area of a penitentiary designated under subsection 94.4(1). (poste d’attente désigné)

detention enforcement officer

detention enforcement officer means a person who is designated or authorized under section 6 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (agent de détention)

immigration detainee

immigration detainee means a person who is detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (détenu de l’immigration)

Marginal note:Support

• 94.2 (1) The Service may, in accordance with an arrangement entered into under section 94.3, provide support, including through the provision of services, to the Canada Border Services Agency

  • (a) to assist the Agency in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties and functions that relate to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and are conferred on it under subsection 12(1) of the Canada Border Services Agency Act; and

  • (b) to assist detention enforcement officers in the exercise of the powers or the performance of the duties and functions that are conferred on them under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or that relate to that Act and are conferred on them under subsection 12(2) of the Canada Border Services Agency Act.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) The support referred to in subsection (1) must not include

  • (a) the placement of a staff member in immediate charge or control of an immigrant station, as defined in subsection 142(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;

  • (b) subject to subsection 94.7(4), the search, escort, arrest or detention of an immigration detainee by a staff member; or

  • (c) subject to subsection 94.7(5), the provision of health care to an immigration detainee by a registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Service.

Marginal note:Arrangements

• 94.3 (1) The Commissioner may enter into an arrangement with the Canada Border Services Agency for the provision, by the Service, of support, including through the provision of services, to the Agency in order to assist it in the exercise of the powers or the performance of the duties and functions referred to in paragraph 94.2(1)(a) and to assist detention enforcement officers in the exercise of the powers or the performance of the duties and functions referred to in paragraph 94.2(1)(b).

• Marginal note:Approval of Minister

  (2) An arrangement is subject to the approval of the Minister.

• Marginal note:Mandatory terms

  (3) An arrangement must include terms that

  • (a) specify the duration of the arrangement, the nature of the support to be provided and the name of a penitentiary of which an area may be the subject of a designation under subsection 94.4(1); and

  • (b) set out a procedure — to which every immigration detainee is to have complete access without negative consequences — for fairly and expeditiously resolving immigration detainees’ complaints with respect to activities carried out under an authorization granted under subsection 94.7(4) or health care provided under subsection 94.7(5).

• Marginal note:Cost recovery

  (4) An arrangement may provide for the recovery of costs incurred by the Service with respect to the provision of support to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Marginal note:Designation

• 94.4 (1) At the written request of the President of the Canada Border Services Agency, the Commissioner may, for the purpose of implementing an arrangement entered into under subsection 94.3(1), designate any area of a penitentiary named in the arrangement for the purpose of subsection 142(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

• Marginal note:Deeming

  (2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act or the regulations or in any other Act of Parliament or its regulations, an area designated under subsection (1) is deemed not to be a penitentiary.

Marginal note:Prohibition — access to penitentiary

• 94.5 (1) A staff member or a detention enforcement officer must not permit an immigration detainee of a designated immigrant station adjacent to a penitentiary to have access to an area of the penitentiary unless

  • (a) the institutional head authorizes the access to the area so that the Service may provide support under subsection 94.2(1);

  • (b) the immigration detainee is escorted by a detention enforcement officer; and

  • (c) no inmate is present in the area.

• Marginal note:Non-application of paragraph (1)(c)

  (2) Paragraph (1)(c) does not apply with respect to an immigration detainee of a designated immigrant station adjacent to a penitentiary during any period that begins when the institutional head declares under paragraph 94.7(1)(a) that exigent circumstances exist with respect to the designated immigrant station and ends when the institutional head is satisfied that those exigent circumstances no longer exist.

Marginal note:Prohibition — access to immigrant station

• 94.6 (1) A staff member or detention enforcement officer must not permit an inmate of a penitentiary to have access to a designated immigrant station adjacent to the penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply with respect to an inmate of a penitentiary during any period that begins when the institutional head declares under paragraph 94.7(1)(b) that exigent circumstances exist with respect to the penitentiary and ends when the institutional head is satisfied that those exigent circumstances no longer exist if

  • (a) the institutional head authorizes the access to the immigrant station; and

  • (b) the inmate is escorted by a staff member.

Marginal note:Exigent circumstances — declaration

• 94.7 (1) The institutional head of a penitentiary may declare in writing that exigent circumstances exist with respect to

  • (a) a designated immigrant station adjacent to the penitentiary, if the institutional head is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a clear and substantial danger to the life or safety of persons in the designated immigrant station or to the security of the designated immigrant station; or

  • (b) the penitentiary, if the institutional head is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a clear and substantial danger to the life or safety of persons in the penitentiary or to the security of the penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Notice — staff members and detention enforcement officers

  (2) If the institutional head declares under subsection (1) that exigent circumstances exist with respect to a designated immigrant station adjacent to the penitentiary or with respect to the penitentiary adjacent to a designated immigrant station, the institutional head must immediately notify the staff members of the penitentiary and the detention enforcement officers of the designated immigrant station. When the institutional head is satisfied that the exigent circumstances no longer exist, the institutional head must immediately notify the staff members and detention enforcement officers.

• Marginal note:Notice — portion of Service that administers health care

  (3) If the institutional head declares under paragraph (1)(a) that exigent circumstances exist with respect to a designated immigrant station, the institutional head must immediately notify the portion of the Service that administers health care. When the institutional head is satisfied that the exigent circumstances no longer exist, the institutional head must immediately notify that portion of the Service.

• Marginal note:Additional support

  (4) If the institutional head declares under paragraph (1)(a) that exigent circumstances exist with respect to a designated immigrant station, the institutional head may, during the period in which they are satisfied that the exigent circumstances exist, authorize a staff member to search, escort, arrest or detain an immigration detainee in the designated immigrant station to assist a detention enforcement officer in the exercise of the powers or the performance of the duties and functions referred to in paragraph 94.2(1)(b).

• Marginal note:Health care

  (5) During the period that begins when the portion of the Service that administers health care is notified under subsection (3) that exigent circumstances exist with respect to a designated immigrant station and ends when it is notified under that subsection that the exigent circumstances no longer exist, a registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Service may provide health care to an immigration detainee of the designated immigrant station if the professional considers it necessary in order to preserve the life of, or treat a serious bodily injury suffered by, that detainee.

• Marginal note:Delivery of items

  (6) If, in the course of activities carried out under an authorization granted under subsection (4), a staff member finds an item that the Canada Border Services Agency has prohibited within the designated immigrant station, the staff member must immediately deliver the item to a detention enforcement officer.

• Marginal note:Seizure

  (7) If an item is delivered to a detention enforcement officer under subsection (6), the detention enforcement officer may seize and hold the item under section 140 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

• Marginal note:Peace officer

  (8) In the course of activities carried out under an authorization granted under subsection (4), a staff member has all the powers, authority, protection and privileges that a peace officer has by law in respect of an immigration detainee.

Marginal note:Members of Parliament and judges

94.8 Every member of the House of Commons, every Senator and every judge of a court in Canada has the right to enter any designated immigrant station, visit any part of a designated immigrant station and visit any immigration detainee, with the consent of the immigration detainee, subject to such reasonable limits as are prescribed for protecting the security of the designated immigrant station or the safety of persons.

Annual Report

Marginal note:Annual report

95 The Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, not later than the fifth sitting day of that House after the 31st day of January next following the end of each fiscal year, a report showing the operations of the Service for that fiscal year.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

96 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) prescribing the duties of staff members;

• (b) for authorizing staff members or classes of staff members to exercise powers, perform duties or carry out functions that this Part assigns to the Commissioner or the institutional head;

• (c) respecting, for the purposes of section 22,

  • (i) the circumstances in which compensation may be paid,

  • (ii) what constitutes a disability,

  • (iii) the manner of determining whether a person has a disability, and the extent of the disability,

  • (iv) what constitutes an approved program,

  • (v) to whom compensation may be paid, and

  • (vi) the compensation that may be paid, the time or times at which the compensation is to be paid, the terms and conditions in accordance with which the compensation is to be paid, and the manner of its payment;

• (d) respecting the placement of inmates pursuant to section 28 and their transfer pursuant to section 29;

• (e) providing for the matters referred to in section 70;

• (f) respecting allowances, clothing and other necessities to be given to inmates when leaving penitentiary either temporarily or permanently;

• (g) respecting the confinement of inmates in a structured intervention unit, including respecting the making of a determination by an institutional head, the Commissioner or the committee established under subsection 37.31(3) as to whether the conditions of confinement of an inmate in a structured intervention unit should be altered or as to whether an inmate should remain in such a unit;

• (g.1) respecting the powers, duties and functions of independent external decision­makers, including respecting the making of a determination as to whether the conditions of confinement of an inmate in a structured intervention unit should be altered or as to whether an inmate should remain in such a unit;

• (g.2) respecting the admission of inmates to and the discharge of inmates from health care units;

• (h) prescribing the contents of the notice to be given to an inmate under section 42, and the time when the notice is to be given to the inmate;

• (i) in connection with the disciplinary sanctions described in section 44,

  • (i) prescribing the maximum of each of those sanctions, which maxima shall be higher for serious disciplinary offences than for minor ones,

  • (ii) prescribing factors and guidelines to be considered or applied in imposing those sanctions,

  • (iii) prescribing the scope of each of those sanctions, and

  • (iv) respecting the enforcement, suspension and cancellation of those sanctions;

• (j) providing for a review of the decisions of the person or persons conducting a disciplinary hearing;

• (k) providing for

  • (i) the appointment of persons other than staff members to conduct disciplinary hearings or to review decisions pursuant to regulations made under paragraph (j), and

  • (ii) the remuneration and travel and living expenses of persons referred to in subparagraph (i);

• (l) prescribing the manner in which a search referred to in

  • (i) paragraph (b) of the definition “frisk search” in section 46,

  • (ii) paragraph (b) of the definition “non-intrusive search” in section 46, or

  • (iii) paragraph (b) of the definition “strip search” in section 46

  shall be carried out;

• (m) prescribing the procedures to be followed in conducting a urinalysis and the consequences of the results of a urinalysis;

• (m.1) authorizing the Commissioner to, by Commissioner’s Directive, make rules regarding the consequences of tampering with or refusing to wear a monitoring device referred to in section 57.1;

• (n) prescribing the effect that a visitor’s refusal to undergo a search can have on the visitor’s right to visit an inmate or remain at the penitentiary;

• (o) respecting

  • (i) the submission of reports referred to in section 67, and

  • (ii) the return or forfeiture of items seized under section 65 or subsection 66(2) or otherwise in possession of the Service;

• (p) authorizing the institutional head — or a staff member designated by him or her — to, in the prescribed circumstances, restrict or prohibit the entry into and removal from a penitentiary and the use by inmates of publications, video and audio materials, films and computer programs;

• (q) providing for inmates’ moneys to be held in trust accounts;

• (r) respecting inmates’ work and working conditions;

• (s) respecting penitentiary industry, including regulations authorizing the Minister to establish advisory boards and appoint members to them and regulations providing for the remuneration of those members at rates determined by the Treasury Board and for the reimbursement of any travel and living expenses that are consistent with directives of the Treasury Board and are incurred by those members in performing their duties while away from their ordinary place of residence;

• (t) respecting the conducting of businesses by inmates;

• (u) prescribing an offender grievance procedure;

• (v) for the organization, training, discipline, efficiency, administration and good management of the Service;

• (w) providing for inmates’ access to

  • (i) legal counsel and legal reading materials,

  • (ii) non-legal reading materials, and

  • (iii) a commissioner for taking oaths and affidavits;

• (x) respecting inmates’ attendance at judicial proceedings;

• (y) respecting the procedure to be followed on the death of an inmate, including the circumstances in which the Service may pay transportation, funeral, cremation or burial expenses for a deceased inmate;

• (z) prescribing the procedure governing the disposal of the effects of an escaped inmate;

• (z.1) for the delivery of the estate of a deceased inmate to the inmate’s personal representative in accordance with the applicable provincial law;

• (z.1.1) prescribing the sources of income from which a deduction may be made pursuant to paragraph 78(2)(a) or in respect of which a payment may be required pursuant to paragraph 78(2)(b);

• (z.2) prescribing the purposes for which deductions may be made pursuant to paragraph 78(2)(a) and prescribing the amount or maximum amount of any deduction, which regulations may authorize the Commissioner to fix the amount or maximum amount of any deduction by Commissioner’s Directive;

• (z.2.1) providing for the means of collecting the amount referred to in paragraph 78(2)(b), whether by transferring to Her Majesty moneys held in trust accounts established pursuant to paragraph 96(q) or otherwise, and authorizing the Commissioner to fix, by percentage or otherwise, that amount by Commissioner’s Directive, and respecting the circumstances under which payment of that amount is not required;

• (z.3) providing for remuneration and travel and living expenses of members of committees established pursuant to subsection 82(1);

• (z.4) for the involvement of members of the community in the operation of the Service;

• (z.5) prescribing procedures to be followed after the use of force by a staff member;

• (z.6) respecting the assignment to inmates of security classifications and subclassifications under section 30 and setting out the factors to be considered in determining the security classification and subclassification;

• (z.7) authorizing the institutional head — or a staff member designated by him or her — to, in the prescribed circumstances, monitor, intercept or prevent communications between an inmate and another person;

• (z.8) respecting escorted temporary absences — including the circumstances in which the releasing authority may authorize an absence under section 17 — and work releases;

• (z.9) respecting the manner and form of making requests to the Commissioner under section 26 and respecting how those requests are to be dealt with;

• (z.10) imposing obligations or prohibitions on the Service for the purpose of giving effect to any provision of this Part;

• (z.11) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed; and

• (z.12) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part.

Rules

Marginal note:Rules

97 Subject to this Part and the regulations, the Commissioner may make rules

• (a) for the management of the Service;

• (b) for the matters described in section 4; and

• (c) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part and the regulations.

Commissioner’s Directives

Marginal note:Commissioner’s Directives

• 98 (1) The Commissioner may designate as Commissioner’s Directives any or all rules made under section 97.

• Marginal note:Accessibility

  (2) The Commissioner’s Directives shall be accessible to offenders, staff members and the public.

PART IIConditional Release, Detention and Long-term Supervision

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 99 (1) In this Part,

  Board

  Board means the Parole Board of Canada continued by section 103 and includes a provincial parole board where it exercises jurisdiction in respect of parole as provided by section 112 or in respect of which any other provision of this Part is, by virtue of section 113, rendered applicable; (Commission)

  Commissioner

  Commissioner has the same meaning as in Part I; (commissaire)

  community-based residential facility

  community-based residential facility has the same meaning as in subsection 66(3); (établissement résidentiel communautaire)

  day parole

  day parole means the authority granted to an offender by the Board or a provincial parole board to be at large during the offender’s sentence in order to prepare the offender for full parole or statutory release, the conditions of which require the offender to return to a penitentiary, community-based residential facility, provincial correctional facility or other location each night or at another specified interval; (semi-liberté)

  full parole

  full parole means the authority granted to an offender by the Board or a provincial parole board to be at large during the offender’s sentence; (libération conditionnelle totale)

  Indigenous

  Indigenous has the same meaning as in Part I; (autochtone)

  institutional head

  institutional head has the same meaning as in Part I; (Version anglaise seulement)

  long-term supervision

  long-term supervision has the same meaning as in Part I; (surveillance de longue durée)

  Minister

  Minister has the same meaning as in Part I; (ministre)

  offender

  offender means

  • (a) a person, other than a young person within the meaning of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, who is under a sentence imposed before or after the coming into force of this section

    • (i) pursuant to an Act of Parliament or, to the extent that this Part applies, pursuant to a provincial Act, or

    • (ii) on conviction for criminal or civil contempt of court if the sentence does not include a requirement that the offender return to that court, or

  • (b) a young person within the meaning of the Youth Criminal Justice Act with respect to whom an order, committal or direction under section 76, 89, 92 or 93 of that Act has been made,

  but does not include a person whose only sentence is a sentence being served intermittently pursuant to section 732 of the Criminal Code; (délinquant)

  parole

  parole means full parole or day parole; (libération conditionnelle)

  parole supervisor

  parole supervisor has the meaning assigned by the definition staff member in subsection 2(1) or means a person entrusted by the Service with the guidance and supervision of an offender; (surveillant de liberté conditionnelle)

  penitentiary

  penitentiary has the same meaning as in Part I; (pénitencier)

  provincial parole board

  provincial parole board means the Ontario Board of Parole, la Commission québécoise des libérations conditionnelles or any other parole board established by the legislature or the lieutenant governor in council of a province; (commission provinciale)

  regulations

  regulations means regulations made by the Governor in Council pursuant to section 156; (règlement ou réglementaire)

  sentence

  sentence has the same meaning as in Part I; (peine ou peine d’emprisonnement)

  serious harm

  serious harm means severe physical injury or severe psychological damage; (dommage grave)

  Service

  Service has the same meaning as in Part I; (Service)

  statutory release

  statutory release means release from imprisonment subject to supervision before the expiration of an offender’s sentence, to which an offender is entitled under section 127; (libération d’office)

  statutory release date

  statutory release date means the date determined in accordance with section 127; (date de libération d’office)

  unescorted temporary absence

  unescorted temporary absence means an unescorted temporary absence from penitentiary authorized under section 116; (permission de sortir sans escorte)

  victim

  victim has the same meaning as in Part I; (victime)

  working day

  working day has the same meaning as in Part I. (jour ouvrable)

• Marginal note:References to expiration of sentence

  (2) For the purposes of this Part, a reference to the expiration according to law of the sentence of an offender shall be read as a reference to the day on which the sentence expires, without taking into account

  • (a) any period during which the offender could be entitled to statutory release;

  • (b) in the case of a youth sentence imposed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the portion to be served under supervision in the community subject to conditions under paragraph 42(2)(n) of that Act or under conditional supervision under paragraph 42(2)(o), (q) or (r) of that Act; or

  • (c) any remission that stands to the credit of the offender on November 1, 1992.

• Marginal note:Exercise of powers, etc.

  (3) Except as otherwise provided by this Part or by the regulations,

  • (a) powers, duties and functions assigned to the Commissioner by or pursuant to this Part may only be exercised or performed by the Commissioner or, where the Commissioner is absent or incapacitated or where the office is vacant, by the person acting in the place of the Commissioner; and

  • (b) powers, duties and functions assigned to the institutional head by or pursuant to this Part may only be exercised or performed by the institutional head or, where the institutional head is absent or incapacitated or where the office is vacant, by the person who, at the relevant time, is in charge of the penitentiary.

Marginal note:Application to persons subject to long-term supervision order

99.1 A person who is required to be supervised by a long-term supervision order is deemed to be an offender for the purposes of this Part, and sections 100, 101, 109 to 111 and 140 to 145 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to the person and to the long-term supervision of that person.

Marginal note:Young persons

99.2 In this Part, a young person within the meaning of the Youth Criminal Justice Act with respect to whom a committal or direction under section 89, 92 or 93 of that Act has been made begins to serve his or her sentence on the day on which the sentence comes into force in accordance with subsection 42(12) of that Act.

Purpose and Principles

Marginal note:Purpose of conditional release

100 The purpose of conditional release is to contribute to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by means of decisions on the timing and conditions of release that will best facilitate the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens.

Marginal note:Paramount consideration

100.1 The protection of society is the paramount consideration for the Board and the provincial parole boards in the determination of all cases.

Marginal note:Principles guiding parole boards

101 The principles that guide the Board and the provincial parole boards in achieving the purpose of conditional release are as follows:

• (a) parole boards take into consideration all relevant available information, including the stated reasons and recommendations of the sentencing judge, the nature and gravity of the offence, the degree of responsibility of the offender, information from the trial or sentencing process and information obtained from victims, offenders and other components of the criminal justice system, including assessments provided by correctional authorities;

• (b) parole boards enhance their effectiveness and openness through the timely exchange of relevant information with victims, offenders and other components of the criminal justice system and through communication about their policies and programs to victims, offenders and the general public;

• (c) parole boards make the least restrictive determinations that are consistent with the protection of society;

• (d) parole boards adopt and are guided by appropriate policies and their members are provided with the training necessary to implement those policies; and

• (e) offenders are provided with relevant information, reasons for decisions and access to the review of decisions in order to ensure a fair and understandable conditional release process.

Marginal note:Criteria for granting parole

102 The Board or a provincial parole board may grant parole to an offender if, in its opinion,

• (a) the offender will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society before the expiration according to law of the sentence the offender is serving; and

• (b) the release of the offender will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating the reintegration of the offender into society as a law-abiding citizen.

Constitution and Jurisdiction of Board

Marginal note:Board continued

103 The National Parole Board is continued as the Parole Board of Canada and consists of not more than 60 full-time members and a number of part-time members all of whom are appointed by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, to hold office during good behaviour for periods not exceeding 10 years and three years, respectively.

Marginal note:Chairperson and Executive Vice-Chairperson

104 The Governor in Council shall designate one of the full-time members of the Board to be its Chairperson and, on the recommendation of the Minister, one of the full-time members to be its Executive Vice-Chairperson.

Marginal note:Membership

• 105 (1) Members appointed to the Board shall be sufficiently diverse in their backgrounds to be able to collectively represent community values and views in the work of the Board and to inform the community with respect to unescorted temporary absence, parole and statutory release.

• Marginal note:Part-time members

  (2) A part-time member of the Board has the same powers and duties as a full-time member of the Board.

• Marginal note:Divisions

  (3) Each member of the Board other than the Chairperson and the Executive Vice-Chairperson shall be assigned to a division of the Board specified in the instrument of appointment.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) All members of the Board are ex officio members of every division of the Board and may, with the approval of the Chairperson, sit on a panel of any division of the Board, subject to such conditions and during such periods as are approved by the Chairperson.

• Marginal note:Policies

  (5) Members of the Board shall exercise their functions in accordance with policies adopted pursuant to subsection 151(2).

• Marginal note:Quorum

  (6) Subject to subsection 152(3), the review under this Part of any case within a particular class of cases shall be made by a panel that consists of at least the number of members of the Board specified in the regulations as the minimum number of members for cases of that class.

Marginal note:Substitute members

• 106 (1) In the event that a full-time member of the Board is absent or unable to act, the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, may appoint a substitute member to act in the place of that member.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A substitute member appointed pursuant to subsection (1) has all the powers and duties of a full-time member of the Board, subject to any limitation on those powers and duties that the Chairperson directs.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction of Board

• 107 (1) Subject to this Act, the Prisons and Reformatories Act, the International Transfer of Offenders Act, the National Defence Act, the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act and the Criminal Code, the Board has exclusive jurisdiction and absolute discretion

  • (a) to grant parole to an offender;

  • (b) to terminate or to revoke the parole or statutory release of an offender, whether or not the offender is in custody under a warrant of apprehension issued as a result of the suspension of the parole or statutory release;

  • (c) to cancel a decision to grant parole to an offender, or to cancel the suspension, termination or revocation of the parole or statutory release of an offender;

  • (d) to review and to decide the case of an offender referred to it pursuant to section 129; and

  • (e) to authorize or to cancel a decision to authorize the unescorted temporary absence of an offender who is serving, in a penitentiary,

    • (i) a life sentence imposed as a minimum punishment or commuted from a sentence of death,

    • (ii) a sentence for an indeterminate period, or

    • (iii) a sentence for an offence set out in Schedule I or II.

• Marginal note:Offences under provincial Acts

  (2) The jurisdiction of the Board under subsection (1) extends to any offender sentenced to a sentence imposed under a provincial Act that is to be served in a penitentiary pursuant to section 743.1 of the Criminal Code, whether that sentence is to be served alone or concurrently with or consecutively to one or more other sentences imposed under an Act of Parliament or a provincial Act.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction where no provincial board

• 108 (1) Where a provincial parole board has not been established in a province, the Board has, in respect of offenders serving sentences in a provincial correctional facility in that province, the same jurisdiction and discretion that it has in respect of offenders under paragraphs 107(1)(a) to (c).

• Marginal note:Offences under provincial Acts

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), the jurisdiction of the Board under subsection (1) extends to any offender sentenced to a sentence imposed under a provincial Act that is to be served concurrently with or consecutively to a sentence imposed under an Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Complementary legislation

  Footnote ^*(3) Subsection (2) does not apply in a province until a day fixed by order of the Governor in Council made after the enactment of a provincial Act authorizing the Board to exercise the jurisdiction referred to in that subsection.

  • Return to footnote ^*Note: Subsection 108(2) applies in the Province of British Columbia as of April 19, 2007, see SI/2007-51.]

• Marginal note:Where subsection (3) does not apply

  (4) This section shall be read without reference to subsection (3) with respect to any province in which subsection 14(1) of the Parole Act, as that Act read immediately before the coming into force of this section, was in force immediately before the coming into force of this section.

Marginal note:Cancellation or variation of prohibition orders

109 The Board may, on application, cancel or vary the unexpired portion of a prohibition order made under section 320.24 of the Criminal Code  or section 259 of that Act, as it read immediately before the day on which section 14 of An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts comes into force, after a period of

• (a) ten years after the commencement of the order, in the case of a prohibition for life; or

• (b) five years after the commencement of the order, in the case of a prohibition for more than five years but less than life.

Marginal note:Clemency

110 The Board shall, when so directed by the Minister, make or cause to be made any investigation or inquiry desired by the Minister in connection with any request made to the Minister for the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy.

Marginal note:Dissemination of information

111 The Board shall maintain

• (a) a program of exchange of information with the other components of the criminal justice system; and

• (b) a program to communicate its policies and programs to offenders, to victims of crime, to victims’ groups, to other groups and organizations with a special interest in matters dealt with under this Part, and to the general public.

Constitution and Jurisdiction of Provincial Boards

Marginal note:Jurisdiction of boards

• 112 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a provincial parole board for a province shall exercise jurisdiction in accordance with this Part in respect of the parole of offenders serving sentences in provincial correctional facilities in that province, other than

  • (a) offenders sentenced to life imprisonment as a minimum punishment;

  • (b) offenders whose sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment; or

  • (c) offenders sentenced to detention for an indeterminate period.

• Marginal note:Day parole jurisdiction

  (2) A provincial parole board may, but is not required to, exercise its jurisdiction under this section in relation to day parole.

Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

• 113 (1) Where a provincial parole board has been established for a province, the lieutenant governor in council of the province may, by order, declare that all or any of the provisions of this Part that do not otherwise apply in respect of provincial parole boards shall apply in respect of that provincial parole board and offenders under its jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Provincial regulations

  (2) The lieutenant governor in council of a province may, in respect of the provincial parole board for the province and offenders under its jurisdiction, make regulations in the same manner and for the same purposes as the Governor in Council may make regulations pursuant to section 156 in respect of the Board and offenders under its jurisdiction.

Marginal note:Change of province of residence

• 114 (1) Subject to any agreement entered into pursuant to this section, an offender who is released on parole in one province and moves to another province remains under the jurisdiction of the board that granted the parole.

• Marginal note:Federal-provincial agreements

  (2) The Minister, with the approval of the Governor in Council, may enter into an agreement with the government of a province for which a provincial parole board has been established for the transfer of jurisdiction in respect of offenders who move to the province after their release by the Board on parole from a provincial correctional facility in another province for which no provincial parole board has been established.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) The government of a province for which a provincial parole board has been established may enter into an agreement with the Government of Canada for the transfer to the Board of jurisdiction in respect of offenders released on parole by the provincial parole board who move to a province for which no provincial parole board has been established.

• Marginal note:Interprovincial agreements

  (4) The governments of provinces may enter into agreements with one another for the transfer of jurisdiction in respect of offenders released on parole by one provincial parole board who move to the territorial jurisdiction of another provincial parole board.

• Marginal note:Statutory release

  (5) Subsections (1) to (4) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of offenders released on statutory release.

Unescorted Temporary Absence

Marginal note:Minimum time to be served

• 115 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the portion of a sentence that must be served before an offender serving a sentence in a penitentiary may be released on an unescorted temporary absence is

  • (a) in the case of an offender serving a life sentence, other than an offender referred to in paragraph (a.1), the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date less three years;

  • (a.1) in the case of an offender described in subsection 746.1(3) of the Criminal Code, the longer of

    • (i) the period that expires when all but one fifth of the period of imprisonment the offender is to serve without eligibility for parole has been served, and

    • (ii) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2), less three years;

  • (b) in the case of an offender serving a sentence for an indeterminate period, other than an offender referred to in paragraph (b.1), the longer of

    • (i) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with section 761 of the Criminal Code, less three years, and

    • (ii) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2), less three years;

  • (b.1) in the case of an offender serving a sentence for an indeterminate period as of the date on which this paragraph comes into force, the longer of

    • (i) three years, and

    • (ii) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2), less three years; and

  • (c) in any other case, the longer of

    • (i) six months, and

    • (ii) one half of the period required to be served by the offender to reach their full parole eligibility date.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an offender whose life or health is in danger and for whom an unescorted temporary absence is required in order to administer emergency medical treatment.

• Marginal note:Maximum security

  (3) Offenders who, pursuant to subsection 30(1) and the regulations made under paragraph 96(z.6), are classified as maximum security offenders are not eligible for an unescorted temporary absence.

Marginal note:Conditions for authorization

• 116 (1) The Board may authorize the unescorted temporary absence of an offender referred to in paragraph 107(1)(e) where, in the opinion of the Board,

  • (a) the offender will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during the absence;

  • (b) it is desirable for the offender to be absent from the penitentiary for medical, administrative, community service, family contact, including parental responsibilities, personal development for rehabilitative purposes or compassionate reasons;

  • (c) the offender’s behaviour while under sentence does not preclude authorizing the absence; and

  • (d) a structured plan for the absence has been prepared.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) The Commissioner or the institutional head may authorize the unescorted temporary absence of an offender, other than an offender referred to in paragraph 107(1)(e), where, in the opinion of the Commissioner or the institutional head, as the case may be, the criteria set out in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) are met.

• Marginal note:Medical reasons

  (3) An unescorted temporary absence for medical reasons may be authorized for an unlimited period.

• Marginal note:Personal development or community service

  (4) Subject to subsection (6), an unescorted temporary absence for reasons of community service or personal development may be authorized for a maximum of fifteen days, at the rate of not more than three times a year for an offender classified by the Service as a medium security offender and not more than four times a year for an offender classified as a minimum security offender.

• Marginal note:Intervals

  (5) An unescorted temporary absence authorized for reasons referred to in subsection (4) must be followed by a period of custody of at least seven days before the next such absence.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (6) An unescorted temporary absence for purposes of a specific personal development program may be authorized for a maximum of sixty days and may be renewed, for periods of up to sixty days each, for the purposes of the program.

• Marginal note:Absences for other reasons

  (7) Unescorted temporary absences for reasons other than those referred to in subsection (3) or (4) may be authorized for a maximum total of forty-eight hours per month for an offender classified by the Service as a medium security offender, and for a maximum total of seventy-two hours per month for an offender classified as a minimum security offender.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (8) The circumstances and manner in which, and the time at which, an application for an unescorted temporary absence must be made shall be prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Travel time

  (9) In addition to the period authorized for the purposes of an unescorted temporary absence, an offender may be granted the time necessary to travel to and from the place where the absence is authorized to be spent.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of absence

  (10) The Board, the Commissioner or the institutional head, whichever authorized a particular unescorted temporary absence of an offender, may cancel that absence, either before or after its commencement,

  • (a) where the cancellation is considered necessary and reasonable to prevent a breach of a condition of the absence or where such a breach has occurred;

  • (b) where the grounds for granting the absence have changed or no longer exist; or

  • (c) after a review of the offender’s case based on information that could not reasonably have been provided when the absence was authorized.

Marginal note:Delegation to Commissioner

• 117 (1) The Board may confer on the Commissioner or the institutional head, for such period and subject to such conditions as it specifies, any of its powers under section 116 in respect of any class of offenders or class of absences.

• Marginal note:Delegation to provincial hospital

  (2) Where, pursuant to an agreement under paragraph 16(1)(a), an offender referred to in paragraph 107(1)(e) or subsection 116(2) has been admitted to a hospital operated by a provincial government in which the liberty of persons is normally subject to restrictions, the Board, the Commissioner or the institutional head, as the case may be, may confer on the person in charge of the hospital, for such period and subject to such conditions as they specify, any of their respective powers under section 116 in relation to that offender.

• Marginal note:Suspension by institutional head

  (3) Where the Board has not authorized the Commissioner or the institutional head under subsection (1) in respect of the offender or in respect of the absence, the institutional head of the penitentiary from which an unescorted temporary absence has been effected may suspend the absence if, in the opinion of the institutional head, the offender’s retention in custody or recommitment to custody is justified in order to protect society, on the basis of information that could not reasonably have been provided to the Board when the absence was authorized.

• Marginal note:Referral of suspension to Board

  (4) An institutional head who suspends the unescorted temporary absence of an offender shall forthwith refer the offender’s case to the Board, and the Board shall decide whether the absence should be cancelled.

Marginal note:Warrant for arrest and recommittal

118 A person who cancels an unescorted temporary absence pursuant to subsection 116(10) or pursuant to a delegation of power under subsection 117(1) or (2), or who suspends an unescorted temporary absence pursuant to subsection 117(3), shall cause a warrant in writing to be issued authorizing the apprehension and recommitment to custody of the offender pursuant to section 137, where the offender is not in custody in a penitentiary or in a hospital referred to in subsection 117(2).

Eligibility for Parole

Marginal note:Time when eligible for day parole

• 119 (1) Subject to section 746.1 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, the portion of a sentence that must be served before an offender may be released on day parole is

  • (a) one year, where the offender was, before October 15, 1977, sentenced to preventive detention;

  • (b) where the offender is an offender, other than an offender referred to in paragraph (b.1), who was sentenced to detention in a penitentiary for an indeterminate period, the longer of

    • (i) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with section 761 of the Criminal Code, less three years, and

    • (ii) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2), less three years;

  • (b.1) where the offender was sentenced to detention in a penitentiary for an indeterminate period as of the date on which this paragraph comes into force, the longer of

    • (i) three years, and

    • (ii) the period required to be served by the offender to reach the offender’s full parole eligibility date, determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2), less three years;

  • (c) where the offender is serving a sentence of two years or more, other than a sentence referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), the greater of

    • (i) the portion ending six months before the date on which full parole may be granted, and

    • (ii) six months; or

  • (d) one half of the portion of the sentence that must be served before full parole may be granted, where the offender is serving a sentence of less than two years.

• Marginal note:Time when eligible for day parole

  (1.1) Notwithstanding section 746.1 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, an offender described in subsection 746.1(1) or (2) of the Criminal Code or to whom those subsections apply pursuant to subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act or subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, shall not, in the circumstances described in subsection 120.2(2) or (3), be released on day parole until three years before the day that is determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2) or (3).

• Marginal note:When eligible for day parole — young offender sentenced to life imprisonment

  (1.2) Notwithstanding section 746.1 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, in the circumstances described in subsection 120.2(2), the portion of the sentence of an offender described in subsection 746.1(3) of the Criminal Code or to whom that subsection applies pursuant to subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act or subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act that must be served before the offender may be released on day parole is the longer of

  • (a) the period that expires when all but one fifth of the period of imprisonment the offender is to serve without eligibility for parole has been served, and

  • (b) the portion of the sentence that must be served before full parole may be granted to the offender, determined in accordance with subsection 120.2(2), less three years.

• Marginal note:Short sentences

  (2) The Board is not required to review the case of an offender who applies for day parole if the offender is serving a sentence of less than six months.

Definition of sentence

119.1 For the purposes of sections 119.2 to 120.3, and unless the context requires otherwise, sentence means a sentence that is not constituted under subsection 139(1).

Marginal note:Youth sentence

119.2 For the purposes of sections 120 to 120.3, the eligibility for parole of a young person in respect of whom a youth sentence is imposed under paragraph 42(2)(n), (o), (q) or (r) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and who is transferred to a provincial correctional facility for adults or a penitentiary under section 89, 92 or 93 of that Act shall be determined on the basis of the total of the custody and supervision periods of the youth sentence.

Marginal note:Time when eligible for full parole

• 120 (1) Subject to sections 746.1 and 761 of the Criminal Code and to any order made under section 743.6 of that Act, to subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act and to any order made under section 226.2 of that Act, and to subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, an offender is not eligible for full parole until the day on which the offender has served a period of ineligibility of the lesser of one third of the sentence and seven years.

• Marginal note:Life sentence

  (2) Subject to any order made under section 743.6 of the Criminal Code or section 226.2 of the National Defence Act, an offender who is serving a life sentence, imposed otherwise than as a minimum punishment, is not eligible for full parole until the day on which the offender has served a period of ineligibility of seven years less any time spent in custody between the day on which the offender was arrested and taken into custody, in respect of the offence for which the sentence was imposed, and the day on which the sentence was imposed.

Marginal note:Multiple sentences on same day

• 120.1 (1) A person who is not serving a sentence and who receives more than one sentence on the same day is not eligible for full parole until the day on which they have served a period equal to the total of

  • (a) the period of ineligibility in respect of any portion of the sentence constituted under subsection 139(1) that is subject to an order under section 743.6 of the Criminal Code or section 226.2 of the National Defence Act, and

  • (b) the period of ineligibility in respect of any other portion of that sentence.

• Marginal note:One or more additional consecutive sentences

  (2) If an offender who is serving a sentence, or is serving a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1), receives an additional sentence that is to be served consecutively to the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed — or receives, on the same day, two or more additional sentences to be served consecutively and the additional sentences are to be served consecutively to the sentence they are serving when the additional sentences are imposed — the offender is not eligible for full parole until the day on which they have served, from the day on which the additional sentence is or sentences are imposed, the total of the following periods:

  • (a) any remaining period of ineligibility in respect of the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is or sentences are imposed, and

  • (b) the period of ineligibility in respect of the additional sentence or, in the case of two or more additional sentences, a period equal to the total of the periods of ineligibility in respect of all of the additional sentences.

• Marginal note:Additional sentence to be served consecutively to portion of sentence

  (3) Despite subsection (2), if an offender who is serving a sentence or a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1) receives an additional sentence or two or more sentences that are to be served consecutively to a portion of the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed — or receives, on the same day, two or more additional sentences including a sentence to be served concurrently with the sentence being served and one or more sentences to be served consecutively to the additional concurrent sentence — they are not eligible for full parole until the day on which they have served, from the day on which the additional sentence is or sentences are imposed, any remaining period of ineligibility to which they are subject and the longer of the following periods:

  • (a) one third of the period that equals the difference between the length of the sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1), including the additional sentence or sentences, and the length of the sentence that they are serving when the additional sentence is or sentences are imposed; or

  • (b) the period of ineligibility of the additional sentence that is or sentences that are ordered to be served consecutively.

Marginal note:Additional concurrent sentence

• 120.2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if an offender who is serving a sentence, or is serving a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1), receives an additional sentence that is to be served concurrently with the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed, they are not eligible for full parole until the day that is the later of

  • (a) the day on which they have served the period of ineligibility in respect of the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed, and

  • (b) the day on which they have served

    • (i) the period of ineligibility in respect of any portion, of the sentence that includes the additional sentence as provided by subsection 139(1), that is subject to an order under section 743.6 of the Criminal Code or section 226.2 of the National Defence Act, and

    • (ii) the period of ineligibility in respect of any other portion of that sentence.

• Marginal note:One or more sentences in addition to life sentence

  (2) If an offender who is serving a life sentence or a sentence for an indeterminate period receives a sentence for a determinate period — or receives, on the same day, two or more sentences for a determinate period — they are not eligible for full parole until the day on which they have served, from the day on which the additional sentence is or sentences are imposed, the total of the following periods:

  • (a) any remaining period of ineligibility to which they are subject, and

  • (b) the period of ineligibility in respect of the additional sentence or, in the case of two or more additional sentences, the period of ineligibility — determined in accordance with subsection (1) or section 120.1, as the case may be — in respect of the additional sentences.

• Marginal note:Reduction of period of ineligibility for parole

  (3) If there has been a reduction — under section 745.6 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act or subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act — in the number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole of an offender referred to in subsection (2), the offender is not eligible for full parole until the day on which they have served, from the day on which the additional sentence is or sentences are imposed, the total of the following periods:

  • (a) any remaining period of ineligibility to which they would have been subject after taking into account the reduction, and

  • (b) the period of ineligibility in respect of the additional sentence or, in the case of two or more additional sentences, the period of ineligibility — determined in accordance with subsection (1) or section 120.1, as the case may be — in respect of the additional sentences.

Marginal note:Maximum period

120.3 Subject to section 745 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(1) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(1) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, the day on which an offender is eligible for full parole shall not be later than

• (a) in the case of a person who is not serving a sentence and receives more than one sentence on the same day, the day on which they have served 15 years from the day on which the sentences are imposed;

• (b) in the case of an offender who is serving a sentence — or is serving a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1) — and who receives an additional sentence that changes the day on which they are eligible for parole, the day on which they have served 15 years from the day on which the additional sentence is imposed; and

• (c) in the case of an offender who is serving a sentence — or is serving a sentence that was constituted under subsection 139(1) — and who receives, on the same day, two or more additional sentences that change the day on which they are eligible for parole, the day on which they have served 15 years from the day on which the additional sentences are imposed.

Marginal note:Exceptional cases

• 121 (1) Subject to section 102 — and despite sections 119 to 120.3 of this Act, sections 746.1 and 761 of the Criminal Code, subsection 226.1(2) of the National Defence Act and subsection 15(2) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act and any order made under section 743.6 of the Criminal Code or section 226.2 of the National Defence Act — parole may be granted at any time to an offender

  • (a) who is terminally ill;

  • (b) whose physical or mental health is likely to suffer serious damage if the offender continues to be held in confinement;

  • (c) for whom continued confinement would constitute an excessive hardship that was not reasonably foreseeable at the time the offender was sentenced; or

  • (d) who is the subject of an order of surrender under the Extradition Act and who is to be detained until surrendered.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Paragraphs (1)(b) to (d) do not apply to an offender who is

  • (a) serving a life sentence imposed as a minimum punishment or commuted from a sentence of death; or

  • (b) serving, in a penitentiary, a sentence for an indeterminate period.

Parole Reviews

Marginal note:Day parole review

• 122 (1) Subject to subsection 119(2), the Board shall, on application, at the time prescribed by the regulations, review, for the purpose of day parole, the case of every offender other than an offender referred to in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Special cases

  (2) The Board may, on application, at the time prescribed by the regulations, review, for the purpose of day parole, the case of an offender who is serving a sentence of two years or more in a provincial correctional facility in a province in which no program of day parole has been established for that category of offender.

• Marginal note:Decision or adjournment

  (3) With respect to a review commenced under this section, the Board shall decide whether to grant day parole, or may adjourn the review for a reason authorized by the regulations and for a reasonable period not exceeding the maximum period prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:No application for one year

  (4) No application for day parole may be made until one year after the date of the Board’s decision — or until any earlier time that the regulations prescribe or the Board determines — if, following a review, the Board does not grant day parole or cancels or terminates parole.

• Marginal note:Maximum duration

  (5) Day parole may be granted to an offender for a period not exceeding six months, and may be continued for additional periods not exceeding six months each following reviews of the case by the Board.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of application

  (6) An offender may not withdraw an application for day parole within 14 days before the commencement of the review unless the withdrawal is necessary and it was not possible to withdraw it earlier due to circumstances beyond their control.

Marginal note:Full parole review

• 123 (1) The Board shall, within the period prescribed by the regulations and for the purpose of deciding whether to grant full parole, review the case of every offender who is serving a sentence of two years or more and who is not within the jurisdiction of a provincial parole board.

• Marginal note:Waiver of review

  (2) The Board is not required under subsection (1), (5) or (5.1) to review the case of an offender who has advised the Board in writing that they do not wish to be considered for full parole and who has not in writing revoked that advice.

• Marginal note:Review by Board

  (3) The Board shall, on application within the period prescribed by the regulations, review, for the purpose of full parole, the case of every offender who is serving a sentence of less than two years in a penitentiary or provincial correctional facility in a province where no provincial parole board has been established.

• Marginal note:Short sentences

  (3.1) The Board is not required to review the case of an offender who applies for full parole if the offender is serving a sentence of less than six months.

• Marginal note:Decision or adjournment

  (4) With respect to a review commenced under this section, the Board shall decide whether to grant full parole, or may grant day parole, or may adjourn the review for a reason authorized by the regulations and for a reasonable period not exceeding the maximum period prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Further review — Board does not grant parole

  (5) If the Board decides not to grant parole following a review under subsection (1) or section 122 or if a review is not made by virtue of subsection (2), the Board shall conduct another review within two years after the later of the day on which the review took place or was scheduled to take place and thereafter within two years after that day until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:Violent offender

  (5.01) Despite subsection (5), if the Board decides not to grant parole to an offender who has been convicted of an offence involving violence for which the offender is serving a sentence of at least two years — or a sentence that includes a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence — following a review under subsection (1) or section 122, or if a review is not made by virtue of subsection (2), the Board shall conduct another review within five years after the later of the day on which the review took place or was scheduled to take place and thereafter within five years after that day until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:Written reasons

  (5.02) If the Board decides not to grant parole to an offender referred to in subsection (5.01), it shall provide the offender with written reasons for its decision.

• Marginal note:Further review — Board terminates or cancels parole

  (5.1) If the Board cancels or terminates parole, it shall conduct another review within two years after the cancellation or termination and, after that date, within two years after the day on which each preceding review takes place until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:Violent offender

  (5.2) Despite subsection (5.1), if the Board cancels or terminates parole for an offender who has been convicted of an offence involving violence for which the offender is serving a sentence of at least two years — or a sentence that includes a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence — the Board shall conduct another review within four years after the date of cancellation or termination and, after that date, within five years after the day on which each preceding review takes place until

  • (a) the offender is released on full parole or on statutory release;

  • (b) the offender’s sentence expires; or

  • (c) less than four months remain to be served before the offender’s statutory release date.

• Marginal note:No application for one year

  (6) No application for full parole may be made until one year after the date of the Board’s decision — or until any earlier time that the regulations prescribe or the Board determines — if, following a review, the Board does not grant full parole or cancels or terminates parole.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of application

  (7) An offender may not withdraw an application for full parole within 14 days before the commencement of the review unless the withdrawal is necessary and it was not possible to withdraw it earlier due to circumstances beyond their control.

• Definition of offence involving violence

  (8) In this section, offence involving violence means murder or any offence set out in Schedule I.

Marginal note:Urine sample positive or not provided

123.1 If an offender has been granted parole under section 122 or 123 but has not yet been released and the offender fails or refuses to provide a urine sample when demanded to provide one under section 54, or provides under that section a urine sample for which the result of the urinalysis is positive, as that term is defined in the regulations, then the Service shall inform the Board of the failure or refusal or the test result.

Marginal note:Offenders unlawfully at large

• 124 (1) The Board is not required to review the case of an offender who is unlawfully at large during the period prescribed by the regulations for a review under section 122 or 123 but it shall review the case as soon as possible after being informed of the offender’s return to custody.

• Marginal note:Timing of release

  (2) Where an offender is granted parole but no date is fixed for the offender’s release, the parole shall take effect, and the offender shall be released, forthwith after such period as is necessary to implement the decision to grant parole.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of parole

  (3) If an offender has been granted parole under section 122 or 123, the Board may, after a review of the case based on information that could not reasonably have been provided to it at the time parole was granted, cancel the parole if the offender has not been released or terminate the parole if the offender has been released.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of parole — drug test

  (3.1) If the Board is informed of the matters under section 123.1 and the offender has still not yet been released, the Board shall can- cel the parole if, in its opinion, based on the information received under that section, the criteria set out in paragraphs 102(a) and (b) are no longer met.

• Marginal note:Review

  (4) If the Board exercises its power under subsection (3), it shall, within the period prescribed by the regulations, review its decision and either confirm or cancel it.

125 [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 5]

126 [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 5]

126.1 [Repealed, 2011, c. 11, s. 5]

Statutory Release

Marginal note:Entitlement

• 127 (1) Subject to any provision of this Act, an offender sentenced, committed or transferred to penitentiary is entitled to be released on the date determined in accordance with this section and to remain at large until the expiration of the sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Sentence for past offences

  (2) Subject to this section, the statutory release date of an offender sentenced before November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences shall be determined by crediting against the sentence

  • (a) any remission, statutory or earned, standing to the offender’s credit on that day; and

  • (b) the maximum remission that could have been earned on the balance of the sentence pursuant to the Penitentiary Act or the Prisons and Reformatories Act, as those Acts read immediately before that day.

• Marginal note:Sentence for future offences

  (3) Subject to this section, the statutory release date of an offender sentenced on or after November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences is the day on which the offender completes two thirds of the sentence.

• Marginal note:Sentences for past and future offences

  (4) Subject to this section, the statutory release date of an offender sentenced before November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences and sentenced on or after November 1, 1992 to imprisonment for one or more offences is the later of the dates determined in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).

• Marginal note:If parole or statutory release revoked

  (5) Subject to subsections 130(4) and (6), the statutory release date of an offender whose parole or statutory release is revoked is

  • (a) the day on which they have served two thirds of the unexpired portion of the sentence after being recommitted to custody as a result of a suspension or revocation under section 135; or

  • (b) if an additional sentence is imposed after the offender is recommitted to custody as a result of a suspension or revocation under section 135, the day on which they have served two thirds of the portion of the sentence — including the additional sentence — that begins on the day on which they are recommitted and ends on the day on which the sentence expires.

• Marginal note:If additional sentence

  (5.1) If an offender receives an additional sentence for an offence under an Act of Parliament and their parole or statutory release is not revoked, their statutory release date is the day on which they have served, from the earlier of the day on which they are recommitted to custody as a result of the suspension of their parole or statutory release and the day on which they are recommitted to custody as a result of the additional sentence,

  • (a) any time remaining before the statutory release date in respect of the sentence they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed; and

  • (b) two thirds of the period that equals the difference between the length of the sentence that includes the additional sentence and the length of the sentence that they are serving when the additional sentence is imposed.

• Marginal note:Failure to earn and forfeiture of remission

  (6) Where an offender receives a sentence to be served in a provincial correctional facility and fails to earn or forfeits any remission under the Prisons and Reformatories Act and is transferred to penitentiary, otherwise than pursuant to an agreement entered into under paragraph 16(1)(b), the offender is not entitled to be released until the day on which the offender has served

  • (a) the period of imprisonment that the offender would have been required to serve under this section if the offender had not failed to earn or had not forfeited the remission; and

  • (b) the period of imprisonment equal to the remission that the offender failed to earn or forfeited and that was not recredited under that Act.

• Marginal note:Supervision after release

  (7) An offender sentenced, committed or transferred (otherwise than pursuant to an agreement entered into under subsection 16(1)) to penitentiary on or after August 1, 1970 who is released on statutory release is subject to supervision in accordance with this Act, but no other offender released under this section is subject to supervision.

Marginal note:Youth Criminal Justice Act

127.1 Subject to this Act, a young person in respect of whom a youth sentence is imposed under paragraph 42(2)(n), (o), (q) or (r) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and who is transferred to a penitentiary under subsection 89(2), 92(2) or 93(2) of that Act is entitled to be released from the penitentiary by virtue of statutory release on the day on which the custodial portion of their youth sentence would have expired.

Effect of Parole, Statutory Release or Unescorted Temporary Absence

Marginal note:Continuation of sentence

• 128 (1) An offender who is released on parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence continues, while entitled to be at large, to serve the sentence until its expiration according to law.

• Marginal note:Freedom to be at large

  (2) Except to the extent required by the conditions of any day parole, an offender who is released on parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence is entitled, subject to this Part, to remain at large in accordance with the conditions of the parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence and is not liable to be returned to custody by reason of the sentence unless the parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence is suspended, cancelled, terminated or revoked.

• Marginal note:Sentence deemed to be completed

  (3) Despite subsection (1), for the purposes of paragraph 50(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and section 64 of the Extradition Act, the sentence of an offender who has been released on parole, statutory release or an unescorted temporary absence is deemed to be completed unless the parole or statutory release has been suspended, terminated or revoked, the unescorted temporary absence is suspended or cancelled or the offender has returned to Canada before the expiration of the sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Removal order

  (4) Despite this Act, the Prisons and Reformatories Act and the Criminal Code, an offender against whom a removal order has been made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is not eligible for day parole or an unescorted temporary absence until they are eligible for full parole.

• Marginal note:Parole inoperative where parole eligibility date in future

  (5) If, before the full parole eligibility date, a removal order is made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act against an offender who has received day parole or an unescorted temporary absence, on the day that the removal order is made, the day parole or unescorted temporary absence becomes inoperative and the offender shall be reincarcerated.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (6) An offender referred to in subsection (4) is eligible for day parole or an unescorted temporary absence if the removal order is stayed under paragraph 50(a), 66(b) or 114(1)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (7) Where the removal order of an offender referred to in subsection (5) is stayed under paragraph 50(a), 66(b) or 114(1)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act on a day prior to the full parole eligibility of the offender, the unescorted temporary absence or day parole of that offender is resumed as of the day of the stay.

Detention during Period of Statutory Release

Marginal note:Review of cases by service

• 129 (1) Before the statutory release date of an offender who is serving a sentence of two years or more that includes a sentence imposed for an offence set out in Schedule I or II or an offence set out in Schedule I or II that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act, the Commissioner shall cause the offender’s case to be reviewed by the Service.

• Marginal note:Referral of cases to Board

  (2) The Service shall, more than six months before the day on which an offender is entitled to be released on statutory release, refer the case to the Board — and provide the Board with any information that, in the Service’s opinion, is relevant to the case — if the Service is of the opinion that

  • (a) in the case of an offender who is serving a sentence that includes a sentence for an offence set out in Schedule I, including an offence set out in Schedule I that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act,

    • (i) the commission of the offence caused the death of or serious harm to another person and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law, or

    • (ii) the offence was a sexual offence involving a child and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is likely to commit a sexual offence involving a child or an offence causing death or serious harm to another person before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law; or

  • (b) in the case of an offender who is serving a sentence that includes a sentence for an offence set out in Schedule II, including an offence set out in Schedule II that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is likely to commit a serious drug offence before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Referral of cases to Chairperson of Board

  (3) If the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that an offender is likely, before the expiration of the sentence according to law, to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person, a sexual offence involving a child or a serious drug offence, the Commissioner shall refer the case to the Chairperson of the Board together with all the information in the possession of the Service that, in the Commissioner’s opinion, is relevant to the case, as soon as practicable after forming that belief. The referral must be made more than six months before the offender’s statutory release date unless

  • (a) the Commissioner formed that belief on the basis of the offender’s behaviour or information obtained during those six months; or

  • (b) as a result of a change in the statutory release date due to a recalculation, the statutory release date has passed or the offender is entitled to be released on statutory release during those six months.

• Marginal note:Detention pending referral

  (3.1) Where paragraph (3)(b) applies and the statutory release date has passed, the Commissioner shall, within two working days after the recalculation under that paragraph, make a determination whether a referral is to be made to the Chairperson of the Board pursuant to subsection (3) and, where appropriate, shall make a referral, and the offender is not entitled to be released on statutory release pending the determination.

• Marginal note:Request for information by Board

  (4) At the request of the Board, the Service shall take all reasonable steps to provide the Board with any additional information that is relevant to a case referred pursuant to subsection (2) or (3).

• Marginal note:Deadlines for review by Board

  (5) Where the case of an offender is referred to the Chairperson of the Board pursuant to subsection (3) during the six months preceding the statutory release date of the offender, or on or after that date, the Board shall

  • (a) if the case is referred to the Chairperson more than four weeks before that date, review the case pursuant to subsection 130(1) before that date;

  • (b) if the case is referred to the Chairperson during the four weeks preceding that date but more than three days before that date,

    • (i) review the case pursuant to subsection 130(1) before that date, if possible, or

    • (ii) make an interim review of the case before that date; or

  • (c) if the case is

    • (i) referred to the Chairperson on the statutory release date or during the three days preceding that date, or

    • (ii) referred to the Chairperson pursuant to paragraph (3)(b) after the statutory release date has passed,

    make an interim review of the case during the three days following the day on which the case was so referred.

• Marginal note:Interim review

  (6) An interim review required by subsection (5) shall be made in the manner prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Decision to review

  (7) On completion of an interim review pursuant to subsection (5), if the Board is of the opinion, on the basis of all the information provided, that a sufficient case is made for a review pursuant to subsection 130(1), the Board shall conduct a review of the case as soon as is practicable and not later than four weeks after the case was referred to the Chairperson of the Board.

• Marginal note:Delegation to provincial authorities

  (8) The Commissioner may delegate to the correctional authorities of a province the powers of the Service and of the Commissioner under this section in relation to offenders who are serving their sentences in a correctional facility in that province.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (9) In this section and sections 130 and 132,

  serious drug offence

  serious drug offence means an offence set out in Schedule II; (infraction grave en matière de drogue)

  sexual offence involving a child

  sexual offence involving a child means

  • (a) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code that was prosecuted by way of indictment, namely,

    • (i) section 151 (sexual interference),

    • (ii) section 152 (invitation to sexual touching),

    • (iii) section 153 (sexual exploitation),

    • (iv) subsection 160(3) (bestiality in presence of child or inciting child to commit bestiality),

    • (iv.1) section 163.1 (child pornography),

    • (v) section 170 (parent or guardian procuring sexual activity by child),

    • (vi) section 171 (householder permitting sexual activity by child),

    • (vii) section 172 (corrupting children),

    • (vii.1) section 172.1 (luring a child),

    • (viii) section 279.011 (trafficking — person under 18 years),

    • (ix) subsection 279.02(2) (material benefit — trafficking of person under 18 years),

    • (x) subsection 279.03(2) (withholding or destroying documents — trafficking of person under 18 years),

    • (xi) subsection 286.1(2) (obtaining sexual services for consideration from person under 18 years),

    • (xii) subsection 286.2(2) (material benefit from sexual services provided by person under 18 years), and

    • (xiii) subsection 286.3(2) (procuring — person under 18 years);

  • (b) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code involving a person under the age of eighteen years that was prosecuted by way of indictment, namely,

    • (i) section 155 (incest),

    • (ii) [Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 394]

    • (iii) subsections 160(1) and (2) (bestiality and compelling bestiality),

    • (iv) section 271 (sexual assault),

    • (v) section 272 (sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm), and

    • (vi) section 273 (aggravated sexual assault);

  • (b.1) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code, as they read from time to time before the day on which this paragraph comes into force, that was prosecuted by way of indictment:

    • (i) subsection 212(2) (living on the avails of prostitution of person under 18 years), and

    • (ii) subsection 212(4) (prostitution of person under 18 years);

  • (c) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code, chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, as they read immediately before January 1, 1988, that was prosecuted by way of indictment, namely,

    • (i) section 146 (sexual intercourse with a female under 14),

    • (ii) section 151 (seduction of a female between 16 and 18), and

    • (iii) section 167 (householder permitting defilement);

  • (d) an offence involving a person under the age of eighteen years under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code, chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, as they read immediately before January 1, 1988, that was prosecuted by way of indictment, namely,

    • (i) section 153 (sexual intercourse with step-daughter),

    • (ii) section 155 (buggery or bestiality),

    • (iii) section 157 (gross indecency), and

    • (iv) section 166 (parent or guardian procuring defilement); or

  • (e) an offence involving a person under the age of eighteen years under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Code, chapter C-34 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, as they read immediately before January 4, 1983, that was prosecuted by way of indictment, namely,

    • (i) section 144 (rape),

    • (ii) section 145 (attempt to commit rape),

    • (iii) section 149 (indecent assault on female), and

    • (iv) section 156 (indecent assault on male). (infraction d’ordre sexuel à l’égard d’un enfant)

• Marginal note:Determination of likelihood of offence

  (10) In determining whether an offender is likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person, a sexual offence involving a child or a serious drug offence, it is not necessary to determine whether the offender is likely to commit any particular offence.

Marginal note:Review by Board of cases referred

• 130 (1) Where the case of an offender is referred to the Board by the Service pursuant to subsection 129(2) or referred to the Chairperson of the Board by the Commissioner pursuant to subsection 129(3) or (3.1), the Board shall, subject to subsections 129(5), (6) and (7), at the times and in the manner prescribed by the regulations,

  • (a) inform the offender of the referral and review, and

  • (b) review the case,

  and the Board shall cause all such inquiries to be conducted in connection with the review as it considers necessary.

• Marginal note:Detention pending review

  (2) An offender referred to in subsection (1) is not entitled to be released on statutory release before the Board renders its decision under this section in relation to the offender.

• Marginal note:Decision of Board

  (3) On completion of the review of the case of an offender referred to in subsection (1), the Board may order that the offender not be released from imprisonment before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law, except as provided by subsection (5), where the Board is satisfied

  • (a) in the case of an offender serving a sentence that includes a sentence for an offence set out in Schedule I, or for an offence set out in Schedule I that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act, that the offender is likely, if released, to commit an offence causing the death of or serious harm to another person or a sexual offence involving a child before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law,

  • (b) in the case of an offender serving a sentence that includes a sentence for an offence set out in Schedule II, or for an offence set out in Schedule II that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act, that the offender is likely, if released, to commit a serious drug offence before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law,

  • (c) in the case of an offender whose case was referred to the Chairperson of the Board pursuant to subsection 129(3) or (3.1), that the offender is likely, if released, to commit an offence causing the death of or serious harm to another person, a sexual offence involving a child or a serious drug offence before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:When order takes effect

  (3.1) An order made under subsection (3) takes effect on the day on which it is made.

• Marginal note:Effect of order where additional sentence

  (3.2) Where, before the expiration of a sentence in respect of which an order under subsection (3) has been made, an offender receives an additional sentence and the date of the expiration of the sentence that includes the additional sentence as provided by subsection 139(1) is later than the date of the expiration of the sentence that the offender was serving before the additional sentence was imposed,

  • (a) the Board shall review the order at the time and in the manner prescribed by the regulations where, as a result of the additional sentence, the statutory release date has already passed or is within nine months after the day on which the offender received the additional sentence; and

  • (b) the order is cancelled where, as a result of the additional sentence, the statutory release date is nine months or more after the day on which the offender received the additional sentence.

• Marginal note:Board’s powers on review

  (3.3) The Board shall, on completing a review under paragraph (3.2)(a)

  • (a) confirm the order to prevent the release of the offender until the expiration of the sentence in respect of which the order was made; or

  • (b) amend the order to prevent the release of the offender until the expiration of the sentence that includes the additional sentence as provided by subsection 139(1).

• Marginal note:Detention pending review

  (3.4) An offender in respect of whom an order, that is subject to review under paragraph (3.2)(a), has been made is not entitled to be released on statutory release before the Board renders its decision under subsection (3.3) in relation to the order.

• Marginal note:Special order by Board

  (4) Where the Board is not satisfied as provided in subsection (3) but is satisfied that

  • (a) at the time the case was referred to it, the offender was serving a sentence that included a sentence for an offence set out in Schedule I or II, or for an offence set out in Schedule I or II that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act, and

  • (b) in the case of an offence set out in Schedule I or an offence set out in Schedule I that is punishable under section 130 of the National Defence Act, the commission of the offence caused the death of, or serious harm to, another person or the offence was a sexual offence involving a child,

  it may order that if the statutory release is later revoked, the offender is not entitled to be released again on statutory release before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Temporary absence with escort

  (5) An offender who is in custody pursuant to an order made under subsection (3) or amended under paragraph (3.3)(b) is not eligible to be released from imprisonment, except on a temporary absence with escort under Part I for medical or administrative reasons.

• Marginal note:Where order for release revoked

  (6) Where an offender is ordered under subsection (3) or paragraph (3.3)(b) not to be released and is subsequently released pursuant to an order made under subparagraph 131(3)(a)(ii) or (iii) and the statutory release is later revoked, the offender is not entitled to be released again on statutory release before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

• (7) [Repealed, 1995, c. 42, s. 45]

Marginal note:Annual review of orders

• 131 (1) The Board shall review every order made under subsection 130(3) within one year after the date the order was made, and thereafter within one year after the date of each preceding review while the offender remains subject to the order.

• Marginal note:Schedule I offence

  (1.1) Despite subsection (1), if the order made under subsection 130(3) relates to an offender who is serving a sentence imposed for an offence set out in Schedule I whose commission caused the death of or serious harm to another person, the Board shall review the order within two years after the date the order was made, and thereafter within two years after the date of each preceding review while the offender remains subject to the order.

• Marginal note:Board to inquire

  (2) The Board shall cause such inquiries to be conducted in connection with each review under subsection (1) as it considers necessary to determine whether there is sufficient new information concerning the offender to justify modifying the order or making a new order.

• Marginal note:Board’s powers on review

  (3) The Board, on completing a review under subsection (1), shall

  • (a) with respect to an order made under subsection 130(3) or paragraph 130(3.3)(b),

    • (i) confirm the order,

    • (ii) order the statutory release of the offender subject to the condition that the offender reside in a community-based residential facility, psychiatric facility or, subject to subsection (4), a penitentiary designated pursuant to subsection (5), where the offender has been detained for a period during statutory release and the Board is satisfied that the condition is reasonable and necessary in order to protect society and to facilitate the successful reintegration into society of the offender, or

    • (iii) order the statutory release of the offender without such a residence requirement; or

  • (b) with respect to an order made under subparagraph (3)(a)(ii),

    • (i) confirm or modify the order, or

    • (ii) order the statutory release of the offender without such a residence requirement.

• Marginal note:Consent of Commissioner

  (4) A condition under subparagraph (3)(a)(ii) that an offender reside in a penitentiary designated pursuant to subsection (5) is valid only if consented to in writing by the Commissioner or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Commissioner.

• Marginal note:Designation

  (5) The Commissioner may designate penitentiaries for the purposes of orders made under subparagraph (3)(a)(ii).

Marginal note:Relevant factors in detention reviews

• 132 (1) For the purposes of the review and determination of the case of an offender pursuant to section 129, 130 or 131, the Service, the Commissioner or the Board, as the case may be, shall take into consideration any factor that is relevant in determining the likelihood of the commission of an offence causing the death of or serious harm to another person before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law, including

  • (a) a pattern of persistent violent behaviour established on the basis of any evidence, in particular,

    • (i) the number of offences committed by the offender causing physical or psychological harm,

    • (ii) the seriousness of the offence for which the sentence is being served,

    • (iii) reliable information demonstrating that the offender has had difficulties controlling violent or sexual impulses to the point of endangering the safety of any other person,

    • (iv) the use of a weapon in the commission of any offence by the offender,

    • (v) explicit threats of violence made by the offender,

    • (vi) behaviour of a brutal nature associated with the commission of any offence by the offender, and

    • (vii) a substantial degree of indifference on the part of the offender as to the consequences to other persons of the offender’s behaviour;

  • (b) medical, psychiatric or psychological evidence of such likelihood owing to a physical or mental illness or disorder of the offender;

  • (c) reliable information compelling the conclusion that the offender is planning to commit an offence causing the death of or serious harm to another person before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law; and

  • (d) the availability of supervision programs that would offer adequate protection to the public from the risk the offender might otherwise present until the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (1.1) For the purposes of the review and determination of the case of an offender pursuant to section 129, 130 or 131, the Service, the Commissioner or the Board, as the case may be, shall take into consideration any factor that is relevant in determining the likelihood of the commission of a sexual offence involving a child before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law, including

  • (a) a pattern of persistent sexual behaviour involving children established on the basis of any evidence, in particular,

    • (i) the number of sexual offences involving a child committed by the offender,

    • (ii) the seriousness of the offence for which the sentence is being served,

    • (iii) reliable information demonstrating that the offender has had difficulties controlling sexual impulses involving children,

    • (iv) behaviour of a sexual nature associated with the commission of any offence by the offender, and

    • (v) a substantial degree of indifference on the part of the offender as to the consequences to other persons of the offender’s behaviour;

  • (b) reliable information about the offender’s sexual preferences indicating that the offender is likely to commit a sexual offence involving a child before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law;

  • (c) medical, psychiatric or psychological evidence of the likelihood of the offender committing such an offence owing to a physical or mental illness or disorder of the offender;

  • (d) reliable information compelling the conclusion that the offender is planning to commit such an offence; and

  • (e) the availability of supervision programs that would offer adequate protection to the public from the risk the offender might otherwise present until the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) For the purposes of the review and determination of the case of an offender pursuant to section 129, 130 or 131, the Service, the Commissioner or the Board, as the case may be, shall take into consideration any factor that is relevant in determining the likelihood of the commission of a serious drug offence before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law, including

  • (a) a pattern of persistent involvement in drug-related crime established on the basis of any evidence, in particular,

    • (i) the number of drug-related offences committed by the offender,

    • (ii) the seriousness of the offence for which the sentence is being served,

    • (iii) the type and quantity of drugs involved in any offence committed by the offender,

    • (iv) reliable information demonstrating that the offender remains involved in drug-related activities, and

    • (v) a substantial degree of indifference on the part of the offender as to the consequences to other persons of the offender’s behaviour;

  • (b) medical, psychiatric or psychological evidence of such likelihood owing to a physical or mental illness or disorder of the offender;

  • (c) reliable information compelling the conclusion that the offender is planning to commit a serious drug offence before the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law; and

  • (d) the availability of supervision programs that would offer adequate protection to the public from the risk the offender might otherwise present until the expiration of the offender’s sentence according to law.

Conditions of Release

Definition of releasing authority

• 133 (1) In this section, releasing authority means

  • (a) the Board, in respect of

    • (i) parole,

    • (ii) statutory release, or

    • (iii) unescorted temporary absences authorized by the Board under subsection 116(1);

  • (b) the Commissioner, in respect of unescorted temporary absences authorized by the Commissioner under subsection 116(2); or

  • (c) the institutional head, in respect of unescorted temporary absences authorized by the institutional head under subsection 116(2).

• Marginal note:Conditions of release

  (2) Subject to subsection (6), every offender released on parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence is subject to the conditions prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Conditions set by releasing authority

  (3) The releasing authority may impose any conditions on the parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence of an offender that it considers reasonable and necessary in order to protect society and to facilitate the offender’s successful reintegration into society. For greater certainty, the conditions may include any condition regarding the offender’s use of drugs or alcohol, including in cases when that use has been identified as a risk factor in the offender’s criminal behaviour.

• Marginal note:Conditions to protect victim

  (3.1) If a victim or a person referred to in subsection 26(3) or 142(3) has provided the releasing authority with a statement describing the harm, property damage or loss suffered by them as a result of the commission of an offence or its continuing impact on them — including any safety concerns — or commenting on the possible release of the offender, the releasing authority shall impose any conditions on the parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence of the offender that it considers reasonable and necessary in order to protect the victim or the person, including a condition that the offender abstain from having any contact, including communication by any means, with the victim or the person or from going to any specified place.

• Marginal note:Written reasons

  (3.2) If a statement referred to in subsection (3.1) has been provided to the releasing authority and the releasing authority decides not to impose any conditions under that subsection, it shall provide written reasons for the decision.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (3.3) For greater certainty, if no statement has been provided to the releasing authority, nothing in subsection (3.1) precludes the releasing authority from imposing any condition under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Residence requirement

  (4) Where, in the opinion of the releasing authority, the circumstances of the case so justify, the releasing authority may require an offender, as a condition of parole or unescorted temporary absence, to reside in a community-based residential facility.

• Marginal note:Residence requirement

  (4.1) In order to facilitate the successful reintegration into society of an offender, the releasing authority may, as a condition of statutory release, require that the offender reside in a community-based residential facility or a psychiatric facility if the releasing authority is satisfied that, in the absence of such a condition, the offender will present an undue risk to society by committing, before the expiration of their sentence according to law, an offence set out in Schedule I or an offence under section 467.11, 467.12 or 467.13 of the Criminal Code.

• Definition of community-based residential facility

  (4.2) In subsection (4.1), community-based residential facility includes a community correctional centre but does not include any other penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Not necessary to determine particular offence

  (4.3) For the purposes of subsection (4.1), the releasing authority is not required to determine whether the offender is likely to commit any particular offence.

• Marginal note:Consent of commissioner

  (4.4) A condition under subsection (4.1) that an offender reside in a community correctional centre is valid only if consented to in writing by the Commissioner or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Commissioner.

• Marginal note:Duration of conditions

  (5) A condition imposed pursuant to subsection (3), (4) or (4.1) is valid for such period as the releasing authority specifies.

• Marginal note:Relief from conditions

  (6) The releasing authority may, in accordance with the regulations, before or after the release of an offender,

  • (a) in respect of conditions referred to in subsection (2), relieve the offender from compliance with any such condition or vary the application to the offender of any such condition; or

  • (b) in respect of conditions imposed under subsection (3), (4) or (4.1), remove or vary any such condition.

• Marginal note:Obligation — removal or variance of condition

  (7) Before removing or varying any condition imposed under subsection (3.1) on an offender, the releasing authority shall take reasonable steps to inform every victim or person that provided it with a statement referred to in that subsection in relation to that offender of its intention to remove or vary the condition and it shall consider their concerns, if any.

Marginal note:Instructions to released offenders

• 134 (1) An offender who has been released on parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence shall comply with any instructions given by a member of the Board or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board or the Commissioner, or given by the institutional head or by the offender’s parole supervisor, respecting any conditions of parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence in order to prevent a breach of any condition or to protect society.

• (2) [Repealed, 2012, c. 1, s. 87]

Conditions for Long-Term Supervision

Marginal note:Conditions for long-term supervision

• 134.1 (1) Subject to subsection (4), every offender who is required to be supervised by a long-term supervision order is subject to the conditions prescribed by subsection 161(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, with such modifications as the circumstances require.

• Marginal note:Conditions set by Board

  (2) The Board may establish conditions for the long-term supervision of the offender that it considers reasonable and necessary in order to protect society and to facilitate the successful reintegration into society of the offender.

• Marginal note:Conditions to protect victim

  (2.1) If a victim, or a person referred to in subsection 142(3), has provided the Board with a statement describing the harm, property damage or loss suffered by them, as the result of the commission of an offence and its continuing impact on them — including any safety concerns — the Board shall impose any conditions on the long-term supervision of the offender that it considers reasonable and necessary to protect the victim or the person, including a condition that the offender abstain from having any contact, including communication by any means, with the victim or the person or from going to any specified place.

• Marginal note:Written reasons

  (2.2) If a statement referred to in subsection (2.1) has been provided to the Board and it decides not to impose any conditions under that subsection, it shall provide written reasons for its decision.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (2.3) For greater certainty, if no statement has been provided to the Board, nothing in subsection (2.1) precludes the Board from imposing any condition under subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Duration of conditions

  (3) A condition imposed under subsection (2) or (2.1) is valid for the period that the Board specifies.

• Marginal note:Relief from conditions

  (4) The Board may, in accordance with the regulations, at any time during the long-term supervision of an offender,

  • (a) in respect of conditions referred to in subsection (1), relieve the offender from compliance with any such condition or vary the application to the offender of any such condition; or

  • (b) in respect of conditions imposed under subsection (2) or (2.1), remove or vary any such condition.

• Marginal note:Obligation — removal or variance of condition

  (5) Before removing or varying any condition imposed under subsection (2.1) on an offender, the Board shall take reasonable steps to inform every victim or person who provided it with a statement referred to in that subsection in relation to that offender of its intention to remove or vary the condition and it shall consider their concerns, if any.

Marginal note:Instructions to offenders subject to long-term supervision order

• 134.2 (1) An offender who is supervised pursuant to a long-term supervision order shall comply with any instructions given by a member of the Board or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board or by the Commissioner, or given by the offender’s parole supervisor, respecting any conditions of long-term supervision in order to prevent a breach of any condition or to protect society.

• (2) [Repealed, 2012, c. 1, s. 88]

Suspension, Termination, Revocation and Inoperativeness of Parole, Statutory Release or Long-Term Supervision

Marginal note:Suspension of parole or statutory release

• 135 (1) A member of the Board or a person, designated by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board or by the Commissioner, when an offender breaches a condition of parole or statutory release or when the member or person is satisfied that it is necessary and reasonable to suspend the parole or statutory release in order to prevent a breach of any condition thereof or to protect society, may, by warrant,

  • (a) suspend the parole or statutory release;

  • (b) authorize the apprehension of the offender; and

  • (c) authorize the recommitment of the offender to custody until the suspension is cancelled, the parole or statutory release is terminated or revoked or the sentence of the offender has expired according to law.

• Marginal note:Automatic suspension of parole or statutory release

  (1.1) If an offender who is on parole or statutory release receives an additional sentence, other than a conditional sentence under section 742.1 of the Criminal Code that is being served in the community or an intermittent sentence under section 732 of that Act, for an offence under an Act of Parliament, their parole or statutory release, as the case may be, is suspended on the day on which the additional sentence is imposed.

• Marginal note:Apprehension and recommitment

  (1.2) If an offender’s parole or statutory release is suspended under subsection (1.1), a member of the Board or a person designated, by name or position, by the Chairperson of the Board or the Commissioner may, by warrant, authorize the offender’s apprehension and recommitment to custody until

  • (a) the suspension is cancelled;

  • (b) the parole or statutory release is terminated or revoked; or

  • (c) the sentence expires according to law.

• Marginal note:Transfer of offender

  (2) A person designated under subsection (1) may, by warrant, order the transfer to a penitentiary of an offender who is recommitted to custody under subsection (1) or (1.2) or as a result of an additional sentence referred to in subsection (1.1) in a place other than a penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of suspension or referral

  (3) Subject to subsection (3.1), the person who signs a warrant under subsection (1) or any other person designated under that subsection shall, immediately after the recommitment of the offender, review the offender’s case and

  • (a) where the offender is serving a sentence of less than two years, cancel the suspension or refer the case to the Board together with an assessment of the case, within fourteen days after the recommitment or such shorter period as the Board directs; or

  • (b) in any other case, within thirty days after the recommitment or such shorter period as the Board directs, cancel the suspension or refer the case to the Board together with an assessment of the case stating the conditions, if any, under which the offender could in that person’s opinion reasonably be returned to parole or statutory release.

• Marginal note:Referral to Board — additional sentence

  (3.1) If an offender’s parole or statutory release is suspended under subsection (1.1), or if an offender whose parole or statutory release is suspended under subsection (1) receives an additional sentence referred to in subsection (1.1), the suspension may not be cancelled and the case is to be referred to the Board by a person designated by name or position by the Commissioner, together with an assessment of the case, within the applicable number of days set out in subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Review by Board

  (4) The Board shall, on the referral to it of the case of an offender serving a sentence of less than two years, review the case and, within the period prescribed by the regulations, either cancel the suspension or terminate or revoke the parole.

• Marginal note:Review by Board — sentence of two years or more

  (5) The Board shall, on the referral to it of the case of an offender who is serving a sentence of two years or more, review the case and — within the period prescribed by the regulations unless, at the offender’s request, the review is adjourned by the Board or is postponed by a member of the Board or by a person designated by the Chairperson by name or position —

  • (a) if the Board is satisfied that the offender will, by reoffending before the expiration of their sentence according to law, present an undue risk to society,

    • (i) terminate the parole or statutory release if the undue risk is due to circumstances beyond the offender’s control, and

    • (ii) revoke it in any other case;

  • (b) if the Board is not satisfied as in paragraph (a), cancel the suspension; and

  • (c) if the offender is no longer eligible for parole or entitled to be released on statutory release, cancel the suspension or terminate or revoke the parole or statutory release.

• Marginal note:Terms of cancellation

  (6) If in the Board’s opinion it is necessary and reasonable to do so in order to protect society or to facilitate the reintegration of the offender into society, the Board, when it cancels a suspension of the parole or statutory release of an offender, may

  • (a) reprimand the offender in order to warn the offender of the Board’s dissatisfaction with the offender’s behaviour since release;

  • (b) alter the conditions of the parole or statutory release; and

  • (c) order the cancellation not to take effect until the expiration of a specified period not exceeding thirty days after the date of the Board’s decision, where the offender violated the conditions of parole or statutory release on the occasion of the suspension and on at least one previous occasion that led to a suspension of parole or statutory release during the offender’s sentence.

• Marginal note:Transmission of cancellation of suspension

  (6.1) Where a person referred to in subsection (3) or the Board cancels a suspension under this section, the person or the Board, as the case may be, shall forward a notification of the cancellation of the suspension or an electronically transmitted copy of the notification to the person in charge of the facility in which the offender is being held.

• Marginal note:If parole eligibility date in future

  (6.2) If the Board cancels a suspension of parole under subsection (5) and the day on which the offender is eligible for parole, determined in accordance with any of sections 119 to 120.3, is later than the day on which the parole suspension is cancelled, the day or full parole is, subject to subsection (6.3), resumed on the day parole eligibility date or the full parole eligibility date, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of parole — parole eligibility date in future

  (6.3) If an offender’s parole is to resume under subsection (6.2), the Board may — before the parole resumes and after a review of the case based on information with which it could not reasonably have been provided at the time the parole suspension was cancelled — cancel the parole or, if the offender has been released, terminate the parole.

• Marginal note:Review

  (6.4) If the Board exercises its power under subsection (6.3), it shall, within the period prescribed by the regulations, review its decision and either confirm or cancel it.

• Marginal note:Additional power of the Board

  (7) Independently of subsections (1) to (6), where the Board is satisfied that the continued parole or statutory release of an offender would constitute an undue risk to society by reason of the offender reoffending before the expiration of the sentence according to law, the Board may, at any time,

  • (a) where the offender is no longer eligible for the parole or entitled to be released on statutory release, terminate or revoke the parole or statutory release; or

  • (b) where the offender is still eligible for the parole or entitled to be released on statutory release,

    • (i) terminate the parole or statutory release, where the undue risk to society is due to circumstances beyond the offender’s control, or

    • (ii) revoke the parole or statutory release, where the undue risk to society is due to circumstances within the offender’s control.

• Marginal note:Power not affected by new sentence

  (8) The Board may exercise its power under subsection (7) notwithstanding any new sentence to which the offender becomes subject after being released on parole or statutory release, whether or not the new sentence is in respect of an offence committed before or after the offender’s release on parole or statutory release.

• Marginal note:Review by Board

  (9) Where the Board exercises its power under subsection (7), it shall review its decision at times prescribed by the regulations, at which times it shall either confirm or cancel its decision.

• Marginal note:Non-application of subsection (1.1)

  (9.1) Unless the lieutenant governor in council of a province in which there is a provincial parole board makes a declaration under subsection 113(1) that subsection (1.1) applies in respect of offenders under the jurisdiction of that provincial parole board, subsection (1.1) does not apply in respect of such offenders, other than an offender who

  • (a) is serving a sentence in a provincial correctional facility pursuant to an agreement entered into under paragraph 16(1)(a); or

  • (b) as a result of receiving an additional sentence referred to in subsection (1.1), is required, under section 743.1 of the Criminal Code, to serve the sentence in a penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Parole inoperative

  (9.2) If an offender to whom subsection (1.1) does not apply, and who is on parole that has not been revoked or terminated, receives an additional sentence that is to be served consecutively with the sentence the offender was serving when the additional sentence was imposed, the parole becomes inoperative and the offender shall be reincarcerated until the day on which the offender has served, from the day on which the additional sentence was imposed, the period of ineligibility in relation to the additional sentence. On that day, the parole is resumed, subject to the provisions of this Act, unless, before that day, the parole has been revoked or terminated.

• (9.3) to (9.5) [Repealed, 2012, c. 1, s. 89]

• Marginal note:Continuation of sentence

  (10) For the purposes of this Part, an offender who is in custody by virtue of this section continues to serve the offender’s sentence.

• Marginal note:Time at large during suspension

  (11) For the purposes of this Act, where a suspension of parole or statutory release is cancelled, the offender is deemed, during the period beginning on the day of the issuance of the suspension and ending on the day of the cancellation of the suspension, to have been serving the sentence to which the parole or statutory release applies.

Marginal note:Suspension of long-term supervision

• 135.1 (1) A member of the Board or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board or by the Commissioner, when an offender breaches a condition of a long-term supervision order or a condition referred to in section 134.1 or when the member or person is satisfied that it is necessary and reasonable to suspend the long-term supervision in order to prevent a breach of any condition of it or to protect society, may, by warrant,

  • (a) suspend the long-term supervision;

  • (b) authorize the apprehension of the offender; and

  • (c) authorize the commitment of the offender to a community-based residential facility or a mental health facility or, where the member or person is satisfied that commitment to custody is necessary, to custody until the suspension is cancelled, new conditions for the long-term supervision have been established or the offender is charged with an offence under section 753.3 of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Limit on commitment

  (2) The period of the commitment of the offender mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) must not exceed ninety days.

• Marginal note:Where offender committed

  (3) Where an offender is committed under paragraph (1)(c), the period of the commitment is included in the calculation of the period of long-term supervision ordered under a long-term supervision order, but if there is a period between the issuance of the warrant and the commitment to custody, that period is not included in that calculation.

• Marginal note:Transfer of offender

  (4) A person designated pursuant to subsection (1) may, by warrant, order the transfer to penitentiary of an offender who is committed under paragraph (1)(c) in a place other than a penitentiary.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of suspension or referral

  (5) The person who signs a warrant pursuant to subsection (1), or any other person designated pursuant to that subsection, shall, immediately after the commitment of the offender, review the offender’s case and, as soon as possible but in any case no later than thirty days after the commitment, cancel the suspension or refer the case to the Board together with an assessment of the case.

• Marginal note:Review by Board

  (6) The Board shall, on the referral to it of the case of an offender, review the case and, before the end of the period referred to in subsection (2),

  • (a) cancel the suspension, if the Board is satisfied that, in view of the offender’s behaviour while being supervised, the resumption of long-term supervision would not constitute a substantial risk to society by reason of the offender reoffending before the expiration of the period of long-term supervision; or

  • (b) [Repealed, 2012, c. 1, s. 90]

  • (c) where the Board is satisfied that no appropriate program of supervision can be established that would adequately protect society from the risk of the offender reoffending, and that it appears that a breach has occurred, recommend that an information be laid charging the offender with an offence under section 753.3 of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Laying of information

  (7) Where the Board recommends that an information be laid pursuant to paragraph (6)(c), the Service shall recommend to the Attorney General who has jurisdiction in the place in which the breach of the condition occurred that an information be laid charging the offender with an offence under section 753.3 of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Terms of cancellation

  (8) If in the Board’s opinion it is necessary and reasonable to do so in order to protect society or to facilitate the reintegration of the offender into society, the Board, when it cancels a suspension of the long-term supervision order of an offender, may

  • (a) reprimand the offender in order to warn the offender of the Board’s dissatisfaction with the offender’s behaviour while being supervised;

  • (b) alter the conditions of the long-term supervision; and

  • (c) order the cancellation not to take effect until the expiration of a specified period that ends on a date not later than the end of the ninety days referred to in subsection (2), in order to allow the offender to participate in a program that would help ensure that society is protected from the risk of the offender reoffending.

• Marginal note:Transmission of cancellation of suspension

  (9) Where a person referred to in subsection (4) or the Board cancels a suspension under this section, the person or the Board, as the case may be, shall forward a notification of the cancellation of the suspension or an electronically transmitted copy of the notification to the person in charge of the facility in which the offender is being held.

Marginal note:Warrant for apprehension and recommitment

136 A member of the Board or a person designated, by name or position, by the Chairperson of the Board or the Commissioner may, by warrant, authorize an offender’s apprehension and recommitment to custody if

• (a) their parole is terminated or revoked or becomes inoperative under subsection 135(9.2); or

• (b) their statutory release is terminated or revoked or they are no longer entitled to be released on statutory release as a result of a change to their statutory release date under subsection 127(5.1).

Marginal note:Execution of warrant

• 137 (1) A warrant of apprehension issued under section 11.1, 18, 118, 135, 135.1 or 136 or by a provincial parole board, or an electronically transmitted copy of such a warrant, shall be executed by any peace officer to whom it is given in any place in Canada as if it had been originally issued or subsequently endorsed by a justice or other lawful authority having jurisdiction in that place.

• Marginal note:Arrest without warrant

  (2) A peace officer who believes on reasonable grounds that a warrant is in force under this Part or under the authority of a provincial parole board for the apprehension of a person may arrest the person without warrant and remand the person in custody.

• Marginal note:Where arrest made

  (3) Where a person has been arrested pursuant to subsection (2), the warrant of apprehension, or an electronically transmitted copy thereof, shall be executed within forty-eight hours after the arrest is made, failing which the person shall be released.

Marginal note:Arrest without warrant — breach of conditions

137.1 A peace officer may arrest without warrant an offender who has committed a breach of a condition of their parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence, or whom the peace officer finds committing such a breach, unless the peace officer

• (a) believes on reasonable grounds that the public interest may be satisfied without arresting the person, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to

  • (i) establish the identity of the person, or

  • (ii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the breach; and

• (b) does not believe on reasonable grounds that the person will fail to report to their parole supervisor in order to be dealt with according to law if the peace officer does not arrest the person.

Marginal note:Serving balance of sentence

• 138 (1) Where the parole or statutory release of an offender is terminated or revoked, the offender shall be recommitted to custody and shall serve the portion of the sentence that remained unexpired on the day on which the parole or statutory release was terminated or revoked.

• Marginal note:Effect of termination on parole and statutory release

  (2) An offender whose parole or statutory release has been terminated is

  • (a) eligible for parole in accordance with section 120, 120.1, 120.2 or 120.3, as the case may be; and

  • (b) entitled to be released on statutory release in accordance with section 127.

• Marginal note:No forfeiture of remission

  (3) An offender whose parole or statutory release has been terminated is not liable to forfeit

  • (a) any remission with which the offender was credited pursuant to the Prisons and Reformatories Act; or

  • (b) any credits under the International Transfer of Offenders Act.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation on parole

  (4) An offender whose parole or statutory release has been revoked is eligible for parole in accordance with section 120, 120.1, 120.2 or 120.3, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (5) Notwithstanding sections 122 and 123, the Board is not required to conduct a review for the purpose of parole of the case of an offender referred to in subsection (4) within one year after the date on which the offender’s parole or statutory release is revoked.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation on statutory release

  (6) Subject to subsections 130(4) and (6), an offender whose parole or statutory release has been revoked is entitled to be released on statutory release in accordance with subsection 127(5).

Merged Sentences

Marginal note:Multiple sentences

• 139 (1) For the purposes of the Criminal Code, the Prisons and Reformatories Act, the International Transfer of Offenders Act and this Act, a person who is subject to two or more sentences is deemed to have been sentenced to one sentence beginning on the first day of the first of those sentences to be served and ending on the last day of the last of them to be served.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (2) This section does not affect the time of commencement, pursuant to subsection 719(1) of the Criminal Code, of any sentences that are deemed under this section to constitute one sentence.

Review Hearings

Marginal note:Mandatory hearings

• 140 (1) The Board shall conduct the review of the case of an offender by way of a hearing, conducted in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the offender, unless the offender waives the right to a hearing in writing or refuses to attend the hearing, in the following classes of cases:

  • (a) the first review for day parole pursuant to subsection 122(1), except in respect of an offender serving a sentence of less than two years;

  • (b) the first review for full parole under subsection 123(1) and subsequent reviews under subsection 123(5), (5.01) or (5.1);

  • (c) a review conducted under section 129 or subsection 130(1) or 131(1) or (1.1);

  • (d) a review following a cancellation of parole; and

  • (e) any review of a class specified in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Discretionary hearing

  (2) The Board may elect to conduct a review of the case of an offender by way of a hearing in any case not referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Dispensing with hearing

  (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), in respect of any class of offenders specified in the regulations, the Board may conduct a review referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) without a hearing in order to decide whether

  • (a) to grant parole, subject to the offender’s acceptance in writing of the conditions of parole; or

  • (b) to hold a hearing before the rendering of a decision.

• Marginal note:Attendance by observers

  (4) Subject to subsections (5) and (5.1), the Board or a person designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson of the Board shall, subject to such conditions as the Board or person considers appropriate and after taking into account the offender’s views, permit a person who applies in writing therefor to attend as an observer at a hearing relating to an offender, unless the Board or person is satisfied that

  • (a) the hearing is likely to be disrupted or the ability of the Board to consider the matter before it is likely to be adversely affected by the presence of that person or of that person in conjunction with other persons who have applied to attend the hearing;

  • (b) the person’s presence is likely to adversely affect those who have provided information to the Board, including victims, members of a victim’s family or members of the offender’s family;

  • (c) the person’s presence is likely to adversely affect an appropriate balance between that person’s or the public’s interest in knowing and the public’s interest in the effective reintegration of the offender into society; or

  • (d) the security and good order of the institution in which the hearing is to be held is likely to be adversely affected by the person’s presence.

• Marginal note:Exclusion of observers

  (5) Where in the course of a hearing the Board concludes that any of the possible situations described in subsection (4) is likely to exist, it may decide to continue the hearing in the absence of observers or of a particular observer.

• Marginal note:Attendance by victim or member of their family

  (5.1) In determining whether to permit a victim or a member of the victim’s family to attend as an observer at a hearing, the Board or its designate shall make every effort to fully understand the need of the victim and of the members of his or her family to attend the hearing and witness its proceedings. The Board or its designate shall permit a victim or a member of his or her family to attend as an observer unless satisfied that the presence of the victim or family member would result in a situation described in paragraph (4)(a), (b), (c) or (d).

• Marginal note:Attendance not permitted

  (5.2) If the Board or its designate decides under subsection (5.1) to not permit a victim or a member of his or her family to attend a hearing, the Board shall provide for the victim or family member to observe the hearing by any means that the Board considers appropriate.

• (6) [Repealed, 2015, c. 13, s. 49]

• Marginal note:Assistance to offender

  (7) Where a review by the Board includes a hearing at which the offender is present, the Board shall permit the offender to be assisted by a person of the offender’s choice unless the Board would not permit the presence of that person as an observer pursuant to subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Role of assistant

  (8) A person referred to in subsection (7) is entitled

  • (a) to be present at the hearing at all times when the offender is present;

  • (b) to advise the offender throughout the hearing; and

  • (c) to address, on behalf of the offender, the members of the Board conducting the hearing at times they adjudge to be conducive to the effective conduct of the hearing.

• Marginal note:Right to interpreter

  (9) An offender who does not have an adequate understanding of at least one of Canada’s official languages is entitled to the assistance of an interpreter at the hearing and for the purpose of understanding materials provided to the offender pursuant to subsection 141(1) and paragraph 143(2)(b).

• Marginal note:Presentation of statements

  (10) If they are attending a hearing as an observer,

  • (a) a victim may present a statement describing the harm, property damage or loss suffered by them as the result of the commission of the offence and its continuing impact on them — including any safety concerns — and commenting on the possible release of the offender; and

  • (b) a person referred to in subsection 142(3) may present a statement describing the harm, property damage or loss suffered by them as the result of any act of the offender in respect of which a complaint was made to the police or Crown attorney or an information laid under the Criminal Code, and its continuing impact on them — including any safety concerns — and commenting on the possible release of the offender.

• Marginal note:Consideration of statement

  (10.1) The Board shall, in deciding whether an offender should be released and what conditions might be applicable to the release, take into consideration any statement that has been presented in accordance with paragraph (10)(a) or (b).

• Marginal note:Forms of statement

  (11) If a victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) is not attending a hearing, their statement may be presented at the hearing in the form of a written statement, which may be accompanied by an audio or video recording, or in any other form prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Communication of statement in writing

  (12) A victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) shall, before the hearing, deliver to the Board a transcript of the statement that they plan to present under subsection (10) or (11).

• Marginal note:Audio recording

  (13) Subject to any conditions specified by the Board, a victim, or a person referred to in subsection 142(3), is entitled, on request, after a hearing in respect of a review referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), to listen to an audio recording of the hearing, other than portions of the hearing that the Board considers

  • (a) could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the safety of any person or reveal a source of information obtained in confidence; or

  • (b) should not be heard by the victim or a person referred to in subsection 142(3) because the privacy interests of any person clearly outweighs the interest of the victim or person referred to in that subsection.

• Marginal note:Access to information

  (14) If an observer has been present during a hearing or a victim or a person has exercised their right under subsection (13), any information or documents discussed or referred to during the hearing shall not for that reason alone be considered to be publicly available for purposes of the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Marginal note:Cancellation of review hearing

140.1 Despite any other provision of this Act, if an offender has, on more than one occasion, refused to attend a review hearing or waived his or her right to a review hearing less than 15 days before the date scheduled for the hearing without providing a reasonable explanation for doing so, the Board may cancel the next review hearing to which the offender would otherwise be entitled to under this Act.

Marginal note:Transcript

• 140.2 (1) If a transcript of the hearing has been made, the Board shall, on written request and free of charge, provide a copy to the offender and a copy to the victim or a member of the victim’s family. However, the copy provided to the victim or member of the victim’s family shall not include any portion of the transcript of a part of the hearing that, under subsection 140(5), was or would have been continued in the absence of observers or of a particular observer.

• Marginal note:Personal information

  (2) The Board may delete from a copy of the transcript any personal information about a person other than the offender, the victim or a member of the victim’s family.

• Marginal note:Access to information

  (3) Information discussed or referred to in the transcript of the hearing are not publicly available for the purposes of the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Disclosure of Information

Marginal note:Disclosure to offender

• 141 (1) At least fifteen days before the day set for the review of the case of an offender, the Board shall provide or cause to be provided to the offender, in writing, in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the offender, the information that is to be considered in the review of the case or a summary of that information.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where information referred to in subsection (1) comes into the possession of the Board after the time prescribed in that subsection, that information or a summary of it shall be provided to the offender as soon as is practicable thereafter.

• Marginal note:Waiver and postponement

  (3) An offender may waive the right to be provided with the information or summary or to have it provided within the period referred to in subsection (1). If they waive the latter right and they receive information so late that it is not possible for them to prepare for the review, they are entitled to a postponement and a member of the Board or a person designated by name or position by the Chairperson of the Board shall, at the offender’s request, postpone the review for the period that the member or person determines. If the Board receives information so late that it is not possible for it to prepare for the review, a member of the Board or a person designated by name or position by the Chairperson of the Board may postpone the review for any reasonable period that the member or person determines.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (4) Where the Board has reasonable grounds to believe

  • (a) that any information should not be disclosed on the grounds of public interest, or

  • (b) that its disclosure would jeopardize

    • (i) the safety of any person,

    • (ii) the security of a correctional institution, or

    • (iii) the conduct of any lawful investigation,

  the Board may withhold from the offender as much information as is strictly necessary in order to protect the interest identified in paragraph (a) or (b).

Marginal note:Disclosure of information to victims

• 142 (1) At the request of a victim of an offence committed by an offender, the Chairperson

  • (a) shall disclose to the victim the following information about the offender:

    • (i) the offender’s name,

    • (ii) the offence of which the offender was convicted and the court that convicted the offender,

    • (iii) the date of commencement and length of the sentence that the offender is serving, and

    • (iv) eligibility dates and review dates applicable to the offender under this Part in respect of unescorted temporary absences or parole; and

  • (b) may disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, where in the Chairperson’s opinion the interest of the victim in the disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender’s privacy that could result from the disclosure, namely,

    • (i) the offender’s age,

    • (ii) the location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served,

    • (iii) the date, if any, on which the offender is to be released on unescorted temporary absence, escorted temporary absence where the Board has approved the absence as required by subsection 746.1(2) of the Criminal Code, parole or statutory release,

    • (iv) the date of any hearing for the purposes of a review under section 130,

    • (v) any of the conditions attached to the offender’s unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release and the reasons for any unescorted temporary absence,

    • (vi) the destination of the offender when released on unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release, and whether the offender will be in the vicinity of the victim while travelling to that destination,

    • (vii) whether the offender is in custody and, if not, the reason that the offender is not in custody,

    • (viii) whether or not the offender has appealed a decision of the Board under section 147, and the outcome of that appeal, and

    • (ix) the reason for a waiver of the right to a hearing under subsection 140(1) if the offender gives one.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where an offender has been transferred from a penitentiary to a provincial correctional facility, the Chairperson of the Board may, at the request of a victim of an offence committed by the offender, disclose to the victim the name of the province in which the provincial facility is located if in the Chairperson’s opinion the interest of the victim in such disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender’s privacy that could result from the disclosure.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of information to other persons

  (3) Subsections (1) and (2) also apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a person who satisfies the Chairperson

  • (a) that person suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss, as the result of an act of an offender, whether or not the offender was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and

  • (b) that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act.

• Marginal note:Representative

  (3.1) A victim may designate a representative to whom the information referred to in subsections (1) and (2) is to be disclosed on the victim’s behalf. In that case, the victim shall provide the Chairperson with the representative’s contact information.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of request

  (3.2) A victim who has made a request referred to in subsection (1) or (2) may inform the Chairperson in writing that they no longer want the information to be disclosed to them. In that case, the Chairperson shall not contact them or their representative, if any, unless the victim subsequently makes the request again.

• Marginal note:Deemed withdrawal of request

  (3.3) The Chairperson may consider a victim to have withdrawn a request referred to in subsection (1) or (2) if the Chairperson has made reasonable efforts to contact the victim and has failed to do so.

• Marginal note:Other persons

  (3.4) Subsections (3.1) to (3.3) also apply, with any necessary modifications, to a person who has satisfied the Chairperson of the matters referred to in paragraphs (3)(a) and (b).

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (4) The manner and form of making requests to the Chairperson under subsection (1) or (2), and how those requests are to be dealt with, may be provided for by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Designation by Chairperson

  (5) In this section, “Chairperson” includes a person or class of persons designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson.

Records of Reviews and Decisions

Marginal note:Records of proceedings

• 143 (1) Where the Board conducts a review of the case of an offender by way of a hearing, it shall maintain a record of the proceedings for the period prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Decisions to be recorded and communicated

  (2) Where the Board renders a decision with respect to an offender following a review of the offender’s case, it shall

  • (a) record the decision and the reasons for the decision, and maintain a copy of the decision and reasons for the period prescribed by the regulations; and

  • (b) provide the offender with a copy of the decision and the reasons for the decision, in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the offender, within the period prescribed by the regulations.

Marginal note:Registry of decisions

• 144 (1) The Board shall maintain a registry of the decisions rendered by it under this Part or under paragraph 746.1(2)(c) or (3)(c) of the Criminal Code and its reasons for those decisions.

• Marginal note:Access to registry

  (2) A person who demonstrates an interest in a case may, on written application to the Board, have access to the contents of the registry relating to that case, other than information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected

  • (a) to jeopardize the safety of any person;

  • (b) to reveal a source of information obtained in confidence; or

  • (c) if released publicly, to adversely affect the reintegration of the offender into society.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) Subject to any conditions prescribed by the regulations, any person may have access for research purposes to the contents of the registry, other than the name of any person, information that could be used to identify any person or information the disclosure of which could jeopardize any person’s safety.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) Notwithstanding subsection (2), where any information contained in a decision in the registry has been considered in the course of a hearing held in the presence of observers, any person may, on application in writing, have access to that information in the registry.

Marginal note:Copy of decision

144.1 At the request of a victim, or a person referred to in subsection 142(3), the Board shall, despite section 144, provide the victim or person with a copy of any decision rendered by it under this Part or under paragraph 746.1(2)(c) or (3)(c) of the Criminal Code in relation to the offender and its reasons for that decision, unless doing so could reasonably be expected

• (a) to jeopardize the safety of any person;

• (b) to reveal a source of information obtained in confidence; or

• (c) to prevent the successful reintegration of the offender into society.

Review and Evidence

Marginal note:Documents admissible

145 A decision, order, warrant or certificate purporting to be signed by a member of the Board or a person designated by the Chairperson of the Board is admissible in any court and is evidence of its contents without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

Organization of the Board

Appeal Division

Marginal note:Constitution of Appeal Division

• 146 (1) There shall be a division of the Board known as the Appeal Division, consisting of not more than six full-time members — one of whom shall be designated Vice-Chairperson, Appeal Division — and a number of part-time members designated in both cases by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, from among the members appointed under section 103.

• Marginal note:Disqualification

  (2) A member of the Appeal Division may not sit on an appeal from a decision in which the member participated.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) A member of a panel of the Appeal Division that orders a new review of a case pursuant to subsection 147(4) may not sit on the panel of the Board that reviews the case or on a panel of the Appeal Division that subsequently reviews the case on an appeal.

Appeal to Appeal Division

Marginal note:Right of appeal

• 147 (1) An offender may appeal a decision of the Board to the Appeal Division on the ground that the Board, in making its decision,

  • (a) failed to observe a principle of fundamental justice;

  • (b) made an error of law;

  • (c) breached or failed to apply a policy adopted pursuant to subsection 151(2);

  • (d) based its decision on erroneous or incomplete information; or

  • (e) acted without jurisdiction or beyond its jurisdiction, or failed to exercise its jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Decision of Vice-Chairperson

  (2) The Vice-Chairperson, Appeal Division, may refuse to hear an appeal, without causing a full review of the case to be undertaken, where, in the opinion of the Vice-Chairperson,

  • (a) the appeal is frivolous or vexatious;

  • (b) the relief sought is beyond the jurisdiction of the Board;

  • (c) the appeal is based on information or on a new parole or statutory release plan that was not before the Board when it rendered the decision appealed from; or

  • (d) at the time the notice of appeal is received by the Appeal Division, the offender has ninety days or less to serve before being released from imprisonment.

• Marginal note:Time and manner of appeal

  (3) The time within which and the manner in which a decision of the Board may be appealed shall be as prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Decision on appeal

  (4) The Appeal Division, on the completion of a review of a decision appealed from, may

  • (a) affirm the decision;

  • (b) affirm the decision but order a further review of the case by the Board on a date earlier than the date otherwise provided for the next review;

  • (c) order a new review of the case by the Board and order the continuation of the decision pending the review; or

  • (d) reverse, cancel or vary the decision.

• Marginal note:Conditions of immediate release

  (5) The Appeal Division shall not render a decision under subsection (4) that results in the immediate release of an offender from imprisonment unless it is satisfied that

  • (a) the decision appealed from cannot reasonably be supported in law, under the applicable policies of the Board, or on the basis of the information available to the Board in its review of the case; and

  • (b) a delay in releasing the offender from imprisonment would be unfair.

Head Office and Regions

Marginal note:Head office

• 148 (1) The head office of the Board shall be located in the National Capital Region as described in the schedule to the National Capital Act, but meetings of the Board or of the Executive Committee of the Board may be held at such times and places as the Chairperson of the Board directs.

• Marginal note:Regional offices

  (2) The Board shall maintain at least one regional office at a place determined by the Chairperson, after consultation with the Minister, in each of the following regions of Canada, namely, the Atlantic region, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie region and the Pacific region.

Marginal note:Regional divisions

• 149 (1) There shall be regional divisions of the Board consisting of the members assigned to them, who shall exercise such functions of the Board, under this or any other Act of Parliament, as are designated by the Chairperson of the Board for a region or, where there is more than one regional office in a region, for the portion of a region designated by the Chairperson.

• Marginal note:Residence

  (2) Full-time members of the Board assigned to a regional division pursuant to subsection 105(3) shall reside within reasonable commuting distance of the office of that division.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (3) Any act or thing done or any decision rendered by a panel of the Board constituted pursuant to subsection 105(6) is, for the purposes of this Part, an act or thing done or a decision rendered by the Board.

Marginal note:Vice-Chairpersons

• 150 (1) A full-time member shall be designated by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, to be Vice-Chairperson for each regional division of the Board.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A Vice-Chairperson for a division is responsible to the Chairperson for the professional conduct, training, and quality of decision-making of Board members assigned to that division.

General

Marginal note:Executive Committee

• 151 (1) There shall be an Executive Committee of the Board consisting of the Chairperson, the Executive Vice-Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, Appeal Division, the regional Vice-Chairpersons and two other members of the Board designated by the Chairperson after consultation with the Minister.

• Marginal note:Functions

  (2) The Executive Committee

  • (a) shall, after such consultation with Board members as it considers appropriate, adopt policies relating to reviews under this Part;

  • (b) shall, where requested by the Chairperson, advise the Chairperson on any other matters concerning the functions of the Board or of the Chairperson under this or any other Act of Parliament; and

  • (c) may direct that the number of members required to constitute a panel for the review of any class of cases shall be greater than the number fixed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Respect for diversity

  (3) Policies adopted under paragraph (2)(a) must respect gender, ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences and be responsive to the special needs of women and of Indigenous persons, as well as to the needs of other groups of offenders with special requirements.

• Marginal note:Chair

  (4) Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be chaired by the Chairperson.

Marginal note:Chief Executive Officer

• 152 (1) The Chairperson of the Board is its chief executive officer and as such has supervision over and direction of the work and the staff of the Board, and the Chairperson shall chair general meetings of the Board.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of member

  (2) The Chairperson may direct that a member of the Board not participate in a review panel where, in the opinion of the Chairperson, the participation of the member in the review may result in a reasonable apprehension of bias.

• Marginal note:Constitution of review panels

  (3) The Chairperson may direct that the number of members required to constitute a panel for the review of any particular case shall be greater than the number fixed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Investigations

  (4) The Chairperson may appoint a person or persons to investigate and report on any matter relating to the operations of the Board, and sections 7 to 13 of the Inquiries Act apply in respect of such investigations, with such modifications as the circumstances require, as if the references to “commissioners” in those sections were references to the person or persons so appointed.

• Marginal note:Delegation

  (5) The Chairperson may authorize any full-time member of the Board to exercise any of the Chairperson’s functions under this Part, in accordance with any conditions specified by the Chairperson, and a function so exercised shall be deemed to have been exercised by the Chairperson.

• Marginal note:Manner of exercising

  (6) Where the Chairperson is authorized by this Part to designate a person to exercise a power, the Chairperson may specify the conditions under which that person may exercise the power.

• Marginal note:Absence, incapacity or vacancy

  (7) In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson or a vacancy in the office of Chairperson, the Executive Vice-Chairperson may exercise all the powers of the Chairperson.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (8) In the event of the absence or incapacity of, or a vacancy in the offices of, the Chairperson and the Executive Vice-Chairperson, a full-time member of the Board designated by the Minister may exercise all the powers of the Chairperson.

Marginal note:Remuneration of full-time and substitute members

• 153 (1) Each full-time and substitute member of the Board shall be paid such remuneration as is fixed by the Governor in Council, and is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred while performing duties away from the administrative centre to which the member is assigned.

• Marginal note:Leave of absence from public service

  (2) An employee in the public service appointed as a full-time member of the Board shall be given leave of absence without pay from the public service.

• Marginal note:Remuneration of part-time members

  (3) Each part-time member of the Board shall be paid such remuneration as is fixed by the Governor in Council for each day that the member is serving as such, and is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred while performing duties away from the member’s ordinary place of residence.

• Marginal note:Pension

  (4) The full-time members and employees of the Board shall be deemed to be employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act.

Marginal note:Immunity of members

154 No criminal or civil proceedings lie against a member of the Board for anything done or said in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of the functions of a member of the Board under this or any other Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Board members not to be witnesses

154.1 A member of the Board is not a competent or compellable witness in any civil proceedings in respect of any matter coming to their knowledge in the course of the exercise or purported exercise of their functions under this or any other Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Impartiality

• 155 (1) A full-time member of the Board shall not hold any office or engage in any occupation incompatible with the exercise of the member’s functions under this or any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) A member of the Board may not participate in a review of a case in circumstances where a reasonable apprehension of bias may result from the participation of that member.

Marginal note:Inquiries

• 155.1 (1) The Chairperson may recommend to the Minister that an inquiry be held to determine whether any member of the Board should be subject to any disciplinary or remedial measures for any reason set out in any of paragraphs 155.2(2)(a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Judge to conduct inquiry

  (2) If the Minister considers it appropriate that an inquiry under this section be held, a judge, supernumerary judge or former judge of the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal or the Federal Court, in this section and section 155.2 referred to as a “judge”, shall conduct the inquiry.

• Marginal note:Powers

  (3) A judge conducting an inquiry under this section has all the powers, rights and privileges that are vested in a superior court and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, has the power

  • (a) to issue to any person a summons requiring the person to appear at the time and place mentioned in the summons to testify with respect to all matters within the person’s knowledge relative to the inquiry and to bring and produce any document, book or paper that the person has or controls relative to the inquiry; and

  • (b) to administer oaths and examine any person on oath.

• Marginal note:Inquiry public

  (4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), an inquiry under this section shall be conducted in public.

• Marginal note:Confidentiality

  (5) A judge conducting an inquiry under this section may, on application, take any measures or make any order that the judge considers necessary to ensure the confidentiality of the inquiry where the judge is satisfied that, during the inquiry or as a result of the inquiry being conducted in public, as the case may be,

  • (a) matters involving public security may be disclosed;

  • (b) financial or personal or other matters may be disclosed of such a nature that the desirability of avoiding public disclosures of those matters in the interest of any person affected or in the public interest outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that the inquiry be conducted in public; or

  • (c) there is a reasonable likelihood that the life, liberty or security of a person would be endangered.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (6) Where a judge conducting an inquiry under this section considers it appropriate to do so, the judge may take any measures or make any order that the judge considers necessary to ensure the confidentiality of any hearing held in respect of an application referred to in subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Rules of evidence

  (7) A judge conducting an inquiry under this section is not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence and, in any proceedings of the inquiry, the judge may receive and base a decision on evidence adduced in the proceedings and considered credible or trustworthy in the circumstances of the case.

• Marginal note:Right to grant standing

  (8) A judge conducting an inquiry under this section may grant standing to the hearing to any party where the judge determines such an order to be appropriate.

• Marginal note:Right to be heard

  (9) Every person in respect of whom an inquiry under this section is conducted shall be given reasonable notice of the subject-matter of the inquiry and of the time and place of any hearing thereof and shall be given an opportunity, in person or by counsel, to be heard at the hearing, to cross-examine witnesses and to adduce evidence.