OTTAWA, May 15, 2009 – The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today introduced in the House of Commons an Act to Amend the Criminal Code and other federal legislation, which will modernize criminal procedure and make the justice system more efficient and effective.
"Crime is constantly evolving in Canada so it is crucial that our criminal justice system evolves with it," said Minister Nicholson. "With these amendments, our Government is taking action to help ensure the safety and security of our communities. It is the latest step in our continuing commitment to tackling crime."
Proposed amendments in the legislation include:
- Creating a new offence to help prevent individuals from fleeing a province or territory in order to avoid prosecution;
- Streamlining the identification process in police stations by allowing the fingerprinting and photographing of persons in lawful custody who have not yet been charged or convicted of specific offences;
- Improving the application procedure for search and seizure warrants by providing both peace and public officers with greater access to telewarrants;
- Enhancing the expert witness process to allow parties more time to prepare their response to expert evidence in criminal matters;
- Updating rules related to the use of "agents" (non-lawyers) in criminal proceedings, to provide the provinces with greater flexibility on this issue and ensuring better representation of accused individuals by agents; and,
- Expanding the list of permitted sports covered under the current prize fighting provisions, and updating Canada's pari-mutuel betting system.
"Our provincial and territorial partners have been instrumental in helping us identify and review a number of evolving issues in criminal law across Canada," said Minister Nicholson. "This bill will increase the effectiveness of the justice system in a number of ways, including giving peace and public officers greater access to warrants relating to search and seizure, and helping address the issue of those who evade justice by travelling to other jurisdictions."
An online version of the legislation will be available at www.parl.gc.ca.
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Ref.:
- Darren Eke
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621
- Media Relations
Department of Justice
613-957-4207
