Vol. 143, No. 20 — September 30, 2009

Registration

SI/2009-92 September 30, 2009

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CRIMINAL CODE (ORGANIZED CRIME AND PROTECTION OF JUSTICE SYSTEM PARTICIPANTS)

Order Fixing October 2, 2009 as the Date of the Coming into Force of the Act

P.C. 2009-1580 September 17, 2009

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to section 20 of An Act to amend the Criminal Code (organized crime and protection of justice system participants), chapter 22 of the Statutes of Canada, 2009, hereby fixes October 2, 2009 as the day on which that Act comes into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (organized crime and protection of justice system participants) amends the Criminal Code to facilitate the battle against organized crime by targeting street gangs and other forms of organized crime. The Act makes the following changes : making all murders connected to organized crime automatically first-degree, regardless of whether they are planned and deliberate; creating new offences to target reckless shootings and to prohibit the assault of a peace officer with a weapon or causing bodily harm and the aggravated assault of a peace officer; and, strengthening the gang peace bond provisions.

The amendments to make any murder committed in connection with organized crime activity automatically first degree make clear that such conduct is deserving of the most significant penalty under Canadian law. While homicide rates generally have been decreasing in Canada, gang-related homicides have continued to increase. Persons convicted of these crimes will now have to serve a minimum punishment of imprisonment of 25 years before parole eligibility.

The new shooting offence focuses on the reckless attitude of the shooter. It requires evidence that the accused consciously appreciated the risk of injury or death to others and fired anyway. Such an offence will provide an important new tool for law enforcement to respond to drive-by and other reckless shootings.

The offences relating to assaults on peace officers reinforce the offence regime for assaults on peace officers and create a complete and separate scheme within the Criminal Code to respond to this conduct which undermines the administration of justice.

The changes to the gang peace bond provisions are designed to assist in curtailing organized crime. They clarify that a judge can impose any reasonable condition as part of an order to secure the good conduct of the defendant. In addition, they extend the potential length of a recognizance to a maximum of two years in cases where the defendant has been previously convicted of a criminal organization offence.

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