Order Fixing the 90th Day After the Day on Which This Order Is Made as the Day on Which Section 35 of An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act Comes into Force: SI/2026-58

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 21

Registration
SI/2026-58 October 21, 2026

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CRIMINAL CODE, THE SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION REGISTRATION ACT AND THE INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER OF OFFENDERS ACT

Order Fixing the 90th Day After the Day on Which This Order Is Made as the Day on Which Section 35 of An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act Comes into Force

P.C. 2026-975 October 9, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, under section 49 of An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act, chapter 28 of the Statutes of Canada, 2023, fixes the 90th day after the day on which this Order is made as the day on which section 35 of that Act comes into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order fixes 90 days after the day that the Order is made as the day that section 35 of An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act (the Act) comes into force.

Objective

The objective of the Order is to fix a date for the coming into force of amendments to the Criminal Code to improve victims’ access to information under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) relating to the offender’s conditional release and the timing and conditions of that release.

Background

The criminal justice system is a shared responsibility in Canada. The federal government is responsible for enacting criminal laws, while the provinces and territories (PTs) are responsible for the administration of justice. There is also a division of responsibilities between federal and provincial/territorial governments for administering offender sentences, which is determined by the length of the sentence imposed. Offenders sentenced to two years or more serve their sentence in a federal penitentiary under the jurisdiction of Correctional Service Canada (CSC).

The Criminal Code requires a court that sentences a person to a federal penitentiary to forward to CSC its reasons and recommendations relating to the sentence or committal, any relevant reports that were submitted to the court, victim impact statements where available, and any other information relevant to administering the sentence or committal.

The Act, which received royal assent on October 26, 2023, aimed to strengthen the operation and enforcement of the sex offender registration regime, and make the criminal justice system more responsive to the diverse needs of victims and survivors of sexual assault, including victims who wish to receive information about an offender’s incarceration or release.

The Act amended the Criminal Code to require courts to inquire whether reasonable steps were taken to determine if the victim wished to receive information about the sentence and to enter the victim’s wishes into the record.

The Act also introduced an amendment to the Criminal Code requiring the courts to provide CSC with the name and contact information of any victim who wishes to receive information under the CCRA. The Order brings this requirement into force.

Prior to these amendments, victims who wished to receive information, as outlined in the CCRA, regarding the offender’s incarceration and the timing and conditions of any conditional release had to contact CSC after sentencing to request the information. The onus was on the victim, since there was no mechanism for victims’ interests or contact information to be shared with CSC.

For victims who did not know it was possible to receive information about the offender’s incarceration and release, hearing that the offender has been released often comes as an unwelcome surprise. For this reason, the Federal Ombudspersons for Victims of Crime (FOVCs), past and present, have advocated for an automatic provision of information, noting that victims are often unaware that the onus is on them to initiate contact with CSC to obtain information.

Implications

Requiring victims to register to receive information permits CSC to verify that the person seeking the information meets the definition of victim in the CCRA, which is beyond simply the primary victim, who may be deceased or incapacitated.

By requiring the courts to transmit to CSC the contact information of victims who want to receive information about the offender who harmed them, CSC will be able to conduct the initial outreach to victims to register them for this purpose. Existing, well-established safeguards and verification procedures will continue to be followed to ensure that offender information that is releasable under the CCRA is disclosed only to eligible recipients (e.g. family members of deceased victims), despite otherwise being protected under the Privacy Act.

While it does not create an obligation for automatic provision of information, this change responds to the FOVCs’ recommendations by removing the onus from victims to initiate contact with CSC to obtain offender information. This change reflects a trauma-informed approach, as it aims to make the process less burdensome for victims and is aligned with a victim’s right to information under section 8 of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. This change also acknowledges that not all victims want continued contact with the criminal justice system.

Consultation

This amendment addresses views shared by participants at the National Victims Roundtable on the Right to Information in Federal Corrections and Conditional Release, hosted by Public Safety Canada in 2020. Participants expressed the need to balance victims’ rights to information and their privacy rights by ensuring that victims decide whether they want to receive information about those who harmed them.

Engagement with the PTs confirmed the importance of developing safeguards to protect the victim’s privacy to prevent their name and contact information from becoming part of the court record, which is publicly accessible.

Implementation

Once the amendment is in force, PTs will be required to transmit to CSC the names and contact information of victims who indicate to the courts that they wish to receive information about an offender so that CSC can contact them to provide those victims with the information they are entitled to receive under the law. CSC will work with provincial and territorial partners to facilitate this process while ensuring that personal information is handled and protected in accordance with applicable legislative and policy requirements.

Additionally, CSC has developed a Victim Information Sheet to be provided to victims that explains they are consenting to share their contact information and informs victims of what to expect. This sheet will be shared by PTs with all victims who request sentence administration information.

Contact

Stephanie Bouchard
Senior Counsel and Director
Policy Centre for Victim Issues
Policy Sector
Department of Justice
Email: Stephanie.Bouchard@justice.gc.ca