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Trial Deadlines Set, Serious Crimes Exempted

An Act to amend the Criminal Code to address the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Jordan

Summary

  • Codifies the Supreme Court’s Jordan ceilings: 18 months for trials in provincial court and 30 months in superior court, excluding delays caused or waived by the defence and allowing "exceptional circumstances" for the Crown.
  • Creates a broad exception by removing these ceilings for any "primary designated offence" as defined in section 487.04 of the Criminal Code (a wide range of serious offences).
  • Invokes the notwithstanding clause (Charter s.33) so this exception operates despite the Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time under s.11(b), subject to the clause’s renewal rules.
  • Seeks to prevent stays for serious crimes due to delay, while fundamentally changing how delay rights apply in those cases.

Builder Assessment

Abstain

Principles Analysis

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Canada should aim to be the world's most prosperous country.

Criminal procedure changes have indirect economic effects at most; no clear impact on national prosperity.

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Promote economic freedom, ambition, and breaking from bureaucratic inertia (reduce red tape).

While codification can add clarity, removing hard timelines for serious cases via s.33 risks entrenching court backlogs and reducing pressure to streamline the system.

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Drive national productivity and global competitiveness.

No direct link to productivity or competitiveness.

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Grow exports of Canadian products and resources.

No trade or export implications.

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Encourage investment, innovation, and resource development.

Not related to investment conditions or resource development.

✗

Deliver better public services at lower cost (government efficiency).

Eliminating ceilings for a broad class of offences may prolong cases and increase costs, offsetting any efficiency gains from codifying Jordan.

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Reform taxes to incentivize work, risk-taking, and innovation.

No tax policy changes.

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Focus on large-scale prosperity, not incrementalism.

The bill targets criminal procedure rights, not broad-based economic prosperity.

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C-258

PartyMember of Parliament
StatusOutside the Order of Precedence
Last updatedN/A
TopicsCriminal Justice
Parliament45