C-238 (45-1) - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (restitution orders)
Chamber
commons
Stage
2nd Reading
Introduced
Sep 22, 2025
Progress
This bill lets courts order criminals to pay restitution to community organizations harmed by drug or human trafficking offences.
Key Changes
- Adds a new category of restitution recipients: community organizations (not individuals) that provide front-line services
- Limits eligibility to offences involving human trafficking (sections 279.01–279.02 of the Criminal Code) or drug trafficking (sections 5, 6, or 7.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act)
- Allows restitution for specific costs: emergency shelter, medical supplies (like overdose reversal drugs), harm reduction programs, security measures, staff mental health support, and increased operational costs
- Restitution amounts must be reasonable and readily ascertainable (easy to calculate)
- This restitution is independent of — and in addition to — any other restitution already ordered in the case
Gotchas
- Only organizations (not individuals) can receive this type of restitution — individual victims are covered under existing provisions
- The bill only applies to two specific categories of crime: human trafficking and drug trafficking; other crimes that harm community organizations are not covered
- The costs must be 'readily ascertainable,' which means organizations may need detailed financial records to qualify, potentially creating a documentation burden
- Restitution orders depend on the offender's ability to pay — courts cannot always enforce collection if the offender has no money
- The bill does not define 'front-line services' or 'community,' which could lead to legal disputes about which organizations qualify
Who's Affected
- Community organizations providing emergency, harm reduction, or victim support services
- People convicted of human trafficking or drug trafficking offences
- Judges and courts applying sentencing rules
- Frontline workers at shelters, overdose prevention sites, and victim services organizations
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Only organizations (not individuals) can receive this type of restitution — individual victims are covered under existing provisions
- The bill only applies to two specific categories of crime: human trafficking and drug trafficking; other crimes that harm community organizations are not covered
- The costs must be 'readily ascertainable,' which means organizations may need detailed financial records to qualify, potentially creating a documentation burden
- Restitution orders depend on the offender's ability to pay — courts cannot always enforce collection if the offender has no money
- The bill does not define 'front-line services' or 'community,' which could lead to legal disputes about which organizations qualify
Summary
Bill C-238 changes the Criminal Code to allow judges to order convicted offenders to pay money directly to community organizations — not just individual victims — when those organizations had to spend extra money because of certain crimes. The crimes covered are human trafficking and drug trafficking offences under the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The organizations that could receive this money are ones that provide front-line services like emergency shelters, overdose response, harm reduction programs, or victim support. If they spent money on things like extra security, mental health support for traumatized staff, or emergency medical supplies because of one of these crimes, a court could order the offender to pay them back for those costs. This bill was introduced because community organizations often absorb significant costs caused by drug and human trafficking crimes, but current law only allows restitution to be paid to individual victims. This bill would extend that right to eligible organizations.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses
Recorded Votes
| Date | Description | Yeas | Nays | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2026 | 2nd reading of Bill C-238, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (restitution orders) | 168 | 153 | Agreed To |