Parole can be delayed if remains withheld

Summary#

This bill changes how courts and parole boards treat offenders who refuse to tell authorities where a victim’s body or remains are. It adds refusal as an aggravating factor at sentencing and allows courts and parole boards to delay or deny parole and temporary absences in those cases. The changes apply to offences “in relation to the death of a person” and only when a court or board is satisfied the offender has the information and refuses to share it.

• Courts must treat refusal to disclose the location of remains as an aggravating factor at sentencing, if satisfied the offender has the information (Criminal Code, after s.718.04).
• Courts must either order a longer parole-ineligibility period (up to one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less) or explain why normal eligibility is adequate (Criminal Code s.743.6(1.3)).
• Courts must revoke that longer ineligibility order if the offender later provides the information (s.743.6(1.4)).
• Parole boards may refuse parole or unescorted temporary absences on the same refusal grounds (CCRA ss.102(2), 116(1.1)).
• Provincial authorities may refuse temporary absences for provincial prisoners on the same grounds (Prisons and Reformatories Act s.7.3(3)).
• Parole decision-makers must consider any court order made under s.743.6(1.3) (CCRA ss.4(a), 101(a)).

What it means for you#

• Households and victims’ families

  • Courts must consider an offender’s refusal to share location information as a factor that can increase sentence severity (after s.718.04), effective once the bill becomes law.
  • If a court orders longer parole ineligibility and the offender later provides the information, the court must revoke that order (s.743.6(1.4)), which may speed parole eligibility.

• Offenders convicted of offences related to a death

  • If the court is satisfied you have location information and refuse to provide it to persons in authority (police or other officials), your refusal must be treated as an aggravating factor at sentencing (after s.718.04).
  • The court must order a longer parole-ineligibility period—one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less—unless it finds normal eligibility still meets denunciation and deterrence (s.743.6(1.3)).
  • If you later provide the information, the court must revoke the longer ineligibility order (s.743.6(1.4)).
  • Parole boards may deny parole and unescorted temporary absences on the same refusal grounds (CCRA ss.102(2), 116(1.1); Prisons and Reformatories Act s.7.3(3)).

• Courts, prosecutors, and defense counsel

  • Courts must make findings on whether the offender has the information and refused, and, if declining to give effect to the aggravating factor, must give reasons (after s.718.04(2)).
  • When imposing a sentence of 2 years or more, courts must decide whether to impose the longer parole-ineligibility order under s.743.6(1.3) and record reasons if not.
  • Courts retain discretion to forgo the longer ineligibility if denunciation and deterrence are adequately served by normal eligibility (s.743.6(1.3)).

• Parole boards and correctional officials (federal and provincial)

  • Must consider any s.743.6(1.3) order and related information in case management and release decisions (CCRA ss.4(a), 101(a)).
  • May refuse parole and unescorted temporary absences if satisfied of refusal to disclose location information (CCRA ss.102(2), 116(1.1); Prisons and Reformatories Act s.7.3(3)).

• Local and provincial governments

  • Provincial correctional authorities gain explicit discretion to refuse temporary absences on these grounds for prisoners serving sentences under provincial jurisdiction (Prisons and Reformatories Act s.7.3(3)).

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• The bill contains no appropriations or new fees. It changes sentencing and parole eligibility rules (Bill text).
• No federal fiscal note or Parliamentary Budget Officer estimate identified. Data unavailable.
• Potential impacts on custody days, parole operations, and court time are not quantified in the bill. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• It deters offenders from withholding the location of remains by increasing sentencing severity and delaying parole when courts are satisfied the offender has the information and refuses (after s.718.04; s.743.6(1.3)).
• It aligns with sentencing goals of denunciation and deterrence, which the bill states as its purpose for these measures (Preamble; after s.718.04(1)).
• It gives parole boards clear authority to deny parole and unescorted temporary absences when refusal persists, reinforcing accountability during incarceration (CCRA ss.102(2), 116(1.1)).
• It provides an off‑ramp: if the offender later discloses the location, the court must revoke the longer parole-ineligibility order, creating a sustained incentive to cooperate (s.743.6(1.4)).
• It ensures transparency: if a court finds the aggravating circumstance exists but chooses not to apply it, the court must give reasons (after s.718.04(2)).

Opponents' View#

• It risks pressuring offenders to provide statements that may be unreliable or incorrect to gain earlier parole, because refusal can increase sentence severity and extend parole ineligibility (after s.718.04; s.743.6(1.3)).
• Proving that an offender “has information” may be difficult and could lead to contested hearings and uneven application across cases, since courts and boards must first be “satisfied” on that point (after s.718.04(1); CCRA ss.102(2), 116(1.1)).
• In cases where an offender does not actually know the location, the risk of longer parole ineligibility may still be imposed if the court is satisfied otherwise, raising fairness concerns (s.743.6(1.3)).
• Longer parole-ineligibility periods can increase time in custody for some offenders, which may raise correctional costs and capacity pressures; the bill provides no cost estimate (s.743.6(1.3); Expenses: Data unavailable).
• The bill’s measures rely on denunciation and deterrence; opponents may question whether these tools will effectively change behavior in practice, especially for offenders unwilling or unable to disclose (Preamble; s.743.6(1.3)).