Summary#

Bill S-205 changes Canada’s Criminal Code to tighten bail and expand “peace bond” tools in domestic violence cases. It adds a new recognizance (a court order to keep the peace with conditions, even without a conviction) specific to domestic violence fears and updates rules for monitoring and privacy. It also requires a simple victim-notification check when release orders are made and adjusts youth court rules. The law takes effect 180 days after Royal Assent.

• Stricter bail rule for people charged with intimate partner violence who have a past conviction or discharge for violence against any intimate partner (s.515(6)(b.1)).
• Judges must confirm victims were told they can ask for a copy of a release order (s.515(14.1)).
• New domestic-violence recognizance (s.810.03) allows court-ordered conditions for up to 12 months, or up to 2 years if there is a prior violent conviction.
• Possible conditions include electronic monitoring, no-contact, geographic limits, firearms bans, treatment, and drug/alcohol abstention with testing (s.810.03(6)–(8)).
• Privacy limits and destruction rules for bodily samples collected to enforce abstention conditions (s.810.3(3)–(4); s.810.4(1)–(3)).
• Youth justice courts handle these orders for young people, with capped custody if a youth refuses the recognizance (YCJA s.14(2); s.142(1)(a)).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • If you fear domestic violence, you or someone on your behalf may ask a judge for a recognizance (peace bond) with safety conditions, even if no charge is laid (s.810.03(1)–(3)). Orders can last up to 12 months, or up to 2 years if the person has a past violent conviction against any intimate partner or child (s.810.03(4)).
  • Judges can order no‑contact, stay‑away zones, curbs on travel, treatment programs, electronic monitoring (with Attorney General consent), and firearms prohibitions (s.810.03(6)–(8)).
  • If you are Indigenous (as informant or defendant), the judge must consider recommending Indigenous support services instead of an order, if available (s.810.03(4.1)).

• Victims and survivors of intimate partner violence

  • When a judge issues a release order (bail), they must ask the prosecutor if victims were informed of their right to request a copy of that order (s.515(14.1)).
  • Courts must consider banning firearms and related items; if they choose not to, they must record reasons (s.810.03(7)–(9)). A coordinating clause adds “firearm part” if Bill C‑21 is in force (Coordinating Amendment s.2–3).
  • Privacy protections apply to any bodily samples taken to enforce abstention conditions; results are for compliance checks or breach cases, not other uses (s.810.4(1)–(3)).

• Accused/Defendants in intimate partner violence cases

  • If charged with violence against an intimate partner and you have a past conviction or a discharge under s.730 for violence against any intimate partner, you fall under the s.515(6) bail rule that places the onus on you to show why you should be released (s.515(6)(b.1)).
  • If you refuse to enter a recognizance ordered under s.810.03, a judge may jail you for up to 12 months (s.810.03(5)).
  • If ordered to abstain from drugs/alcohol, you may be required to provide bodily samples based on reasonable grounds of breach, or at regular intervals no more often than every 7 days, with advance notice (s.810.03(6)(g)–(h); s.810.3(6)).

• Youth and families

  • Youth justice courts have exclusive jurisdiction over these recognizance orders for young people, and if a youth refuses to enter an order, custody cannot exceed 30 days; other youth sentences may apply (YCJA s.14(2); s.142(1)(a)).

• Firearms owners

  • If a domestic-violence recognizance includes a firearms condition, the order must state how to surrender or dispose of firearms, ammunition, licences, and certificates (s.810.03(8)).

• Police, probation, and courts

  • Attorneys General must set designations/specifications for which bodily substances may be taken and how samples are handled and destroyed; samples must be destroyed within the prescribed period unless needed for a breach case (s.810.3(1), (3)–(4)).
  • Courts must consult informants about safety needs before changing recognizance conditions (s.810.03(10)–(11)).
  • Existing domestic‑violence peace bond applications under s.810 convert to s.810.03 on the in‑force date if not yet decided (Transitional Provision).

• Timing

  • The Act takes effect 180 days after Royal Assent (Coming into Force).

Expenses#

• Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• Key fiscal considerations

  • No direct federal appropriation or new federal fees in the bill text (Bill, passim).
  • Potential provincial/territorial costs for:
    • Additional bail hearings and recognizance proceedings (s.515; s.810.03).
    • Electronic monitoring where ordered and supported by the Attorney General (s.810.03(6)(d)).
    • Laboratory analysis and handling/destruction of bodily samples (s.810.03(6)(g)–(h); s.810.3(3)–(4)).
    • Supervision and enforcement of conditions, including firearms surrender logistics (s.810.03(7)–(8)).
  • Quantified amounts: Data unavailable from the bill text or official non‑partisan sources.

Proponents' View#

• Improves victim safety by enabling early court intervention before violence occurs, via a domestic‑violence‑specific recognizance with tailored conditions (s.810.03(1), (3), (6)–(8)).
• Closes bail gap by counting prior discharges (not just convictions) and prior violence against any intimate partner, making release harder for repeat offenders (s.515(6)(b.1)).
• Strengthens firearms safety by requiring judges to consider firearms prohibitions and to record reasons if not imposed; also ensures clear surrender procedures (s.810.03(7)–(9)).
• Adds a simple victim‑information check so victims can access release orders and understand conditions meant to protect them (s.515(14.1)).
• Builds in privacy and misuse safeguards for bodily samples, limiting use to compliance checks and breach cases and mandating destruction timelines (s.810.3(3)–(4); s.810.4(1)–(3)).
• Respects Indigenous contexts by requiring consideration of Indigenous support services as an alternative when appropriate (s.810.03(4.1)).

Opponents' View#

• Expands state control without conviction: recognizance orders can impose strict conditions and, on refusal, custody of up to 12 months, based only on “reasonable fear” rather than a finding of guilt (s.810.03(3), (5)).
• Risk of increased pre‑trial detention: the revised bail rule applies to more accused (prior discharges and any prior intimate partner), potentially raising remand populations and related costs (s.515(6)(b.1)).
• Implementation strain and unequal access: electronic monitoring, testing, and treatment capacity vary by province/territory; costs and program limits may affect consistent application (s.810.03(6)(a), (d), (g)–(h)).
• Privacy and proportionality concerns: bodily samples to enforce abstention conditions raise privacy risks, even with limits; false positives/negatives could trigger breach proceedings (s.810.03(6)(g)–(h); s.810.4(1)–(3)).
• Net‑widening and enforcement risks: adding a new offence pathway for breach of recognizance may bring more people into the justice system for non‑violent non‑compliance, including substance use, rather than addressing root causes (s.811 via s.811.1(1); s.810.03(6)(f)–(h)).
• Ambiguity and discretion: “reasonable grounds” and “any reasonable conditions” standards may lead to uneven decisions; required firearms‑consideration could be applied inconsistently despite the duty to give reasons (s.810.03(3), (6), (7)–(9)).