Expanded DNA Collection and Familial Searches

Summary#

This bill expands when police and courts can collect and use DNA in Canada. It broadens which crimes trigger a DNA order, makes DNA orders more automatic, and permits “familial searching” (looking for possible relatives of an unknown suspect). It also changes privacy rules, including how DNA is destroyed or disclosed, and aligns military rules with the Criminal Code. The law would take effect 90 days after royal assent and applies to new convictions and ongoing or past investigations (Application; Coming into Force).

• Expands “designated offences” so most indictable crimes with a maximum of 5+ years become primary designated offences, which trigger automatic DNA orders (Clause 2).
• Requires courts to order DNA collection after a finding of guilt, a discharge, or a finding of not criminally responsible (NCRMD) for designated offences; “secondary” offences are also presumptively ordered (Clause 3).
• Authorizes familial DNA searches in serious cases (potential 14+ year sentence), including requests from foreign partners, when no direct match exists (Clause 18, new s.6.41).
• Allows police to learn the identity of people with record suspensions (pardons) or discharges if a DNA match occurs (Criminal Records Act amendment; Clause 14).
• Simplifies some procedures (less paperwork), changes destruction rules for invalid orders, and creates a process to request removal after acquittal (Clauses 6, 17, 20–21).
• Applies to youth and to the military justice system on similar terms (Clauses 3, 16).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • More people will have to give DNA if found guilty, discharged (a discharge is not a conviction), or found NCRMD of designated offences. This includes most indictable crimes with a maximum penalty of 5+ years (Clause 2; Clause 3).
  • If your DNA profile is already in the national DNA data bank, police must not take another sample (Clause 7).
  • Familial searching may lead police to contact biological relatives of an unknown suspect in serious cases (potential 14+ year sentence) when other methods fail or are unlikely to work, or when the situation is urgent (Clause 18, new s.6.41).

• People with record suspensions or past discharges

  • Police may be told your identity if your DNA profile matches a crime scene profile, even if your record is suspended or you received a discharge (Criminal Records Act, Clause 14).
  • The prior rule that barred use of stored bodily substances for people with a record suspension is repealed (Clause 21).
  • You may ask the RCMP Commissioner to destroy your bodily substances and make your profile inaccessible if you are finally acquitted of every related designated offence and have no other findings for a designated offence (Clause 20).

• Youth

  • Youth who are found guilty, discharged, or found NCRMD of designated offences are subject to DNA orders on the same basis as adults (Clause 3).

• Victims, families, and volunteers in DNA indexes

  • Familial searching can compare crime scene DNA with the convicted offenders index, victims index, missing persons index, voluntary donors index, and human remains index. If a potential biological relative is indicated, the Commissioner may share information that aids the investigation (Clause 18, new s.6.41).

• Military members

  • Courts martial must order DNA collection for primary designated offences and presumptively for secondary designated offences, mirroring the Criminal Code changes (Clause 16).

• Police and courts

  • Courts must issue DNA orders more often and earlier in the process; they must record reasons if they decline for secondary offences (Clause 3; Clause 4).
  • Some reporting and defect‑correction procedures are repealed; if an offence is not designated, the Commissioner must destroy samples without delay (Clauses 6, 8, 17).
  • Cross‑border DNA collaboration is broadened through familial searching where conditions are met (Clause 18, new s.6.41).

• Timing

  • Effective 90 days after royal assent (Coming into Force).
  • Applies to convictions/discharges/NCRMD findings after it takes effect, even if the offence happened earlier; also applies to investigations of past offences and to DNA profiles obtained before or after the Act (Application).

Expenses#

• Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• Key points

  • The bill contains no direct appropriations. It expands DNA collection, analysis, storage, and sharing duties for the RCMP and partner labs, which could increase operating costs. Data unavailable.
  • Courts, police, and defence will have workload changes from more mandatory orders and potential familial searches. Data unavailable.
  • No official fiscal note found. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Broader, clearer triggers will increase the number of profiles, improving hit rates between crime scene DNA and the convicted offenders index (Preamble; Clause 2; Clause 3).
• Mandatory or presumptive DNA orders reduce missed samples and speed investigations and arrests for both primary and secondary offences (Clause 3; Clause 4).
• Familial searching has solved serious crimes in other countries; allowing it in Canada, with limits to serious offences and urgency/necessity checks, can unlock cold cases (Preamble; Clause 18, new s.6.41).
• Immediate destruction of samples when an offence is not a designated offence reduces retention of invalid samples (Clause 17).
• Aligning rules for youth and military ensures consistent public safety outcomes across systems (Clauses 3, 16).
• A required ministerial report on collecting DNA like fingerprints sets a path for evidence‑based policy choices (Clause 23).

Opponents' View#

• Privacy concerns: Expanding “primary designated offences” to most indictable crimes with 5+ year maximums sweeps in many non‑violent offences, growing the data bank and exposure to misuse or breaches (Clause 2).
• Civil liberties: Familial searching can draw in innocent relatives and expand police contact chains; allowing foreign requests raises cross‑border privacy and governance risks (Clause 18, new s.6.41).
• Record suspensions weakened: Repealing the bar on using stored samples for people with a record suspension and allowing disclosure of their identity on a DNA match reduces the practical effect of a pardon (Clause 21; Criminal Records Act, Clause 14).
• Burden shift after acquittal: Making deletion contingent on a person’s request, rather than automatic, may leave acquitted people’s DNA retained if they do not apply or are unaware (Clause 20).
• Implementation risk: More sampling and analyses could strain RCMP labs and create backlogs; the bill provides no funding or timelines to manage higher volumes. Data unavailable.
• Legal risk: Expanded collection from youth, broad offence coverage, and familial searching may face Charter challenges on search, privacy, and proportionality. Data unavailable.