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
- Expands restitution orders under the Criminal Code to include non-individual organizations (e.g., charities, non-profits, service agencies) as eligible recipients
- Applies specifically to human trafficking and drug trafficking convictions
- Allows restitution for emergency shelter and medical costs, including overdose reversal supplies
- Allows restitution for harm reduction programs such as overdose and infectious disease prevention
- Allows restitution for security upgrades, staff mental health supports, and increased operational costs caused by the offence
- Restitution amounts are capped at actual, reasonable, and readily ascertainable expenses
Gotchas
- Restitution is only available when the expense amount is 'readily ascertainable,' which may limit eligibility in practice if costs are difficult to document precisely
- Only non-individual organizations qualify — individual victims are covered under existing provisions, not this new paragraph
- The bill is limited to two specific categories of offences (human trafficking and drug trafficking) and does not extend to other crimes that may also burden community organizations
- Restitution orders are separate from fines or other penalties, but offenders' ability to pay may affect whether courts issue them or whether organizations actually receive payment
- The bill does not create a guaranteed fund or government backstop — if an offender cannot pay, the organization may not recover its costs
Who's Affected
- Community organizations providing front-line, emergency, or victim support services
- Harm reduction and social service organizations
- Offenders convicted of human trafficking or drug trafficking offences
- Courts and judges applying sentencing provisions
- Communities affected by drug and human trafficking crimes
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Restitution is only available when the expense amount is 'readily ascertainable,' which may limit eligibility in practice if costs are difficult to document precisely
- Only non-individual organizations qualify — individual victims are covered under existing provisions, not this new paragraph
- The bill is limited to two specific categories of offences (human trafficking and drug trafficking) and does not extend to other crimes that may also burden community organizations
- Restitution orders are separate from fines or other penalties, but offenders' ability to pay may affect whether courts issue them or whether organizations actually receive payment
- The bill does not create a guaranteed fund or government backstop — if an offender cannot pay, the organization may not recover its costs
Summary
Bill C-238 amends the Criminal Code to allow courts to include community organizations — not just individual victims — in restitution orders when sentencing offenders convicted of human trafficking or drug trafficking crimes. Currently, restitution orders mainly compensate individual victims for their losses. This bill expands that to cover organizations like shelters, harm reduction programs, and emergency services that end up bearing extra costs because of these crimes. The bill was introduced in response to the reality that front-line community organizations often absorb significant costs when dealing with the aftermath of drug and human trafficking offences — things like emergency medical supplies, overdose prevention, security upgrades, and mental health support for their staff. The bill recognizes these organizations as deserving compensation directly from offenders. This is a private member's bill introduced by Ms. Lapointe on September 22, 2025. It applies specifically to offences under the human trafficking sections of the Criminal Code (sections 279.01–279.02) and drug trafficking offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (sections 5, 6, and 7.1).
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Vibes
0 responses