C-243 (45-1) - An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (parole review)
Chamber
commons
Stage
2nd Reading
Introduced
Sep 22, 2025
Progress
This bill removes the right of murder convicts to apply for parole, requiring automatic reviews on fixed schedules instead.
Key Changes
- Removes the right of first degree and second degree murder convicts to apply for day parole after being denied or having parole cancelled
- Removes the right of first degree and second degree murder convicts to apply for full parole after being denied or having parole cancelled
- Parole reviews for murder convicts would only occur on the statutory (legally set) schedule, not on the offender's request
- Applies to both day parole and full parole under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act
Gotchas
- The bill does not eliminate parole eligibility entirely — it only removes the ability to apply; automatic reviews on fixed schedules still occur
- It is unclear whether this change could face a Charter challenge related to the right to liberty or procedural fairness
- The bill applies only after a denial or cancellation of parole, not to first-time reviews
- As a private member's bill, it has a lower likelihood of becoming law without government support
- The bill does not specify how the existing statutory review time frames would be affected or adjusted for this group of offenders
Who's Affected
- Offenders serving sentences for first degree murder
- Offenders serving sentences for second degree murder
- The Parole Board of Canada
- Victims' families who participate in parole hearings
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill does not eliminate parole eligibility entirely — it only removes the ability to apply; automatic reviews on fixed schedules still occur
- It is unclear whether this change could face a Charter challenge related to the right to liberty or procedural fairness
- The bill applies only after a denial or cancellation of parole, not to first-time reviews
- As a private member's bill, it has a lower likelihood of becoming law without government support
- The bill does not specify how the existing statutory review time frames would be affected or adjusted for this group of offenders
Summary
Bill C-243 changes the rules around parole for people convicted of first degree or second degree murder. Currently, after being denied parole or having parole cancelled, these offenders can apply to have their case reviewed again. This bill would remove that ability to apply — instead, their parole would only be reviewed automatically according to the set time frames already in the law. This means murder convicts would no longer be able to request an earlier or additional parole review on their own initiative. They would have to wait for the Parole Board to review their case on the schedule set out in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. The bill was introduced as a private member's bill by Mr. Diotte in September 2025. It appears aimed at limiting the ability of those convicted of the most serious violent crimes to seek parole more frequently or outside of the standard review schedule.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses