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Senate Bill

Bill S-272

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 03, 2023
An Act to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act
  • This bill is an amendment to the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, which deals with who is responsible for prosecuting certain crimes. The amendment specifies that if a First Nation (a group of Indigenous people in Canada) creates a law for minor crimes, the Director of Public Prosecutions will handle the prosecution of those crimes unless the First Nation already has a prosecutor or an agreement with a provincial or territorial government for the prosecution of those crimes. Essentially, this bill is about making sure First Nations have a say in the prosecution of minor offenses under their own laws.
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First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023

SENATE OF CANADA

BILL S-272
An Act to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act
FIRST READING, June 22, 2023

THE HONOURABLE SENATOR MCCALLUM
4412324


SUMMARY

This enactment amends the Director of Public Prosecutions Act to provide that the Director of Public Prosecutions initiates and conducts prosecutions of summary conviction offences under First Nation laws on behalf of the First Nation that made or enacted the First Nation law, unless the First Nation has appointed or retained a prosecutor or entered into an agreement with a provincial or territorial government for the prosecution of such offences.

Available on the Senate of Canada website at the following address:
www.sencanada.ca/en


1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023

SENATE OF CANADA

BILL S-272

An Act to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act

His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

S.‍C.‍, 2006, ch. 9, s. 121

Director of Public Prosecutions Act

1 (1) Section 2 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Start of inserted block

First Nation means

  • (a) a band as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act;

  • (b) a First Nation as defined in subsection 2(2) of the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act; or

  • (c) a First Nation that is party to a self-government agreement implemented by an Act of Parliament. (première nation)

First Nation law means

  • (a) a bylaw made under the Indian Act;

  • (b) a First Nation law as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act; or

  • (c) a law enacted by a council, government or other entity that is authorized to act on behalf of a First Nation under a self-government agreement implemented by an Act of Parliament. (texte législatif de première nation)

    End of inserted block

(2) The definition of prosecution in section 2 of the Act is replaced by the following:

prosecution, except in relation to matters referred to in subsection 3(8) Insertion start or section 3.‍1 Insertion end , means a prosecution under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, a proceeding respecting any offence, the prosecution — or prospective prosecution — of which is under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, and any appeal related to such a prosecution or proceeding. (poursuite)

Duties — First Nation laws

2 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 3:

Start of inserted block

3.‍1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Director initiates and conducts prosecutions of summary conviction offences under First Nation laws, as well as any appeal or other proceeding related to such a prosecution, on behalf of the First Nation that made or enacted the First Nation law.

End of inserted block

Exception

Start of inserted block

(2) The Director shall not initiate or conduct a prosecution of a summary conviction offence under a First Nation law, or any appeal or other proceeding related to such a prosecution, if the First Nation that made or enacted the First Nation law has appointed or retained a prosecutor or entered into an agreement with a provincial or territorial government for the prosecution of summary conviction offences created by its First Nation laws.

End of inserted block
Published under authority of the Senate of Canada


EXPLANATORY NOTES

Director of Public Prosecutions Act
Clause 1:  (1) New.
(2) Text of the definition:

prosecution, except in relation to matters referred to in subsection 3(8), means a prosecution under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, a proceeding respecting any offence, the prosecution — or prospective prosecution — of which is under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, and any appeal related to such a prosecution or proceeding. (poursuite)

Clause 2:  New.