Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69
| Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 | |
|---|---|
Minister of Justice | |
| First reading | December 19, 1968 |
| Second reading | January 23, 1969 |
| Third reading | May 14, 1969 |
| Voting summary |
|
The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69
The bill decriminalized
John Turner, Trudeau's successor as Minister of Justice, described the bill as "the most important and all-embracing reform of the criminal and penal law ever attempted at one time in this country."[4] Trudeau famously defended the bill by telling reporters that "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation," adding that "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code".[5]
Vote
| Party | Voted for | Voted against | Present | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G Liberal Party | 1
|
- | 34
| |
| Progressive Conservative Party | 12
|
43
|
- | 17 |
| New Democratic Party | 18
|
- | - | 5
|
| Ralliement Créditiste | - | 11
|
- | 3
|
| Independent
|
- | - | - | |
| Total | 149 | 55 | 1 | 59 |
- a. John Mercer Reid was elected as a member of the Liberal-Labour Party, but caucused with the Liberal Party of Canada until the 1972 general election, when he rejoined the main political party.
Changes to the Criminal Code
Abortion and contraception
Abortion
Bill C-150 legalized
Contraceptives
Prior to 1968, the Criminal Code made it an offence to offer to sell, advertise, or have in one's possession for the purpose of sale any "medicine, drug, or article intended or represented as a method of preventing conception or causing abortion or miscarriage."[8] As part of the package of reforms contained in the Criminal Law Amendment Act, the government also introduced Bill S-15, which decriminalised contraceptives and brought them under the regulatory power of the Food and Drugs Act, which governs medicines and medicinal devices. Bill S-15 repealed the reference to contraceptives in the Criminal Code, but left abortifacients criminalised.[9] Bill S-15 received royal assent on June 27, 1969, the same day as the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
Homosexuality
Bill C-150 decriminalized "
Proponents of partial decriminalization defended their position by saying that "[h]omosexuality in itself" would remain unlawful unless both parties were over 21 and the act took place in private. Prior to the law being passed, private consensual homosexual conduct was rarely prosecuted.[10] Historian Tom Hooper says that it is a "myth" that the law decriminalized homosexuality and in fact, it "facilitated the recriminalization of homosexuality in Canada".[11]
Gambling
Prior to Bill C-150, Criminal Code exemptions that permitted small-scale
Gun control
Drunk driving
Bill C-150 also addressed the issue of drunk driving. The bill made it an offence to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) in excess of 80 mg/100 ml of blood. Refusal of a police officer's demand to provide a breath sample was made an offence at the same time and both began as summary conviction offences, with a mandatory minimum $50 fine.[14]
References
- ^ Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 (SC 1968–69, c 38.
- ^ Canadiana. "House of Commons Journals, 27th Parliament, 2nd... – Image 574 – Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources". parl.canadiana.ca. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ^ Canadiana. "House of Commons Journals, 28th Parliament, 1st... – Image 524 – Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources". parl.canadiana.ca. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ^ a b c d e f Canadiana. "House of Commons Debates, 28th Parliament, 1st ... – Image 673 – Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources". parl.canadiana.ca. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ^ a b Trudeau's Omnibus Bill: Challenging Canadian Taboos (TV clip). Canada: CBC. 1967-12-21.
- ^ Pépin, Lucie (1999-11-16). "Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968 – Thirtieth Anniversary of Proclamation". Canadian Senate Speeches. Senate of Canada. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ Abortion rights: significant moments in Canadian history, CBC news (accessed 2011-08-29)
- ^ Criminal Code, SC 1953-54, c 51, s 15(2)(c).
- ^ An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act and the Narcotic Control Act and to make a consequential amendment to the Criminal Code, SC 1968-69, c 41, ss 1-3, 13.
- S2CID 211315581.
- S2CID 182309287.
- ^ Stevens, Rhys (2002-02-08). "Legalized Gambling in Canada" (PDF). (updated on 2005-02-15). Alberta Gaming Research Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ISSN 1209-6393. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (May 1999). "Toward Eliminating Impaired Driving — Chapter 2: Legislative Background". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
Further reading
- Cossman, Brenda (2020). "Fifty Years Later: The Legacy of the 1969 Criminal Law Reforms". University of Toronto Law Journal. 70 (3): 223–224. S2CID 225860479.
- Cossman, Brenda (2020). "The 1969 Criminal Amendments: Constituting the Terms of Gay Resistance". University of Toronto Law Journal. 70 (3): 245–262. S2CID 225848322.
- Hooper, Tom (2019). "Queering '69: The Recriminalization of Homosexuality in Canada". Canadian Historical Review. 100 (2): 257–273. S2CID 182309287.
- Leckey, Robert (2020). "'Repugnant': Homosexuality and Criminal Family Law". University of Toronto Law Journal. 70 (3): 225–244. S2CID 211315581.
- Kirkup, Kyle (2020). "The Gross Indecency of Criminalizing HIV Non-Disclosure". University of Toronto Law Journal. 70 (3): 263–282. S2CID 219512961.
- Smith, Miriam (2020). "Homophobia and Homonationalism: LGBTQ Law Reform in Canada". Social & Legal Studies. 29 (1): 65–84. .