Bill C-45

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Bill C-45
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Historical Overview
This legislation comes in response to the death
of twenty-six miners in the Westray Mine Disaster
in Nova Scotia in 1992. Despite strong pressure
from the victims families and their union, the
province was unable to prosecute those in
charge of the organization that owned and
operated the mine for negligent acts which caused
the explosion. Since then, the United Steel
Workers have petitioned for greater
accountability of corporations in industrial
incidents. They succeeded in lobbying for the
changes in Bill C-45
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The legislation would make organizations
criminally liable As a result of the actions of
senior officers who oversee day-to-day operations
but who may not be directors or executives When
officers with executive or operational authority
intentionally commit, or direct employees to
commit crimes to benefit the organization When
officers with executive or operational authority
become aware of offences being committed by other
employees but take no action to stop them
and When the actions of those with authority and
other employees, taken as a whole, demonstrate a
lack of care that constitutes criminal
negligence.
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Investigations Regarding Workplace Health and
Safety
The Ministry of Labour currently has the lead
responsibility for investigations respecting
workplace health and safety in Ontario Ministry
of Labour Inspectors investigate workplace
fatalities and critical injuries to ensure
compliance with the Occupational Health and
Safety Act to determine if provincial charges
are warranted Now.it will be important for
organizations to note that fact scenarios which
previously resulted in ONLY Occupational
Health And Safety Act charges being laid, may now
attract criminal liability as a result of the
amendments under Bill C-45
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An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Criminal
Liability of Organizations) received Royal Assent
on November 7, 2003 and is in force as of March
31, 2004 Amends the Criminal Code
to establish rules for attributing to
organizations, including corporations, criminal
liability for the acts of their
representatives establishes a legal duty for
all persons directing work to take reasonable
steps to ensure the safety of workers and the
public sets out factors for courts to consider
when sentencing an organization and provides
for optional conditions of probation that a court
may impose on an organization. The Bill
modernizes the law on the criminal liability of
organizations to reflect the increasing
complexity of todays corporate structures. In
addition, the Bill will help ensure
organizations are held accountable when they
commit criminal offences.

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Current Canadian Law
Criminal Liability Generally Criminal
Liability of Organizations Criminal Liability
of Directors, officers, and employees
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Changing the Law Under Bill C-45
The provisions of Bill C-45 are a compilation of
the existing rules with new reforms, which will
modernize the law to reflect the increasing
complexity of corporate structures. Bill C-45
deals only with the criminal responsibility of
the organization and makes no change in the
current law dealing with the personal liability
of directors, officers, and employees. Directors,
officers, and employees, like anyone else, are
liable for all that they personally commit,
whatever the context.
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Why Does C-45 Refer to an Organization Rather
than a Corporation?
Defining the term person
corporation bodies criminal
organization
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Why Does C-45 Refer to an Organization Rather
than a Corporation?
Re-Defined under Bill C-45 organization
a public body, a body corporate, a society, a
company and a firm, a partnership, a trade
union or an association created for a common
purpose
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Who are the Directing Minds of the Organization?
Senior officerincludes everyone who has an
important role in setting policy (which
is the current Canadian Law) or managing
an important part of the organizations
activities (this part is new)
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What does it Mean when an Organization is a Party
to an Offence?
Reflects both aspects found in Section 21 and 22
of the Criminal Code regarding party to an
offence Section 21 person actually commits
the offence or aids another person to
commit Section 22 person who counsels another
person is party to the offence Bill C-45
reflects both sections of the code which provides
a broader definition that will apply to more
activities than only when the organization
commits the offence
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For Whose Physical Acts is an Organization
Responsible?
To obtain a conviction currently the Crown must
prove both the commission of the prohibited
act, and, the requisite guilty mental
state Under Bill C-45 the Bill differentiates
between crimes requiring the Crown to prove
negligence and crimes requiring the Crown to
prove knowledge or intent the Bill also
provides separate rules for the prosecution of
each type so Crowns have much more latitude in
prosecuting organizational crimes
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How does an Organization Become a Party to a
Crime of Negligence?
In offences based on negligence, the court must
decide whether an individual acted so carelessly
or with reckless disregard for the safety of
others as to deserve criminal punishment In
order to be found guilty it would have to be
proved that employees committed the act and that
a senior official should have taken reasonable
steps to prevent them from doing so With
respect to the physical element of the crime,
Bill C-45 provides that an organization is
responsible for the negligent acts or omissions
of its representative The Bill provides that
the conduct of two or more representatives can be
combined to constitute an offence. Bill C-45
would require the senior officer (or officers)
have departed markedly from the standard of care
that could be expected.
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How does an Organization Become a Party to an
Offence Where Intent or Knowledge has to be
Proven?
Bill C-45 sets out three ways an organization can
commit a crime requiring an awareness of a fact
or specified intent. In all cases the focus is
on a senior officer who must intend to benefit
the organization to some degree.
Three ways to commit the crime are

• The senior officer actually commits the crime
• The senior officer has the intent, but
  subordinates carry out
• the actual physical act
• The senior officer knows employees are going to
  commit
• a crime to benefit the organization and
  does nothing to
• stop them

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Sentencing an Organization
Corporations cannot go to jail so the Criminal
Code provides for fines as follows Summary
Conviction less serious offences that are
punishable for individuals by up to six months in
jail and/or a 2000 fine. The code provides for a
fine up to 25,000 for organizations BILL C-45
would increase the maximum fine on an
organization for a summary offence to
100,000. For more serious indictable offences
the Code already provides no limit on the fine
that could be levied on an organization
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How are Fines Set?
MORAL BLAMEWORTHINESS PUBLIC INTEREST PROSPECT
S OF REHABILITATION
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What is Corporate Probation?
Courts often place offenders on probationoften
with conditions. there are no probation
activities available to the courts for corporate
offenders. Bill C-45 proposes to put in the Code
a specific section dealing with probation orders
for organizations. The conditions are The new
section also sets out orders to prevent an
organization from repeating the behaviour in the
future. The court can order and organization
to There will be no need for the courts to
oversee changes in corporate policy or procedure
where there is already a regulatory body in
place. For exampleif safety practices have to be
reviewed there is a provincial Health and Safety
department with trained inspectors.only where
this does not exist will the courts oversee
required corporate changes.
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For Information or Questions
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE www.canada.justice.gc.ca 6
13-957-4222
To View the latest on-line version of the bill go
to www.parl.gc.ca