C-236Addressing the Continuing Victimization of Homicide Victims' Families Act
An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Prisons and Reformatories Act
Private member's bill, introduced in the House of Commons on September 22, 2025
- Status
- In committee in the House of Commons since March 26, 2026
What it does
Adds refusal to tell authorities where a victim’s body or remains are as a sentencing and parole factor in death-related offences.
What it does
- Requires courts to treat an offender’s refusal to give authorities the location of a body or remains as an aggravating factor when sentencing for an offence related to a death.
- Requires courts to give reasons if they find that aggravating factor but do not use it in sentencing.
- Allows courts to delay full parole eligibility to half the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less, for some offenders who refuse to provide that information, unless usual parole rules would set a different period.
- Adds any such court order, and other relevant information, to the factors the Parole Board of Canada and parole boards must consider.
- Allows the Parole Board of Canada, provincial parole boards, and designated authorities under the Prisons and Reformatories Act to refuse parole or temporary absences in these cases.
Who it affects
- People convicted of death-related offences
- Homicide victims’ families
- Courts
- Parole Board of Canada
- Provincial parole boards
- Correctional authorities
- Prisoners seeking temporary absence
Topics
Background
The bill applies when a person is convicted of an offence in relation to the death of a person and has information about the location of the body or remains, but refuses to tell persons in authority.
Where it is
House of Commons
First reading
Completed.
Second reading
Completed.
Committee
Current stage. Now here
Report stage
Not reached.
Third reading
Not reached.
Senate
First reading
Not reached.
Second reading
Not reached.
Committee
Not reached.
Third reading
Not reached.
Royal assent
Royal assent
Not reached.
Introduced by an MP who is not a minister. These bills compete in a lottery for debate time, and most do not become law. How a bill becomes law
How the House voted
No recorded votes yet
What MPs said
Each party’s first speech on this bill in the House, from Hansard. Excerpts are the speaker’s opening sentences, unedited.
LiberalKevin Lamoureux· November 21, 2025
“I believe, at the end of the day, that all members of the House, and I would like to think all parliamentarians, can sympathize with the family members of victims in the situations being portrayed here this afternoon. I suspect there are a number of very high-profile situations people can really relate to.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caConservativeDane Lloyd· November 21, 2025
“What Bill C-236 proposes to do is to address this injustice by giving judges, parole boards and correctional authorities new powers to consider an offender's refusal to co-operate in disclosing the location of the victim's remains at sentencing, in parole hearings and in other release decisions.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caBlocClaude DeBellefeuille· November 21, 2025
“I would be remiss not to begin my speech on Bill C-236 by pointing out that Quebec's early childhood week is drawing to a close. Yesterday was National Child Day.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.ca
Read the source
LEGISinfo status: At consideration in committee in the House of Commons. Bill data from LEGISinfo, votes from openparliament.ca and the House of Commons. Last updated October 13, 2026.