Bill C-19 · 39th Parliament · Stephen Harper
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (street racing) and to make a consequential amendment to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedJune 15, 2006
- Debated in principleOct. 3, 2006
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberNov. 1, 2006
- Passed the second chamberDec. 13, 2006
- Became lawDec. 14, 2006
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Stephen HarperPrime Minister
- Donald H. OliverSenate · Sponsor in the Senate
- Bill SiksayCalls the legislation very important for addressing street racing deaths in communities.
- Derek LeeStates clear support for the objectives and purpose of the bill.
- Rob MooreStates he will be speaking in favour of the bill.
- Vic ToewsMoves second reading of the bill and leads debate in its favour.
- Louis PlamondonStates the Bloc Québécois supports the bill as a step forward.
- Carol SkeltonStates she rises in support of the bill and urges members to support it.
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
Where members stand
How it changed on the way
76% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (2,365 words introduced, 1,773 passed).
substantial changeintent mostly kept
The core offences for street racing causing death or bodily harm by criminal negligence or dangerous operation were retained with identical wording. Parliament reorganized and expanded the mandatory driving prohibition tiers under section 259, adding a distinct second-offence category and adjusting maximum and minimum periods.
How precisely it is written
mostly preciseChallenging the law: ModerateDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill supplies a clear definition of street racing and attaches fixed maximum sentences plus mandatory prohibition orders whose minimum and maximum lengths are stated in years and triggered by the number of prior convictions. Some ranges remain for courts to choose the exact prohibition length within each tier.
Open to argument
“in a race with at least one other motor vehicle”
The word race is undefined and could invite argument over what conduct counts as racing.
Clear-cut
“"street racing" means operating a motor vehicle in a race with at least one other motor vehicle on a street, road, highway or other public place”
The term is defined in objective, observable language that directly ties the new offences to existing Code provisions.“Everyone who by criminal negligence causes death to another person while street racing is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life”
The offence and its maximum penalty are stated without qualifiers or further discretion.“for each subsequent offence, during a period of not less than three years plus any period to which the offender is sentenced to imprisonment”
The prohibition length is fixed by a clear numerical minimum once the prior-conviction trigger is met.
Discretion. Courts retain discretion to set prohibition periods inside the statutory minimum-maximum bands and to decide the exact sentence within the Code maxima already provided for the underlying negligence or dangerous-driving offences.
Challenging the law itself. A vagueness or overbreadth claim under s. 7 of the Charter could be brought against the undefined word race, though the rest of the scheme uses objective triggers and fixed penalties.
Disputing a charge under it. Once a person is convicted of the base offence while street racing, the mandatory prohibition orders are triggered automatically by the number of prior convictions, leaving little room to dispute the added driving ban.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.