Minimum Mandatory Jail Sentence For Fraud Over C$1-Million

Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on White Collar Crime, July 2011

Overview

Bill C-21, the Standing Up for Victims of White Collar Crime Act, received Royal Assent just prior to May's federal election. The Act introduces new sentencing provisions related to fraud, creating a two-year minimum sentence for fraud over C$1-million among other important amendments. The Act will enter into force on a date to be determined by order-in-council. These new sentencing provisions signal the clear intention of the Canadian government to impose more serious sanctions on those convicted of fraud.

In our Blakes Bulletin: Government of Canada Re-Introduces Bill Seeking to Create Mandatory Jail Sentences for White Collar Crime, we advised that Bill C-21 had been introduced on May 3, 2010. Bill C-21 was one of a number of justice initiatives debated in the last Parliament, and was promoted on the basis that the Canadian