Bill C-232 Conditional Release Act
C-232 An Act to Amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (Maximum Security Offenders)
Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill
Bill Sponsor: Tony Baldinelli (Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake)
Status: Outside the Order of Precedence — First Reading September 19, 2025. This Bill hasn't passed yet.
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WHO GAINS POWER
- Victims and the public gain a statutory guarantee that dangerous offenders and multiple first degree murderers will be held in maximum security — removing discretion from Correctional Service Canada on classification for these specific inmates
- Parliament gains a hard rule in law — security classification for the most serious offenders is no longer an administrative decision
WHO LOSES POWER
- Correctional Service Canada loses discretion to classify dangerous offenders and multiple first degree murderers at anything below maximum security — regardless of behaviour, rehabilitation progress, or individual circumstances
- The Parole Board loses flexibility — maximum security inmates are ineligible for unescorted temporary absences, with no exceptions built into this Bill
WHO GAINS MONEY
- No direct financial provisions in this Bill
WHO LOSES MONEY
- No direct financial provisions in this Bill — but mandatory maximum security classification for a broader group of inmates will increase costs for the federal corrections system
THE CATCH
- ⚠️ This Bill is unlikely to pass — it is a Private Member's Bill introduced outside the Order of Precedence
- ⚠️ No exceptions for rehabilitation or behaviour — an inmate classified under this Bill remains maximum security regardless of how they behave, how much time has passed, or what progress they make. There is no pathway to reclassification
- ⚠️ "Dangerous offender" is a broad designation — it covers a wide range of serious offenders, not only those convicted of violent crimes. All would be subject to mandatory maximum security under this Bill
- ⚠️ No cost analysis is included — mandatory maximum security confinement is significantly more expensive than medium or minimum security. The Bill creates no mechanism to assess or fund the additional cost
- ⚠️ May conflict with the Corrections and Conditional Release Act's existing principles — the Act currently requires the least restrictive environment necessary. This Bill overrides that principle for a defined class of offenders without addressing the tension directly
- ⚠️ Charter implications are not addressed — mandatory classification without individual assessment may raise Section 7 and Section 12 Charter concerns regarding liberty and cruel and unusual treatment. The Bill contains no Charter statement