Review the criminal justice system, including sentencing reforms, to ensure it keeps us safe and it is fair.

What success looks like

Crime rates are reduced, the justice system has the resources it needs, and all Canadians have access to justice through a fairer system.

Government's narrative on progress

The government continues to review the criminal justice system, including sentencing reforms, to ensure that it keeps Canadians safe, while also addressing the overrepresentation of vulnerable groups in prisons, including Indigenous people and those with mental illness. Using various platforms, such as in-person meetings and online discussion fora, Canadians had an opportunity to share their views on what can be done to improve the Criminal Justice System. The online public consultation closed on January 31, 2018. A report on the findings of the online consultation will be released in the spring 2019. This follows a program of broad engagement with justice system partners, stakeholders from diverse perspectives and various sectors, for which the report was released on March 22, 2018. Complimentary work was also done in partnership with the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) to explore how the criminal justice system could work in a more integrated manner with other social systems such as housing, education, and mental health. Four roundtables were held with stakeholders, and 18 articles were published in the digital magazine, Policy Options. A full report on the findings of this engagement was recently published. A final report of the findings and next steps of the criminal justice system review will be available in 2019. The government has introduced bills that demonstrate respect for the courts and the Charter. On December 13, 2018, government legislation aimed at modernizing the *Criminal Code* by removing outdated provisions as well as clarifying and strengthening sexual assault laws received Royal Assent. Additionally, in March 2018, the government tabled legislation to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system and address court delays in six key areas: (1) modernize and streamline the bail regime; (2) enhance the approach to administration of justice offences, including for youth; (3) restrict the availability of preliminary inquiries to offences carrying life imprisonment; (4) reclassify some offences to provide greater flexibility and court efficiencies; (5) improve the jury composition and selection process; and, (6) strengthen case management measures and processes for making rules of court. Further, a number of these reforms will assist in reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous people and vulnerable populations in the criminal justice system, including those with addictions and mental illness. These proposed reforms are currently before the Senate. Budget 2016 and 2017 committed funding for more judges in Superior Courts, greater support programming on judicial education, ethics and conduct, further funding for court translation in both of Canada's official languages, long-term mandate in the Indigenous Justice Program which will provide a foundation for increasing restorative justice practices and more legal aid services provided in the provinces and territories, including specialized services to Indigenous people, and those with mental illness. Additional representation and services will also be offered through the Indigenous Justice Programs that will provide community-based justice programs and the Indigenous Courtwork Program for Indigenous people to help them navigate the criminal justice system.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.