Bill C-211 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assaults against health care professionals and first responders)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill C-211 requires courts to treat assaults on health care professionals and first responders as an aggravating circumstance when sentencing.
Bill C-211 amends the Criminal Code to require that when a court sentences someone for assault, the judge must consider it an aggravating factor (something that makes the offence more serious) if the person who was assaulted was a health care professional or first responder who was performing their duties at the time. This could result in harsher sentences for people convicted of assaulting doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, and similar workers.
- Adds a new section 269.02 to the Criminal Code
- Requires courts to consider assaults on health care professionals or first responders as an aggravating circumstance during sentencing
- Applies to assaults covered by section 264.1(1)(a) (criminal harassment) and sections 266 to 269 of the Criminal Code (which cover various forms of assault)
- Only applies when the victim was actively performing their duty at the time of the assault
- Health care professionals (such as doctors, nurses, and other hospital or clinic staff) who may have increased legal protection when assaulted while working
- First responders (such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers) who may have increased legal protection when assaulted while working
- People convicted of assaulting health care professionals or first responders, who may receive harsher sentences
- Courts and judges, who must apply this aggravating circumstance when sentencing
- Courts must consider the victim's status as a health care professional or first responder as an aggravating circumstance when imposing a sentence for assault
- The victim must have been actively engaged in performing their duty at the time of the assault for this provision to apply
- The bill does not specify when it comes into force; this is not provided in the bill text
- Judges may impose harsher sentences on people convicted of assaulting health care professionals or first responders, though specific penalty increases are not defined in the bill
- The bill does not define 'health care professional' or 'first responder' — these terms may be interpreted by courts or may refer to existing definitions in Canadian law
- The bill does not specify how much harsher sentences should be; judges have discretion in how much weight to give this aggravating circumstance
- The bill does not provide a commencement date; the effective date is not specified in the bill text
- It is unclear whether 'first responder' includes all emergency personnel or only certain categories
- The bill requires the victim to have been 'engaged in the performance of their duty,' but the bill does not define what constitutes performance of duty
A new provision is added that requires judges to view assaults on health care professionals and first responders as more serious offences deserving harsher sentences.
Source: Section 269.02 (new)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill C-211, concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet proceeded to its first reading in the Senate and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-211, an Act to amend the Criminal Code concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the 'Senate First reading' stage. The bill's latest activity was its introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on February 20, 2020. It is currently listed as 'Outside the Order of Precedence' in the Senate.
Bill C-211, concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the Second Reading stage in the Senate and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This artifact describes the status of Bill C-211, an Act to amend the Criminal Code concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, within the Senate's legislative process. The bill has not yet reached the Senate's Second Reading stage and is currently listed as 'Outside the Order of Precedence'. The information also notes the bill's introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on February 20, 2020, and references similar bills introduced in the current and previous Parliaments.
Bill C-211, regarding assaults on health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the Senate Third Reading stage and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-211, concerning amendments to the Criminal Code related to assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the Senate's Third Reading stage. The bill is currently outside the Order of Precedence. Its latest activity was its introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on February 20, 2020. The record also notes similar bills, C-202 and C-434, that were introduced in the House of Commons in the current and a previous Parliament, respectively.
Bill C-211, concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, completed its first reading in the House of Commons on February 20, 2020, and is currently outside the order of precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-211, an Act to amend the Criminal Code concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, completed its first reading in the House of Commons on February 20, 2020. At this stage, the bill was formally introduced. The bill is currently listed as 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet been scheduled for further debate or progression. The record also notes similar bills that have been introduced in the current and previous Parliaments.
Bill C-211, concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, was formally introduced and read for the first time in the House of Commons on February 20, 2020.
On February 20, 2020, in the House of Commons, the first reading of Bill C-211, an Act to amend the Criminal Code concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, occurred. This stage is the formal introduction of a bill into Parliament. The provided text contains the Hansard record of this sitting, including the debate and proceedings. The introduction of this specific bill was part of the "Routine Proceedings" section of the sitting, following other items like interparliamentary delegation reports and preceding debates on other matters. The artifact does not contain the full text of the bill itself, but rather the record of its introduction and initial debate.
Bill C-211, concerning assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has been introduced and received first reading but has not yet reached the second reading stage in the House of Commons and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-211, which aims to amend the Criminal Code regarding assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the second reading stage in the House of Commons. The bill was introduced and received first reading on February 20, 2020, and is currently outside the Order of Precedence, meaning it has not been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps at this time. The artifact also notes similar bills that were introduced in this or a previous Parliament but does not provide details on their progression.
The 'House of Commons Consideration in committee' stage for Bill C-211 has not yet been reached, and the bill is currently 'Outside the Order of Precedence' following its first reading.
This artifact describes the 'House of Commons Consideration in committee' stage for Bill C-211. However, it indicates that this stage has not yet been reached. The bill's current status is 'Outside the Order of Precedence,' meaning it is not actively being considered in the House of Commons at this moment. The last major procedural step completed for this bill was its introduction and first reading on February 20, 2020. The provided information also lists similar bills that have been introduced in the current and previous Parliaments.
Bill C-211 has not yet reached the House of Commons Report stage and is currently outside the order of precedence for parliamentary business.
This record indicates that Bill C-211, concerning amendments to the Criminal Code related to assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the Report stage in the House of Commons. Its current status is 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps. The last major action recorded was its introduction and first reading on February 20, 2020. The artifact also notes similar bills introduced in the current and a previous Parliament.
Bill C-211, intended to amend the Criminal Code regarding assaults on health care professionals and first responders, has not yet proceeded to the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
The provided text indicates that Bill C-211, concerning amendments to the Criminal Code related to assaults against health care professionals and first responders, has not yet reached the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons. It is currently listed as 'Outside the Order of Precedence'. The latest recorded activity for this bill was its introduction and first reading on February 20, 2020. The text also notes similar bills, C-202 and C-434, introduced in the current and a previous Parliament, respectively, which also aimed to amend the Criminal Code regarding assaults against health care workers.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced