Second Session, 45th General Assembly

54 Elizabeth II, 2005

BILL 34

AN ACT TO AMEND THE VICTIMS OF CRIME SERVICES ACT

Received and Read the First Time

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

HONOURABLE THOMAS W. MARSHALL, QC

Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Clause 1 of the Bill would add

definitions of the terms "court", "victim" and "victim fine surcharge" to

section 2 of the Victims of Crime Services Act .

Clause 2 of the Bill would add a

section 11.1 to the Act to implement a victim fine surcharge on all fines resulting from convictions under a provincial statute. Presently a victim fine surcharge is applied to fines arising from convictions under the Criminal Code only.

Clause 3 of the Bill would repeal and replace

section 12 of the Act so that the

section refers to the victim fine surcharges under the proposed

section 11.1 as well as to the surcharge presently existing under the Criminal Code .

Clause 4 of the Bill repeals and replaces the regulation empowering

section 14 of the Act in order to add references to the making of regulations respecting victim fine surcharges imposed under the proposed

section 11.1.

Clause 5 would have the proposed amendments commence on a date to be proclaimed.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE VICTIMS OF CRIME SERVICES ACT

Analysis

1. S.2 R&S

Definitions

2. S.11.1 Added

Victim fine surcharge

3. S.12 R&S

Victim fine surcharge proceeds

4. S.14 R&S

Regulations

5. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cV-5

Section 2 of the Victims of Crime Services Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "court" includes the provincial court established under the Provincial Court Act, 1991 , the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal;

(b) "victim" means a person who has suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering or economic loss, because of acts that are a violation of criminal laws; and

(c) "victim fine surcharge" includes a victim fine surcharge imposed under subsection 11.1(1) and under

section 737 of the Criminal Code .

2. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 11 the following:

Victim fine surcharge

11.1

(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under

an Act of the province and a fine is imposed as a penalty for that conviction, that person shall, in addition to the fine, pay a victim fine surcharge that is 15% of the fine imposed on that person.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a conviction and penalty imposed

(

a) for a parking offence;

(

b) under a regulation or by-law of a city as defined in the City of Corner Brook Act , City of Mount Pearl Act , City of St. John's Act or of a municipality as defined in the Municipalities Act, 1999 ; and

(

c) under an enactment prescribed by regulation as being exempt.

(3) Where a person referred to in subsection (1) establishes, to the satisfaction of the court imposing the penalty or entering the conviction, that undue hardship to that person or the dependants of that person would result from the imposition of a victim fine surcharge, the court may, by order and stating reasons, exempt that person from the surcharge or part of that surcharge.

(4) The victim fine surcharge imposed under subsection (1) as a result of a conviction for an offence shall be paid at the time at which the fine imposed for that offence is payable and may be collected in the same manner as that fine.

(5) For the purpose of the Provincial Offences Act and

section 16.1 of the Highway Traffic Act the victim fine surcharge imposed under subsection (1) is considered to be a fine.

Section 12 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Victim fine surcharge proceeds

12. Proceeds resulting from a victim fine surcharge shall be used for the purposes of this Act.

Section 14 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Regulations

14. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations:

(

a) prescribing how a victim fine surcharge imposed under federal legislation shall be used;

(

b) prescribing how a victim fine surcharge imposed under

section 11.1 shall be used;

(

c) exempting a person or a class of persons from the application of

section 11.1;

(

d) prescribing anything required by this Act to be prescribed;

(

e) prescribing guidelines for the training of criminal justice personnel in connection with the needs and concerns of victims; and

(

f) generally, to give effect to the purpose of this Act.

Commencement

5. This Act shall come into force on a date to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer